Sandite of the Week: Hunter Greathouse

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Hunter Greathouse as Sandite of the Week for his consistent outstanding performances in all five games at the Best of the West baseball tournament in Phoenix, Arizona over Spring Break.

Greathouse averaged .500 batting and slugging with a .467 OBP, as well as pitched his first win of the season in the tournament finale against Coconino. 

The Sandites (6-2) won their fourth straight in the tournament opener 3-1 against the Greenway High Demons (8-2). Greathouse hit a single in the top of the fifth as the teams were tied up 1-1, but was left stranded. In the seventh, however, he was walked, and scored the final run of the game on a Josh Taber single.

In the first loss of the season, Greathouse singled in the third period against Sunrise Mountain (10-5-1), but was stranded as the Peoria, Arizona team went on to a 7-0 shutout. 

In the third game of the series, the Sandites were pitted against Chaparral High (12-2) of Scottsdale, Arizona. Greathouse flied out his first two at bats, but hit a single in the top of the sixth. He was replaced with courtesy runner Kameron Adcock, who was left stranded as Jake Terry struck out. The Firebirds won that game 2-1. 

Sand Springs got back on track in the next round with a 14-2 run-rule over Scottsdale's Notre Dam Prep (7-8). Greathouse got on base twice, each time with singles, each time being batted in on doubles from Trevor Tolbert. 

In the final game the Sandites took on Coconino (2-11) from Flagstaff, Arizona. Greathouse went to the mound for the second time this season, his first time as the starter, and threw 58% strikes, giving up only three hits and striking out nine batters over six innings. He struck out two in the first inning, giving up one walk that scored. He struck out three more over the next two innings, but walked in two runners on loaded bases in the top of the fourth and Coconino took a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning he hit a single and courtesy runner Tyler McCallie went on to score. He singled to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth and once more McCallie scored in his stead. He struck out the side in order in the top of the sixth then scored Rhett Rutledge on a sacrifice for a final score of 8-3. 

In addition to being a stud on the diamond, he's also the starting quarterback on the State Runner-Up football team where he threw 99-185-8-1767 for 18 touchdowns, as well as 5 rushing touchdowns. 

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 come from behind for 8-3 victory over Coconino at Best of the West Tournament

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team (6-2) finished their run at the Best of the West tournament in Phoenix with an 8-3 come from behind victory over Coconino (2-11). The Flagstaff, Arizona team lead 3-1 going into the bottom of the fourth, but the Sandites' bats exploded in the fifth and sixth for three runs in each.

Hunter Greathouse (1-0) got his first win on the mound this season, pitching nine strikeouts and only giving up three hits. 

Coconino took an early lead with a run from Turner Gasperone, who was walked by Greathouse and batted in on a sacrifice by Rylee Snopek in the first inning. Greathouse struck out Marcus Romo and Cristo Tabares, stranding Trevor Bong, who singled.

The Sandites retaliated quickly as Treyce Tolbert and Rhett Rutledge singled and were joined on base by Jake Ward who was struck by the pitch. Joey Montgomery scored Tolbert, but was outed with Ward in a double play groundball scoop from Gasperone at short to Damien Kern at second to Snopek at first. Greathouse grounded out to second and the Panthers came in to bat tied up at 1-1.

Coconino grounded out two and Greathouse struck out Luke Nelson to bring the Sandites back in with no hits, no runs, and no errors, but they were unable to capitalize on a Josh Taber single as he was caught stealing second. Trevor Tolbert struck out looking and Jake Terry grounded out to third to bring the inning to a close.

Gasperone singled again for the Panthers, but was left stranded on second as Greathouse struck out the final two batters. The Sandites then stranded Rhett Rutledge (single) and Ward (hit by pitch).

Greathouse hit Snopek and gave up a single to Tabares to start the fourth and the runners advanced on a sacrifice by Braydon Wong. Todd Furr reached first on a fielder's choice as Trevor Tolbert put out Snopek at home. Cristian Casados replaced Todd Furr, Ty Furr replaced Tabares, and the bases were loaded as Nelson was walked. Greathouse walked Wes Garner and Gasperone to score Ty Furr and Casados and the Panthers were up 3-1. Romo reached on a dropped third strike, but Nelson was put out at home to end the Panther offense.

Greathouse singled in the bottom of the fourth and was replaced on base by Tyler McCallie. McCallie made it to third on a Josh Taber single, then came home on a Trevor Tolbert sacrifice. Terry singled with a groundball to short, but was caught stealing second. Taber was stranded as Ty Fain lined out to short. 

Coconino's next three batters grounded out and the Sandites finally found the momentum they needed in the bottom of the fifth. Treyce Tolbert flied out to start, but Rutledge hit a hard groundball to left field for a single. Ward was hit by pitch for the third time (OUCH!) and Montgomery was struck out. Greathouse singled to load the bases with two outs. Mack Thompson replaced Ward, McCallie replaced Greathouse, and Rutledge walked in as Taber was hit by pitch. The Panthers replaced Nelson on the mound with Romo, to little avail, as Trevor Tolbert singled to score Thompson and McCallie. Taber was stranded as Terry grounded out to short, but the Sandites had a 5-3 lead.

Greathouse struck out the side in the top of the sixth. Fain was walked, Treyce Tolbert reached on an error, Rutledge singled to score Fain, then Ward singled to score Tolbert. Mongomery was hit by pitch to load the bases and was replaced by Cody Motes. The Panthers changed pitchers again, this time to Snopek. Greathouse sacrificed to score Rutledge for a final score of 8-3. The game ended with the bases loaded as Trevor Tolbert was walked, but Terry grounded out.

The Sandites went 3-2 in the spring break tournament with losses of 7-0 and 2-1 to Sunrise Mountain and Chaparral High, respectively, and wins of 3-1 and 14-2 over Greenway High and Notre Dame Prep. 

Sandite Baseball run-rules Notre Dame Prep 14-2 in 5 innings

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Jake Ward is undefeated from the mound this season.

Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School (5-2) varsity baseball team got off to a rough start in the Best of the West tournament in Phoenix, Arizona, this week, dropping two of their first three games to bring their undefeated streak to an end. They seem to be back on track, however, after dominating Notre Dame Prep (6-8) with ten runs in the first three innings Tuesday evening. 

The Scottsdale, Arizona team came into the game 1-2 for the tournament, the same as Sand Springs, with losses to Westmoore and Edmond Santa Fe, and a 15-5 win over Yukon. 

Jake Ward (3-0) remains undefeated on the mound after pitching 67% strikes for six strikeouts,  four hits, one walk, and zero earned runs.

Treyce Tolbert was walked to start the first. Rhett Rutledge flied out to centerfield and Tolbert stole second while Ward struck out swinging. Joey Montgomery reached on an error and scored Tolbert and was replaced on base by Cody Motes. Hunter Greathouse doubled and Motes reached third, then Josh Taber singled to score Motes. Greathouse stole home with Trevor Tolbert at bat, then Tolbert doubled to score Taber. He was caught stealing third with Jake Terry at bat, however, and the Saints came in trailing 4-0.

Luke Patty and Nathan Pierce singled for the Saints, but both were left stranded to end the inning. 

Terry, a University of Oklahoma commit, was hit by a pitch to start the second inning, followed by Mack Thompson with a walk. Treyce Tolbert singled to score Terry, Rutledge sacrificed to advance the runners on base, then Ward batted in Tolbert with a single. Ty Fain replaced Ward on base and advanced to second off a Montgomery single. Montgomery was replaced by Motes. Fain scored on a Greathouse single, then both Motes and Greathouse scored on a center field double from Trevor Tolbert. 

The Saints stranded two in the second inning and didn't get another hit till the bottom of the fifth. Sand Springs stranded Rutledge in the top of the third, but came out for another explosive inning in the fourth.

Riley Rutledge singled, Kameron Adcock walked, and Trevor Tolbert (a Southwestern Christian University signee) brought in Rutledge with a line drive single to center field. Terry tripled to center field scoring Adcock and Tolbert, then was batted in on a sacrifice from Fain for a 14-0 advantage.

The Sandites stranded Tyler McCallie (running for Ward, who walked) in the top of the fifth. Notre Dame finally reached base on a Riley Rutledge error and Orrie Tawes came home on a Jarrett Pille double for the first run of the game for the Saints. Pille came in on a sacrifice, but the inning would come to a close soon after and the Sandites were back in the win column with their biggest victory of the season thus far. 

Chaparral Firebirds edge out Sandite Baseball 2-1 at Best of the West

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Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (4-2) gave up their second loss of the season 2-1 to Chaparral High (11-2) at the Best of the West tournament in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday. 

Josh Cordell (0-1) got the loss on the mound for the Sandites in his first time pitching this season. He gave up six hits, two walks, and two runs, but struck out three and threw 65% strikes. 

Neither team got off a hit in the first inning. Tyler Stokes was walked for the Firebirds, but was picked off at first base. Joey Montgomery reached first on an error to start the second, then stole second on another error with Hunter Greathouse at bat and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly, but was ultimately left stranded as both Josh Taber and Jake Terry were put out on right field flies. 

Chaparral stranded one in the second and Page stranded Treyce Tolbert in the top of the third. In the bottom of the inning Ian McMillan singled to left field, stole second with Stokes at bat, and was batted home on a Jacob Gonzalez single. Gonzalez and Stokes, who was walked, were both left stranded by Harrison Jones, but the Firebirds had a 1-0 lead going into the fourth.

Jake Ward singled to start the fourth, but Montgomery, Greathouse, and Taber all flied out to bring in Chaparral for another successful offensive performance.

Alex Segal hit a lead-off double, followed by Hampton with a bunt single. Gianni Tomasi batted in Segal on a sacrifice fly to right field for the second run of the game, and that was all the Firebirds would need.

Tyler McCallie doubled with a hard grounder to left field and was batted in on a line drive double by Treyce Tolbert. By that point the Sandites had two outs and Tolbert was stranded on a fly by Rhett Rutledge.

The Sandites fielded three outs to end the inning and came in for a big rally attempt. Ward struck out swinging, but Montgomery doubled to right field and courtesy runner Mack Thompson reached third on a grounder from Greathouse. Kameron Adcock replaced Greathouse and Taber was walked to load the bases with one out. Thompson was caught stealing, however, and Jake Terry struck out swinging to strand the Sandite rally attempt along with two runners. 

Cordell struck out two in the bottom of the sixth, but none of the Sandites landed on base to start the seventh and the Firebirds walked away with their third win of the tournament.



Sandite Baseball drops first loss to Sunrise Mountain

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Joey Montgomery, who has played catcher most of the season, pitched his first game of the year Monday afternoon in Phoenix.

Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sandite streak came to an end in Phoenix, Arizona Monday afternoon as the previously undefeated Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (4-1) was shut out 7-0 by Sunrise Mountain (9-5) of Peoria, Arizona.

The Sunrise Mountain Mustangs exploded for five runs in the first inning and Sand Springs was unable to recover from the heavy early deficit.

Treyce Tolbert singled in the top of the first but Jake Ward grounded out on a double play to second base. Joey Montgomery (0-1) pitched all six innings for the Sandites. He walked Hunter Lessard, pitched a single to Michael Herrera, and walked Kyler Riordan to load the bases. Treyce Tolbert caught out Lucas Wall in center field, but Nick Brauns batted in Lessard on a single to take a 1-0 lead with the bases still loaded. Tyler Hill brought in Herrera with a single, then Grant Dowty doubled on a line drive to left field and scored Riordan, Brauns, and Hill. Tyler Pruitt flied out to Treyce Tolbert, Daniel Partida was hit by a pitch, but Dowty and Partida were left stranded as Lessard grounded out to Montgomery.

The next three innings were uneventful. The Sandites didn't get a single hit till Ty Fain singled in the top of the sixth. Fain was walked in the top of the third, Trevor Tolbert was walked in the fifth, but neither scored. 

Lessard grounded to third and reached first on an error by Hunter Greathouse and Riordan was walked in the bottom of the fourth, but both were stranded. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Brauns reached first on an error by Trevor Tolbert and was replaced by Albertson who stole second on a wild pitch, took third on a Dowty single, and stole home with Pruitt at bat. 

In the sixth, Partida was hit by a pitch and scored on a right field double by Riordan. Ward flied out to start the seventh. Montgomery was walked, then put out on a double play as Greathouse hit a line drive to short to end the game. 


Sandite of the Week: Trevor Tolbert

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School senior Trevor Tolbert as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance against Booker T Washington last week at OneOK field.

Tolbert is signed with Southwestern Christian University in Bethany, Oklahoma, and is the son of Jason and Deena Tolbert. His cousin, Treyce, also plays for Sandite baseball.

Tolbert, who currently owns a .250 batting average for the season, batted two-for-two last Monday for two RBIs off a single and a triple and scored one run. He sits at a .500 slugging average and a .454 OBP with five putouts and five assists for the season.

The Sandites have won their first four games by a combined score of 22-5, including a 3-1 upset of Greenway High who run-ruled them twice in a double-header last season. 

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.