Sandites go down 11-10 to Owasso despite 7th inning homers from Thompson and Rutledge

/ Sandite Athletic Complex/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The top-seeded Owasso Rams (23-5, 10-1) traveled to Sand Springs (20-13, 6-6) Monday night for what will likely be one of the most memorable games of the season. The seven inning game lasted for three and a half hours as the two teams each reached double digits in hitting and went through a total of five pitchers. Three Sandites hit home runs, including two in the final stretch that nearly propelled the Sandites past their opponent. Sand Springs never once led, but it was easily one of the most hotly contested games of the year. 

Owasso's Lance Christenberry got the start and the win on the mound, giving up two earned runs and four hits over two innings. Shane Lang got the win, pitching over four innings and allowing three earned runs and six hits against four strikeouts. University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (5-4) got the start and loss for the Sandites and allowed six walks, seven hits, and seven earned runs against six strikeouts over four innings. Rhett Rutledge (1-1) pitched relief and gave up three walks, three hits, and three earned runs over three innings.

Owasso started off the scoring early as Athanie Leeviraphan doubled and came in on a hit by Parker Dunn in the top of the first. The home team retaliated quickly, however, as Joey Montgomery walked and reached home on an error.  

The Rams had an explosive second inning with four base hits and a walk for a 5-1 lead. Nick Keim singled, Jake Enzbrenner walked, and Caleb Denny brought in Keim on a single. Connor Beichler hit a two run double to score Denny and Jordan Lytle, and Tyler Brown singled in Beichler. 

Terry was first to the plate in the bottom of the second and hit his second home run of the season. Josh Taber singled in Rutledge to narrow it to 5-3 and despite a pair of walks in the top of the third, the Sandites managed to hold Owasso to their first runless inning. 

Brayden Lloyd replaced Christenberry on the mound in the bottom of the third and gave up a single to Montgomery and walked Hunter Greathouse. Tyler McCallie ran courtesy for Montgomery and advanced to third on a fielder's choice before scoring on an error to cut the gap to 5-4.  

The Rams more than made up for their prior gaffs in the top of the fourth, however, as Leeviraphan and Beichler drew walks. Dunn scored Leeviraphan on a double into the top of the right field fence and Lang reached on a dropped third strike that allowed Beichler to score. Enzbrenner hit a sacrifice to score Dunn for the 8-4 advantage before Dodger Turner foul tipped out to bring in the Sandites. 

The fourth continued to be the wildest inning of the game as Mack Thompson, Taber, and Jake Ward singled to load the bases. The Umpire took a pitch to the head with Ward at bat and went down for a solid five minutes before getting back on his feet and valiantly continuing the game. Taber started for third on Ward's hit and doubled back and was nearly picked off but was saved by an error that allowed Thompson to come home. Montgomery struck out, but Treyce Tolbert tripled to score Taber and Ward and cut the score down to 8-7. 

Rutledge went to the mound in the top of the fifth. Leeviraphan and Sam Thompson grounded out to start but Brown and Beichler both drew walks and came in on a three run homer by Dunn to make it 11-7. 

The bottom of the fifth was a no hitter and while the Rams came close to scoring in the sixth, Enzbrenner was put out at home to bring the Sandites in. Rutledge drew a walk and Ward was hit by pitch, but neither scored in the first runless inning of the game. 

The Sandites set themselves up well for a rally as they stranded two Owasso base-runners in the top of the seventh and didn't allow any more runs. Greathouse reached on an error to start the offense off, but was put out at second on a fielder's choice. Mack Thompson hit his first home run of the year to score McCallie, and Rutledge followed it up his second homer of the year to cut the gap to a single run. Unfortunately Taber went down swinging and the Rams walked away with the win. 

The Sandites will get a rematch Tuesday at 4:30 in Owasso, assuming the weather stays away till then. The season is rapidly coming to a close with only three games left till Regionals. The boys have a district makeup game Thursday against Bartlesville (10-19) and the season finale will by Friday against Tulsa Memorial (9-16).

The photo gallery from this event can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Baseball/42516-Sand-Springs-vs-Owasso/

Great pitching from Rhett Rutledge not enough to hold off Fayetteville

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (20-12) has been on a bit of a downward slope these last few weeks. After going 13-4 in the first month of the season, the boys seem to have lost some steam as they moved into April. After beating Muskogee by a combined 43-1 over three games, it appeared that the Sandites were on top of the world. Since then, they've gone 2-7, and were most recently dropped 4-2 by Bentonville (14-7) and 8-1 by Fayetteville (16-9). 

Fayetteville jumped on their Oklahoma adversaries early on in their weekend game, running up a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Josh Cordell (2-3) got the start and the loss on the mound. Thomas Broyles hit a home run to score Garrett Owens and Robbie Briggs scored on an error at short stop. 

The top of the second was a no-hitter for the Sandites, and the Purple Bulldogs loaded the bases with two singles and two walks to score DeShawn McCoard. Cody Smith scored on a passed ball and Broyles walked to load the bases once more. Cordell was relieved by Rhett Rutledge (1-1). 

Rutledge immediately went to work on improving the situation, striking out Braden Jordan, but Briggs hit a sacrifice fly to score Joey Savin. Hayes Cox singled to score Owens for the 7-0 advantage before Rutledge struck out McCoard to bring the melee to an end. 

The game evened out from there, but the Sand Springs boys were battling from a deep hole, and despite improving on their fielding and pitching, they still couldn't get many hits off the impressive Bulldog pitchers. 

Fayetteville put four on the mound over the course of the game. Savin, Cox, and Chase Arnold pitched an inning each, while Joey Davenport got the start and win, allowing just two hits over four innings. 

Trevor Tolbert landed a single in the top of the third, but was left stranded. The next inning and a half were no-hitters for both teams as Rutledge picked up a trio of strikeouts and Davenport got one as well. 

The Sandites finally found their way onto the scoreboard in the top of the fifth as Savin came out of the bullpen and gave up a single to Hunter Greathouse, a double to Jake Terry, and a sacrifice fly to Ty Fain that brought in Greathouse to make it 7-1. 

The Dogs retaliated in the bottom of the inning, however, as Cox tripled and came in on a single by McCoard for the final score of 8-1. Greathouse also saw pitching action in the sixth inning and picked up three strikeouts against one hit.

The boys are currently sitting fourth in their district with a 6-5 record and only three games left in the regular season. Top-seeded Owasso (21-5, 9-1) will travel to Sand Springs Monday evening at 7:00, then Sand Springs will visit the Rams' diamond on Tuesday for the district finale. 

Photo galleries from the 2016 Sandite Baseball season can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Baseball

Sand Springs Wrestling Team places 23 champions at Freestyle/Greco Tournament

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Clyde Boyd Middle School played host to the OKUSA Team Big Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling Tournament Saturday. The tournament drew more than 145 contestants with well over a hundred coming from out of town.

Team Big is a mix of wrestlers from Sand Springs and the surrounding communities who train together year-round at the Charles Page High School wrestling room. Team Big photo galleries can be found at

https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/20152016-Wrestling/Team-Big-Freestyle-and-Greco-T

Grady Mittasch (4-0) placed first in Intermediate Freestyle at 65 pounds with a pair of tech falls: 10-0 against Jax Kiener and 12-2 against Logan Hargrove. He also placed first in Greco with a 20 second pin of Garret Salt and a 10-0 tech of Hargrove.

Balance Johnson (4-0) placed first in Intermediate Freestyle at 112 pounds with a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Easten Doshier. He also placed first in Greco with a pair of 10-0 and 13-2 tech falls against Doshier.

Carter Young (4-0) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 84 pounds, defeating Cutter Sheets 12-5 in round one and teching him 10-0 in round two. He also took first in Greco with a pair of 10-3 and 10-2 decisions over Sheets.

Jacob Adams (4-0) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 98 pounds with a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Noah Smith and Ej Tecson. He also won Greco with a pair of 10-0 and 12-0 tech falls over Jacob Burdette.

Cougar Anderson (4-0) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 136 pounds with a 15-5 tech fall over Killian McGrew and a 3:18 pin of Blake Ramos. He also came in first in Greco with a 17-6 tech fall over Ramos and an 0:43 pin of McGrew.

Riley Magee (4-0) won Schoolboy Freestyle at 160 pounds with a pair of pins over Bryce Jackson in 1:25 and 0:24. He also won Greco with a pair of pins in 0:55 and 2:50 over Jackson.

Ethan White (3-0) placed first in Novice Freestyle at 105 pounds with a pair of 1:01 pins against Daris Mickle. He also placed first in Greco with a 0:45 pin of Andrew Mullin.

Blake Sargent (3-0) placed first in Cadet Freestyle at 132 pounds with three straight shutout tech falls. He defeated Morgan Morrow 11-0, Zach Myles 10-0, and Ricky Turner 10-0.

Draven Rathbun (3-0) won Cadet Freestyle at 160 pounds with  a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Atticus Aguilar and Bryce Burrdick. He also won Greco with a 5:43 pin of Burrdick. 

Owen Martin (2-0) placed first in Novice Freestyle at 65 pounds with an 11-1 tech fall against Clayton Giddens and a 14-4 tech of Dylan Abbott.

Jeran Seabolt (2-0) placed first in Cadet Freestyle at 145 with an 0:55 pin of Diego Maturino and an 0:21 pin of Ryan Stetler. 

Austin Johnson (2-0) won Cadet Freestyle at 152 pounds with a 14-4 tech fall and a 22-15 decision over Wyatt Moyers.

Michael Ritchey (2-0) placed first in Junior Freestyle at 126 pounds with a 10-0 tech fall over Sage Singleton and a 15-5 tech of Taywone McNack.

Daton Fix (2-0) placed first in Junior Freestyle at 132 pounds with a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Cody Wynn and Garrett Wild.

Kaden Gfeller (2-0) placed first in Junior Freestyle at 138 pounds with a pair of tech falls against Dillon Prutch at 11-0 and 10-0.

Sam Harris (6-1) placed third in Schoolboy Freestyle at 112 pounds with three tech fall wins and one loss by decision. He won his opening match against Garrett Wells 11-0, but dropped the next round 4-2 to Bryce Fisher. He rebounded quickly, however, with a pair of 10-0 techs over Blake Salt and Brayden Seago. He won Schoolboy Greco with an 0:27 pin of Jonathan Gatz, a 3-2 decision over Blake Salt, and a 10-0 tech fall against Brayden Seago.

Josh Taylor (5-1) placed third in Schoolboy Greco at 112 pounds with an 0:15 pin of Jonathan Gatz and a 4-2 decision over Blake Salt, but lost 6-0 to Brayden Seago. He won Freestyle, however, with three-straight 10-0 tech falls over Salt, Jacob Burdette, and Bryce Fisher.

Dariuz Black (4-1) placed first in Intermediate Greco with a 2:20 pin and 10-0 tech fall, both against Nation Johnson. He also came in third in Freestyle at 70 pounds. He lost his opening match 14-14 to Kason McGill, but teched Jake Killian and Jaxon Goddard 10-0 each. 

Payton Thomas (4-1) placed first in Novice Greco at 90 pounds with a 2:58 pin of Garrett Reese and a 0:50 pin of Zack Cooper. He also came in third in Freestyle. He lost his first match against Cameron Steed in a 11-0 tech fall, but rebounded with a 3:58 pin of Zack Cooper and a 14-2 tech of Abraham Flores.

Adrian Flores (3-1) won first place in Intermediate Greco at 87 pounds with a 3:34 pin of Aiven Robbins and a 10-0 tech of Gavin Salt. He also came in runner-up in Freestyle, pinning Salt in 1:42, but getting pinned himself in the finals in 1:21 by Robbins.

Braden Anderson (3-1) came in runner-up in Schoolboy Freestyle at 91 pounds, pinning Aidan Kirkland in 3:13, but getting teched 14-4 by Gabriel Fontanez. He also placed first in Greco with a pin over Kirkland and a close 7-6 decision over Buck Shell.

Joseph Jernegan (3-2) placed first in Novice Greco with a 0:28 pin of Jim Mullin, a 1:15 pin of Andrew Manly, and a 22-14 decision over Levi Smith. He also wrestled in Freestyle at 75 pounds but failed to place after falling in 1:52 to Levi Smith and giving up a decision to Mullin. 

Killian McGrew (3-2) placed third in Schoolboy Freestyle at 136 pounds. He won a 10-0 tech fall and an 0:29 pin against Preston Medlin, but dropped a 15-5 tech fall to Cougar Andersen. He also came in runner-up in Greco with a 1:36 pin of Blake Ramos, but was pinned in 0:43 by Andersen.

Christian Forbes (2-1) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 70 pounds, winning two of three matches against Sam Smith. He lost the first round 5-0 but won the next 2-2 and the final 5-0. He also came in runner-up in Greco.

Bryce Fisher (2-1) came in runner-up in Schoolboy Freestyle at 112 pounds after defeating Brayden Seago 10-4 and Sam Harris 4-2, but falling by way of 10-0 tech fall to Josh Taylor.

Aidan Kirkland (2-3) placed fourth in Schoolboy Freestyle at 91 pounds. He defeated Adin Washbourne 12-10 but was pinned in 3:13 by Braden Anderson and went down 15-14 to Buck Shell. He also came in third in Greco with a 9-0 decision over Washbourne, but was pinned by Anderson.

Dian Fix (1-1) came in runner-up in Bantam Freestyle, wrestling at 55 pounds. He defeated Grayson Sellers 12-10 in a spectacular come-from-behind decision, but was defeated in a 10-0 tech fall by Gavin Wallace.

Mitchell Smith (1-1) came in runner-up in Novice Freestyle at 70 pounds, defeating Corban Dugelder 16-7, but giving up a 10-0 tech fall to Landyn Sommer. 

Wyatt Meredith (1-2) placed fourth in Novice Freestyle at 75 pounds. He was teched 15-4 by Eli Rodgers and 14-3 by Jim Mullin, and won a decision over Levi Smith.

Preston Medlin (1-2) placed fourth in Schoolboy Freestyle at 136 pounds. He lost his first match in a 10-0 tech fall to Killian McGrew. He received a forfeit from Tyler Rich, but was pinned by McGrew in the consolation finals in 0:29.

Cale Glover (1-2) placed fourth in Cadet Freestyle at 132 pounds, losing a close 10-9 decision to Ricky Turner and a 12-0 tech fall to Zach Myles, but won a 12-1 tech over Gavin Southern.

Sage Singleton (1-2) placed fourth in Junior Freestyle at 126 pounds with a 15-12 win over Karson Bellmard, a 10-0 tech fall loss to Michael Ritchey, and a close 30-27 decision to Brendan Clarke.

Clayton Giddens (1-3) came in runner-up in Novice Freestyle at 65 pounds after falling 11-1 to Owen Martin, but teching Dylan Abbot 12-0. He also came in second in Greco and was pinned in 1:37 and 3:57 by Corban Zugelder.

Nation Johnson (1-3) came in runner-up in Intermediate Freestyle at 70 pounds, defeating Jaxon Goddard by 20-6 tech fall, but falling 10-0 to Kason McGill. He also came in runner-up in Greco after being pinned in 2:20 and teched 10-0 by Dariuz Black. 

Daris Mickle (0-2) came in runner-up in Novice Freestyle at 105 pounds after giving up a pair of 1:01 pins to Ethan White.

Maranda Dornan (0-2) came in runner-up in Junior Freestyle at 170 pounds, getting pinned in 0:22 and 0:14 by Dylan Garcia.

Abraham Flores (0-4) placed fourth in Novice Freestyle at 90 pounds after giving up a pair of tech falls to Cameron Steed and Payton Thomas at 10-0 and 14-2, respectively. He also placed fourth in Greco after getting pinned in 1:20 by Zack Cooper and teched 12-0 by Garhett Reese.

Promised Johnson (0-4) placed third in Bantam Freestyle at 65 pounds after being pinned in 0:45 by Jake Wassom and teched 14-4 by Legend Ellis. He also placed third in Greco after being pinned in 0:32 by Wassom and 3:11 by Ellis.

Jacob Burdette (0-4) wrestled at 112 pounds in Schoolboy Freestyle and was teched 10-0 and 12-0 by Josh Taylor and Brayden Seago, respectively. He placed second in Greco after getting teched 10-0 and 12-0 by Jacob Adams.

Hunter Gines (0-4) competed at 120 pounds in Schoolboy Freestyle and lost 11-0 and 11-1 to Laif Jones and Blake Hickerson, respectively. He placed fourth in Greco with losses by pin of 0:50 and 2:41 to Auston Whitaker and Devin Graham, respectively.

Bentonville blows out Sand Springs from the mound

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (20-11) was absolutely hammered at the plate Friday evening in Fayetteville as the Bentonville Tigers (14-7) dealt the Sandites their worst batting performance of the season. 

Carter Brown got the win on the mound, pitching nine strikeouts and only giving up two hits while holding the Sandites to a .080 team batting average. Brock Youngblood (4-1) took his first loss this season, giving up ten hits and two walks, but only allowing two earned runs.

Bentonville set the tone for the game from the very first inning, striking out two and coming in quickly to bat where Tyler Johnson doubled to score Nathan Lyons. The second inning saw Joey Montgomery reach on an error for the Sandites, but once more it was the Tigers who scored the lone run of the inning as Matt Bratspies singled in Justin Hines. 

The third inning was a no hitter for both teams, and Sand Springs tried to turn things around in the top of the fourth. Rhett Rutledge reached on an error and Josh Taber singled to start the inning. Rutledge was put out at third on a fielder's choice, but Taber scored on an error to get the boys on the board.

Bentonville took the definitive lead in the bottom of the fifth, however, as Kam'Ron Mays Hunt singled and Bratspies doubled. Lyons reached on an error by Rutledge at short stop that allowed Bratspies to score, and eventually made his way home on a throw for the 4-1 advantage. 

Mack Thompson drew a walk in the top of the sixth but the next three batters were struck out. Poole drew a walk in the bottom of the inning and Kyle Knight hit a single, but neither scored. 

It came down to the top of the seventh for the Sandites, and they put forth their biggest inning of the game. Hunter Greathouse reached on a fielder's choice, Tyler McCallie was hit by pitch, and Trevor Tolbert singled to bring in Greathouse. Unfortunately, Thompson hit a grounder to third and McCallie was forced out to bring the game to a close. 

Jake Ward's gem undone in 7th inning rally by Bartlesville

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (20-10) traveled to Bartlesville (9-18) Thursday evening and gave up a 5-4 loss despite leading till the seventh inning and dominating the entirety of the game. 

Jake Ward (4-2) was a machine on the mound, pitching six innings and giving up only three hits, three walks, and one run, while throwing 52% strikes for eight strikeouts. Trevor Doyle got the win on the mound for Bartlesville, giving up only two hits and no runs, while Jake Terry (5-3) got the loss for the Sandites after relieving Ward in the seventh inning and giving up four hits, two walks, and four runs in a third of an inning.

Zach Snow started the game for the Bruins, striking out Rhett Rutledge, but giving up a double to Ward, walking Joey Montgomery, and a single to Treyce Tolbert. Courtesy runner Mack Thompson advanced to home on a throw to draw first blood.

Ward struck out two in his first inning on the mound, but walked AJ Archambo and allowed him to score on a double by Zac Boyes to tie it up. The second inning was a no-hitter for both teams and Ward struck out the side in order.

Rutledge singled in the top of the third but was put out on a fielders choice and Thompson was caught stealing. Garrett Meidl reached on an error at short stop and stole second before being stranded as Archambo struck out swinging.

Hunter Greathouse singled in the fourth but was left stranded. Boyes struck out in the bottom of the fourth as Ward pitched yet another no-hitter inning.

Sand Springs finally took the lead back in the top of the fifth as Terry singled and came in on a Rutledge double. Rutledge scored on an error and Josh Taber scored on a single by Montgomery for a 4-1 advantage.

Ward walked two in the bottom of the fifth and gave up a single to load the bases, but saved the inning with another Archambo strike out. Both teams put a single runner each on base in the sixth and Trevor Tolbert was stranded after singling in the top of the seventh. 

With the game seemingly all wrapped up, Terry went to the mound and started off well with a strikeout of Derek Hill. Then, Bartlesville went to work. 

Logan McNeill singled in Hunter Stoops, and Boyes singled in Meidl and Brady Sewell to tie it up. With two on base, and only one out on the board, things became dire for the Sandites. Doyle stepped to the plate and took one strike, then fired off a line drive single into left field to score Archambo for the win. 

This is the second time this season the Sandites have been upset in the seventh inning by Bruins. 

Sand Springs returns to action Friday in Fayetteville as they take on Bentonville (13-7) at 4:30 and Fayetteville (14-9) at 7:00. The Bruins will travel to Tulsa Friday at 4:30 to battle the Booker T Washington Hornets (3-25).

2016 Baseball Photo Galleries can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Baseball

Sandite Boys' Soccer season comes to an end at Deer Creek

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer Team (3-12) saw their season come to a close in Edmond Thursday night as they were handily defeated 7-0 by the defending State Champions, No.18 nationally ranked Deer Creek (12-1). 

The boys finished the season with the same number of wins as last year, plus two more losses. In 2015 the boys started 0-4 before they found their first win, but this year they pulled off an impressive 4-0 shutout of Muskogee in the second game of the season.

They lost five straight from there, but placed sixth in the Edison Green and White Tournament after freshman Ethan Baxter scored a hat trick in a 4-1 defeat of Regent Prep. The third win this season is the most important game to win for a Sandite. The Highway 97 Rivalry went to Sand Springs in a 2-1 overtime victory Tuesday night. 

The Antlers wasted no time in getting on the board as sophomore Chris Smirlis notched a goal less than three minutes into the game. The game was a shooting melee, but Sandite keeper Edgar Soberano was all over it, picking up seven saves on thirteen shots before allowing a goal with 13 minutes remaining in the half. The Sandites finally got off their first shot of the game in the 32nd minute, but it was no where close.

The Antlers added another goal for the 3-0 lead with a little over five minutes in the half, then scored a fourth with only 0:50 seconds left. With moments left, Alex Hernandez fired off the second shot of the half for the Sandites from thirty yards out, but sent it wide left as the clock expired. Deer Creek added a PK 16 minutes into the second half for the 5-0 advantage. Tucker Brown added the sixth goal of the evening with 21 minutes to play, and from there Deer Creek sent in the backups to finish the night. The Antlers scored on a free kick with 16 minutes left and the rest of the night consisted of driving back and forth with neither team making any really close runs.

Redistricting really hurt the boys this season, who actually played better than last season in many ways. The tough district included two nationally ranked teams in Deer Creek and Union. The boys' season opener was also to a nationally ranked team, though East Central wasn't a district game. The boys were far better than their record indicated, as demonstrated by the fact Union and East Central each only beat the Sandites by two goals. Seven of the losses this season were decided by two goals or less.

Baxter led the team in scoring with 5 goals, followed by Andrew Morrison with 3, Kaleb Brooks with 2, Alex Hernandez with 2, Cade Loomin with 1, Cody Gurley with 1, and Ignacio Garcia with 1. 

The team will be graduating seven this year: Brooks, Lazaro Franco, Dylan Lambert, Simon Hollekve, Dalton Lane, and Hunter Jacob.

This season's photo galleries can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Soccer