OSSAA Announces New Districts for Baseball, Basketball, Football

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association has announced new district assignments for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years.

Football

The football districts are still pending OSSAA board approval on September 6th.

The Sandites will remain in Class 6A-II, playing in District 2 with Stillwater, Bartlesville, Capitol Hill, Muskogee, Northwest Classen, Piedmont, and Ponca City.

Capitol Hill, Northwest Classen, Piedmont, and Ponca City will all be newcomers while Tahlequah, Putnam City West, and U.S. Grant will drop from the Sandites’ schedule.

Sand Springs has never played Capitol Hill, Northwest Classen, or Piedmont. The two Oklahoma City schools are currently in 6A-II but play in the opposite district, while Piedmont will be moving up from 5A.

Ponca City is a longstanding rival of the Sandites, with the two teams having met every year since 1978, even in non-district years.

Baseball

Sand Springs will play alongside Bartlesville, Jenks, Moore, Muskogee, Norman North, Owasso, and Stillwater in District 6A-3.

The Sandites are currently in a district with Jenks and Owasso, but Bartlesville, Moore, Muskogee, Norman North, and Stillwater will all be new foes.

Sand Springs played Bartlesville and Muskogee last year in non-district action but haven’t played Moore since 2017. The Sandites and Norman North last played in 2021.

The Stillwater and Sand Springs meetings will be particularly exciting after the Pioneers sabotaged the Sandites’ home regional this past year.

Basketball

Sandite fans will see a big change in basketball scheduling as the OSSAA implements districts for the first time, effectively ending the conference era.

Sand Springs will retain longtime Frontier Valley foes Owasso, Union, and Bartlesville while forging new rivalries with a slate of west-side schools in Edmond Memorial, Enid, U.S. Grant, and Putnam City.

Addison Hughes Pitches Perfect Game at BA Tournament

The Charles Page High School softball team (3-1) didn’t come home with any hardware from the Broken Arrow Tournament after going 2-1 in pool play, but it did pull off a rare perfect game in a time-limited four-inning matchup with Jones (0-5).

Addison Hughes (3-0) had an exceptional opening week, striking out nine in the season-opener at Bixby before tossing a one-hitter on Friday and a perfect game on Saturday. In four innings she struck out four while retiring every batter she faced for a 9-0 victory.

Bella Wilson went 3-for-3 at the plate with three doubles and scored two runs to earn Player of the Game, as voted by her team. Kelsi Hilton, Lakelyn Harger, and Ashlyn Clark batted in two runners apiece while Kenzie King and Hilton also scored two runs each.

At 3-1, this is the Sandites’ best start to a season since 2020.

Sand Springs will return to action with a district double-header at Southmoore (2-3, 1-0) on Tuesday before playing in the RSU Festival on Thursday and the Owasso Festival on Friday and Saturday.

Sakauri Wilson Commits to Southwestern Oklahoma State University

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Sand Springs senior point guard Sakauri Wilson recently announced her commitment to Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

“I want to thank God first and foremost because without him none of this would be possible,” said Wilson in a social media post.

“I also want to express my appreciation to my coaches and teammates who have supported me and encouraged me to improve. Last but not least I want to express my deepest appreciation to my parents for never losing faith in me and giving up so much of their time.”

“In consideration of the foregoing, I am thrilled about announcing my commitment to Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Go BULLDOGS!”

SWOSU is an NCAA Division II program in Weatherford coming off an 8-19 campaign under first-year head coach Jeff Zinn.

Also receiving recruiting attention is 5’11” senior forward Kiaryn Taylor, who announced offers from Lincoln Trail College and Ranger College on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

Wilson, Taylor, Taiona Morris, and Patience Pearce will provide the senior leadership for the Sandites in the coming winter season as the girls look to get back to the State Tournament for what would be the second time in their careers.

Sandites Split Games at BA Tourney, Addison Hughes Pitches One-Hitter

Less than 16 hours after dealing Bixby a 6-4 defeat, the Charles Page High School softball team (2-1) found itself back at Spartan Stadium for a rematch in the opening round of the Broken Arrow Tournament.

This time Bixby (2-1) prevailed 6-1 in a time-limited four-inning game. Shay Barbee surrendered 12 hits in Thursday’s season opener but redeemed herself with a four-hitter on Friday.

Kylie King made her pitching debut for the Sandites and tossed six 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout. Kelsi Hilton went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored the team’s lone run on a passed ball in the bottom of the first to go up 1-0.

Bixby responded with a four-hit, five-run third inning and added an insurance run in the fourth. The Sandites threatened a rally but stranded loaded bases on a flyout.

The Sandites got back in the win column in the second game with a 3-1 victory over perennial power Edmond Deer Creek (4-2).

Just a day after striking out 9 Spartans in her first win of the season, Addison Hughes tossed another gem with 7 strikeouts, 2 walks, and only 1 hit in five innings against the Antlers.

Kenzie King scored the opening run on a single from Lakelyn Harger, then Hilton scored on a fielder’s choice in the first inning. Hilton scored again on an RBI single from Kylie King in the third for the 3-0 lead.

Lauren Hugo averted the shutout in the fifth, hitting a triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly. Hughes caught the last batter swinging to seal the win.

Sand Springs will return to action Saturday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. game against Jones (0-2) and at 6:00 p.m. vs. Pocola (2-2), both at Bixby High School.

Addison Hughes Strikes Out 9 in Season Opening Win at Bixby

The Charles Page High School softball team (1-0) opened the season with a 6-4 non-district road trip to Bixby (0-1) Thursday evening after rain storms pushed back the season opener twice.

The girls’ Monday game against Sapulpa was rained out and the the Bixby game was supposed to be played Tuesday at home but was rescheduled and relocated due to field conditions. The Highway 97 Rivalry matchup has yet to be rescheduled.

On Thursday the Sandites fell behind twice early in the game but bounced back each time for their first season-opener win since 2020.

The Spartans took a 1-0 first-inning lead on Brynn Daniel’s solo homer but the Sandites responded with a three-run second inning.

Lakelyn Harger lead off the second with a double, advanced on a single from Kaylei Rake, and scored on Kelsi Hilton’s ground ball single to left field to tie it up.

Kylie King scored Rake with an RBI single and Hilton scored on a sacrifice fly from Ashlyn Clark.

Bixby had its own quick response in the bottom of the inning, however, scoring three runs on three hits and an error to go up 4-3.

Harger evened things up once again with an RBI single to bring in Kenzie King in the fifth, then Hilton hit a sacrifice fly to score Bella Wilson for the lead.

Wilson added an insurance run in the seventh off Hilton’s double to center field and Addison Hughes tossed two strikeouts in the bottom of the inning to secure the win.

Hughes pitched the complete game with 6 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts. Shay Barbee got the loss for Bixby, tossing 12 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts in 7 innings.

Rake went 3-of-4 at the plate while Wilson, Harger, and Hilton all went 2-of-3. Hilton was the team’s leading scorer with 3 RBIs and 1 run.

The Sandites will return to action Friday in Bixby as they look for their first tournament title since 2019.

Pool D of the Broken Arrow Tournament will be played at Bixby High School and will open with a Spartan-Sandite rematch at 10:00 a.m.

The Sandites will also play Edmond Deer Creek (3-1) at 2:30 p.m. and on Saturday will play Jones (0-2) at 3:00 p.m. and Pocola (2-0) at 6:00 p.m.

Sandite Softball Undefeated in Scrimmages, Opens Regular Season Monday

Another exciting season of Sandite Softball is officially underway as the fast pitch sluggers are just three days removed from their season-opener.

Shelli Brown’s 27th team is off to a promising start after going 4-0-1 in preseason scrimmages against the neighboring communities.

In a July 27th trip to Skiatook the girls scored nine unanswered runs in a 9-3 win by committee.

Seven different Sandites recorded a single hit apiece but freshman Bella Wilson had the most impactful plate appearance with a fourth-inning two-run triple to tie it at 3-3. She then scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice.

Addison Hughes, Kylie King, and Lakelyn Harger pitched two innings apiece, combining for seven strikeouts, five hits, and two walks.

The girls took another short trip north the following day to deal Sperry a 10-1 rout.

Harger set the tone with a two-run single in the top of the first but the bats didn’t get too hot till the sixth when the girls scored five runs on six hits.

Harger and King recorded two hits apiece with a team total of 11.

The same trio of Kylie King, Harger, and Hughes once again shared the circle, surrendering only two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Sand Springs returned to Skiatook on Tuesday for a 7-0 five-inning shutout. Ashlyn Clark stole the show, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs while the pitching staff struck out five with four hits.

On Wednesday the girls took a 13-3 lead at Berryhill before surrendering four runs in the bottom of the sixth to finish 13-7.

Hughes tossed eight strikeouts in three innings of action while the staff totaled 12 Ks and seven hits.

Kenzie King went 3-for-3 with three runs and Harger was 3-for-3 with four RBI and two doubles.

On Friday they wrapped up the preseason with a trip to Mannford that ended in a 4-4 tie after six innings.

Kenzie King scored on an RBI single from Harger in the top of the first, then Kaylei Rake hit an RBI double in the third to bring in Wilson. Rake stole home soon after and Morgan Rector hit an RBI single to score Bailey Copeland for the 4-0 lead.

Mannford got those runs back in the fourth, however, recording five hits to avert the loss.

Kenzie King was the hot hand at bat, going 2-for-3, while the pitching staff combined for 8 strikeouts, 9 hits, and 2 walks.

The first regular season game will be Monday at 5:00 p.m. when the girls host their 5A rivals from Sapulpa. Bixby will visit the Sandites on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., then the girls will compete at the Broken Arrow tournament over the weekend.