Down but not out: Sandites fall 4-0 to Owasso, but could get rematch Thursday

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team got off to a great start at Regionals Wednesday when they handed the Broken Arrow Tigers a 6-3 defeat at Stigall Field in Owasso. The Rams would prove to be too much for the Sandites in round three, however, and the host team shut out their foe 4-0.

The Regional Tournament is double-elimination, so despite the loss the boys could still earn their ticket to State if they can win three more games. The Sandites will face the winner of the Broken Arrow vs Sapulpa game Thursday at 5:00 PM, and if they win that match they'll get to play Owasso again Thursday at 7:30. Because Owasso is undefeated, the Sandites will have to beat them twice to win the Regional. 

It may sound improbable, but the Lady Sandite Fast Pitch Softball team accomplished that feat last fall when they battled their way through the consolation bracket to win the Regional Tournament and ultimately lost the State Championship by a single run.

University of Oklahoma committed junior Jake Terry (5-4) pitched all six innings for the Sandites, giving up seven hits, six walks, and four earned runs against three strikeouts. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College-signee Shane Lang got the win for the Rams, allowing just six hits and one walk against six strikeouts and zero runs in seven innings. 

The game was a slow starter with neither team getting on the board till the bottom of the third when Lang hit a sacrifice fly to score Connor Beichler. The score held at 1-0 till the bottom of the fifth when the Rams finally began to put in work at the plate. 

Beichler walked, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice by Tyler Brown. All-American Parker Dunn singled, Lang walked, and Nick Keim hit a sacrifice fly to score Dunn. Kyle Petty brought in pinch runner Sam Thompson on a single for the 4-0 lead.

It was down to the wire for the Sandites. Trevor Tolbert reached on an error and Joey Montgomery was hit by pitch in the top of the sixth, but both were stranded. Terry pitched a no-hitter in the bottom of the inning with one strikeout, and the Sandites had one shot left to tie or take the lead.

Hunter Greathouse grounded out to short. Jake Ward hit a line drive single into left field and was replaced on base by Kameron Adcock. Mack Thompson flied out in foul territory. Ty Fain picked up a single, but the two runners were left stranded as Tolbert grounded out to second to end the game.

Rhett Rutledge leads Sandites to 6-3 playoff win over Broken Arrow

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team (22-14) got off to a great start in the Regional Tournament at Owasso's Stigall Field Thursday afternoon, taking a quick lead over the Broken Arrow Tigers (21-15) that propelled them to a 6-3 victory.

Rhett Rutledge (3-1) got the start and win on the mound while Colton Croft came out with the loss.

The first two innings were scoreless for both teams, but Joey Montgomery broke the game open with a single scoring Rutledge. Hunter Greathouse doubled to bring in Josh Taber and Mack Thompson hit a sacrifice fly to score Malachi Walton.

Broken Arrow nearly got in a bind in the top of the fourth as the Sandites loaded the bases with their top batter at the plate, but Croft pulled off the impressive strikeout to save the inning. The bottom of the fourth belonged to the Tigers as well, as Devon Johnson scored on a double by Mack Chambers to get the team on the board.

A series of mistakes handed the Sandites another run in the top of the sixth. Rutledge hit a hard double to the centerfield fence, advanced to third on a balk, and scored on an error in left field for the 4-1 advantage.

The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the sixth as Johnson singled, Tucker Dunlap drew a walk, and Chambers reached on an error to load the bases with a single out. Drew Lowe hit a sacrifice fly to score Johnson. Kade Goines walked to reload the bases and Evan Fulps drew the full count walk to score pinch runner Declan Spurlock. Landon Hulet was next to the plate and hit a grounder to short stop for the force at second to end the inning with Sandites riding a close 4-3 lead.

Treyce Tolbert reached base on balls to start the seventh, Greathouse hit a single, and Jake Ward was hit by pitch to load the bases. Keaton Stamp went to the mound for the Tigers, but was unable to prevent runs as Mack Thompson sacrificed to bring in Tolbert and Ty Fain sacrificed to score Greathouse for a 6-3 advantage.

It came down to the bottom of the seventh for the Tigers. Brady Bean flied out to center field and Croft grounded out to short stop. Johnson got on base with a bunt to third but Dunlap hit a pop fly to end the game.

The Sandites will get only a brief rest before taking on the Owasso Rams (27-6) in round three. The Rams defeated Sapulpa in the first round of the Regional, and have two wins over the Sandites this season. Just last week the Sandites threatened to upset the top-seeded team in a close 11-10 home field loss, but were handily defeated 11-2 the following day in Owasso. If the Sandites defeat Owasso in this game, they'll have a rematch Thursday at 7:30 PM. If they lose to Owasso, they'll play either Sapulpa or Broken Arrow Thursday at 5:00 PM.

3X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance at the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Fix traveled to Vegas this weekend to defend his 2015 UWW Junior National title, and defend it he did, defeating some of the top names in the game. The 126 pound grappler is ranked second in the nation in his weight class and is riding a 54-straight win streak with 21 pins and 20 tech falls, only winning two matches since October by less than eight points. 

The tournament featured some tough competition. Fix defeated University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins 14-4, and two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams 10-0. In the semi-finals he scored a 10-0 tech fall over Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth in the nation in 126 and just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship. The final match was Fix's closest battle since October, but he still came out with the win, defeating Gavin Teasdale 6-5 for the Championship. Teasdale is ranked first in the nation in class 113. 

This is Fix's third time being featured as Sandite of the Week. Some of Fix's titles include:

• 2011 ASICS/USAW Kids Freestyle Schoolboy National Championship
• 2012 ASICS/USAW Kids Folkstyle Schoolboy National Runner-Up
• 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Freestyle National Champion
• 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Greco-Roman National Champion
• 2012 Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National Middle School Champion
• 2013 FILA Cadet Nationals Freestyle Runner-Up
• 2013 USAW Cadet Greco-Roman National Champion
• 2013 USAW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
• 2013 Kansas City Stampede Champion
• 2014 OSSAA 6A State Champion
• 2014 Cliff Keen USAW Cadet Folkstyle National Champion
• 2014 Cadet Freestyle Pan American Champion
• 2014 Cadet Greco-Roman Pan American Champion
• 2014 ASICS/FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion
• 2014 USAW Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
• 2014 World Freestyle Championship 10th Place
• 2014 Youth Olympic Games Freestyle Silver Medalist
• 2014 Super 32 Runner-Up
• 2014 Kansas City Stampede Champion
• 2015 OSSAA 6A State Champion
• 2015 Junior Folkstyle FloNationals Champion
• 2015 UWW Junior Freestyle National Champion
• 2015 UWW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
• 2015 Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
• 2015 USAW Junior Freestyle National Champion
• 2015 Cadet World Championship Bronze Medalist
• 2015 Kansas City Stampede Champion
• 2015 Geary Invitational Champion
• 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion

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Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee. 

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

Sandites will travel to Owasso for Regionals and battle Broken Arrow in Round One

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association released the 6A Regional baseball brackets Monday afternoon. The Charles Page High School team (21-14) will travel to Owasso Wednesday at 2:30 PM for their first round game against Broken Arrow (21-14). 

The Sandites and Tigers have neck-and-neck records, each winning 21 games and losing 14, and each having one win over the other. In the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament the Tigers got the 6-4 win, but the Sandites retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own less than a week later. 

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The tournament is double-elimination, and from there the Sandites will take on either Sapulpa (6-21) or Owasso (25-6). Sapulpa shouldn't pose much difficulty, as the Sandites have already defeated their Highway 97 rivals three times this season by a combined score of 26-7.

Owasso will be the biggest obstacle in the way of the Sandites' ticket to State. The Rams are the top team in the district and have already defeated Sand Springs twice, just last week. The games were far from blowouts, however, and the Sandites nearly overtook Owasso in the first game. losing by a close 11-10.

PITCHING

Conner Dennis (1-0) has an earned run average of 0.00, having faced 23 batters over 7 innings. He's given up 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 runs, and 0 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 4 strikeouts and a .643 WHIP.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) has an earned run average of 2.07, having faced 125 batters over 27 innings. He's given up 25 hits, 21 walks, 13 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 56% strikes for 23 strikeouts and a .561 WHIP. He also has 2 saves and 0 blown saves.

Brock Youngblood (4-1) has an earned run average of 2.57, having faced 136 batters over 33 innings. He's given up 33 hits, 14 walks, 18 runs, and 12 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 13 strikeouts and a 1.317 WHIP.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) has an earned run average of 3.73, having faced 66 batters over 15 innings. He's given up 8 hits, 12 walks, 10 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 61% strikes for 32 strikeouts and a 1.200 WHIP. He also has 1 save and 0 blown saves.

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry has an earned run average of 3.77, having faced 211 batters over 42.66 innings. He's given up 45 hits, 42 walks, 29 runs, and 23 earned runs while pitching 58% strikes for 51 strikeouts and a 1.946 WHIP. 

Jake Ward (4-3) has an earned run average of 3.91, having faced 227 batters over 48 innings. He's given up 49 hits, 34 walks, 33 runs, and 27 earned runs while pitching 57% strikes for 49 strikeouts and a 1.635 WHIP.

Josh Cordell (2-3) has an earned run average of 3.95, having faced 164 batters over 34 innings. He's given up 40 hits, 41 walks, 31 runs, and 19 earned runs while pitching 42% strikes for 26 strikeouts and a 1.753 WHIP.

Joey Montgomery (1-2) has an earned run average of 6.64, having faced 96 batters over 19 innings. He's given up 23 hits, 12 walks, 22 runs, and 18 earned runs while pitching 55% strikes for 10 strikeouts and a 1.632 WHIP.

BATTING

Cody Motes holds a .500 batting average, .500 slugging average, and .500 OBP with 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 single, and 3 stolen bases.

Hunter Greathouse has a .390 batting average, a .470 slugging average, and a .483 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 15 RBI with 29 singles, 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 sacrifices. He's also stolen 11 bases this season.

Jake Ward has batted .381 this season with a .488 slugging average and .563 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 16 RBI with 25 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 4 sacrifices, and 4 stolen bases.

Josh Taber has batted .366 this season with a .387 slugging average and a .491 OBP. He's scored 30 runs and 19 RBI with 32 singles, 2 doubles, 6 sacrifices, and 23 stolen bases.

Joey Montgomery is batting .351 with a .443 slugging average and a .457 OBP. He's scored 3 runs and 21 RBI with 27 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice, and 2 stolen bases.

Tyler McCallie is sitting at .339 batting, and .542 slugging, with a .473 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 11 RBI with 13 singles, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 9 stolen bases.

Rhett Rutledge has batted .339 this season with a .523 slugging average and .471 OBP. He's scored 34 runs and 20 RBI with 24 singles, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 7 sacrifices, and 20 stolen bases.

Riley Rutledge has batted .333 this season with a .333 slugging average and .600 OBP. He's scored 2 runs and 1 RBI with 1 single.

Treyce Tolbert holds a .314 batting average, .392 slugging average, and .462 OBP He's scored 25 runs and 21 RBI with 26 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 5 sacrifices, and 10 stolen bases.

Ty Fain holds a .282 batting average, a .308 slugging average, and a .451 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 8 RBI with 9 singles, 2 doubles, 2 stole bases, and 4 sacrifices.

Jake Terry has batted .276 this season with a .483 slugging average and .408 OBP. He's scored 9 runs and 10 RBI on 8 singles, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 5 stolen bases.

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has batted .244 this season for a .308 slugging average and .366 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 17 RBI on 15 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 sacrifices, and 1 stolen base.

Mack Thompson holds a .237 batting average, .395 slugging average, and .396 OBP. He's scored 16 runs and 4 RBI with 5 singles, 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 5 stolen bases.

Brock Youngblood has a .200 batting average, a .200 slugging average, and a .200 OBP. He has scored 1 runs and 2 RBI on 1 single.

Malachi Walton has batted .167 with a .167 slugging average and a .375 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 2 RBI with 1 single and 5 stolen bases.

Kameron Adcock has racked up a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a .286 on-base percentage. He's scored 3 runs, hit 1 single, and stolen 1 base this season.

CPHS Junior Daton Fix wins National Championship in Las Vegas

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to compete in the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle Nationals, and won his second-consecutive UWW Junior Freestyle Championship.

Fix had little difficulty in tech-falling his way through his first three competitors, handing University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins a 14-4 loss in round one.

In the quarterfinals Fix was pitted against two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams and didn't give up even a single point en route to a 10-0 tech fall.

The Sandite drew tough competition in the semi-finals in Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth nationally in 126 by FloWrestling. Gomez just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship, but he was no match for Fix who dealt him a 10-0 tech fall.

Fix has won his last 54-straight matches, but his UWW finals match against Gavin Teasdale was his closest battle since a 5-3 decision over nationally ranked Requir Van Der Merwe at the Geary Invitational in January. 

Fix dropped weight from 126 pounds to 121 for the tournament, while Teasdale wrestled up from 113. Both wrestlers are highly ranked by FloWrestling, with Fix sitting at second in 126 and Teasdale topping the chart at number one in 113. Teasdale has racked up four national championships while Fix's 6-5 win gives him thirteen national titles over the three disciplines. 

Up next for the young stud is a trip to New York City where he will join Team USA against Team Iran in the middle of Time Square on Thursday, May 19th. 

Rhett Rutledge leads Sandites to run-rule victory over Bartlesville

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (21-14) won their regular season finale with an 11-1 run-rule payback victory over Bartlesville (11-21). The Bruins had previously scored a pair of one-run upsets over the Sandites earlier this month while the Sand Springs team was in a bit of a slump.

The boys went 13-4 in March and at one point racked up a six-game win streak. This past month has been tougher for the Sandites, who won only eight of eighteen games and dropped five in a row before the Bartlesville win. The dry spell appears to be over for the Sandites, and just in time, as they nearly upset the top team in the district in a nail-bitter 11-10 loss to Owasso (24-6) on Monday and notched a significant moral victory in the Bartlesville win, setting themselves up well in district standings at fourth.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) got it done on the mound and at the plate, pitching all six innings for the win, giving up only three hits and six walks against three strikeouts. He picked up two runs and batted in two runners on two singles. 

Bartlesville took the initial lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Trevor Doyle to score Garrett Meidl, but it would be their only run of the game.

The Sandites tied it up quickly in the bottom of the first as Rutledge picked up his first run of the game on a sacrifice by Joey Montgomery.

The big go-ahead inning came in the bottom of the second as Senior Southwestern Christian University signee Trevor Tolbert singled in Hunter Greathouse, who doubled. Rutledge reached on an error to bring in Jake Ward and Tolbert, and Tyler McCallie scored on a passed ball for the 5-1 advantage.

In the third inning Greathouse was hit by pitch and advanced to third on a double by Ward before coming home on a throw. Ward scored on a sacrifice grounder by Tolbert to push the edge to 7-1.

In the sixth inning, Malachi Walton was hit by pitch, Tolbert reached on error, and Ty Fain singled to load the bases. Walton came home on a single by Rutledge, Tolbert and Fain both scored on a double by Josh Taber, and Rutledge scored the mercy-rule run on a sacrifice fly by Montgomery.

The Regional Tournament will be held sometime next week, with Regional assignments to be issued on Monday. Photo galleries from this season can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Baseball