Schuler, Blair hit two home runs each in 26-22 shootout loss to Jenks

View fullsize

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School slow-pitch softball team (0-2) had a rough start in the season opener Tuesday evening. Both Lady Sandite opponents had already played several games by the time the season started for Sand Springs and had a clear edge.

The girls dropped a 14-7 loss in the first game to No.8 Tahlequah (5-4). The Lady Sandites were undeterred by an early 5-0 deficit after the first inning and battled to tie things up 6-6 by the close of the fifth, but the Lady Tigers’ bats exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning for the win. Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington and Northeastern State University-signee Jessica Schuler both hit home runs.

Tahlequah played No.10 Jenks next and fell 10-8, then it was the Sandites’ turn to face the Lady Trojans (8-2). The Sandites landed 24 hits on 39 at bats, including six doubles and five homeruns. Schuler and Maddelyn Blair each hit two home runs, and Pennington added the fifth. 

Jenks put three on base in the first, two by walk, one by single, but two were stranded and the third was put out on a fielder’s choice to bring in the Sandites to bat.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University-signee Kennedy “Goose” Salyers reached on an error, Kimi Presnall doubled, and Pennington was walked to load the bases. Schuler popped out to second, but Jessica Collins singled to left field to bring in Salyers and Presnall for an early 2-0 lead. Maddelyn Blair flied out to left field next, then Stella Millican singled to right to score Pennington. Millican was then caught off base to bring Jenks in to bat.

The next at-bats for each team were no hitters but the top of the third saw Jenks take the lead. Reagan Berkinshaw reached on an error, Ally Ryan doubled, and Catheryn Rodman was walked to load the bases. Kate Kouplen hit the centerfield fence for a 2RBI single, Bree Baker doubled on an error to score Rodman, Ayanna Upchurch sacrificed to score Kouplen, and Aubrey Lewellen sacrificed to score Baker for a 5-3 lead.

Pennington hit her second homerun of the evening to score Presnall, who singled, and tied things up 5-5, then Schuler hit her second homerun for the lead. Collins and Millican walked and Kalli Mallory singled to load the bases and Rachel Blair singled to bring in Collins and Millican. Blair was forced out at second on the next play and the home team had taken an 8-5 lead.

The Lady Trojans scored two in the top of the fourth as Baker singled to score Rodman and Memory Duncan walked in on loaded bases, but the Sandites retaliated quickly and effectively. Salyers singled, Presnall doubled, and Collins singled to score Saylers. Maddelyn Blair hit her second homer of the night to score Presnall and Collins. Millican doubled and came home on a Cameron Clemmons single for a 13-7 advantage.

Rodman smacked a triple to score Delaney Knorr and Ryan in the top of the fifth, then the Trojans pitched a no-hitter to come in for their glory inning. With winds gusting at over 20 MPH, Millican was having a hard time pitching anything but balls, and the Trojan batters refused to swing. Six straight batters were walked without swinging once. Then, Berkinshaw doubled to score loaded bases. Ryan walked after that and the Sandites changed pitchers to Schuler. The pitching change did little to alter the offensive slaughter, however, and the Jenks bats came alive.

Rodman singled to load the bases, Kouplen singled in Berkinshaw, and Baker singled in Ryan. Ayanna Upchurch singled in Rodman, Brenlyn McCoy singled in Kouplen and Baker, and Duncan singled to load the bases. Finkenstaedt walked in Upchurch, Knorr walked in McCoy, and Berkinshaw sacrificed to score Duncan and Finkenstaedt. Henderson sacrificed to score Knorr, then Rodman hit a homer for a 26-13 advantage before the streak finally came to an end as Kouplen was put out at first.

Down by 13 runs, there was little hope for the Sandites, but nobody told them that. Pennington singled and came in on yet another homerun by Schuler. Collins singled and came in on Maddy Blair’s third homerun of the game and the Sandites were down 26-17 by the end of the sixth.

Schuler gave up only two hits in the seventh and no runs. Jacie Taber singled to left field but was put out on a fielder’s choice off a Salyers hit. The Trojans tried for a double play but over threw first and Salyers was able to double. Presnall hit a flyball for a single on error, and Penington walked to load the bases. Schuler walked to score Salyers, then Collins doubled to score all three runners on base. Millican sacrificed to score Kellie Johnson, the courtesy runner for Collins. Clemons doubled but was ultimately left stranded as Rachel Blair flied out to center.

Millican, who is signed to play for Mid-American Christian University, got the loss for both games. The 26-22 loss was the highest scoring game in years for the Lady Sandites, who return to action Thursday at 5:00 pm against 5A No.13 Berryhill (4-4). 

Bixby comes from behind for 8-3 victory over Sandite Baseball

View fullsize

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief 

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (13-4) met with the Bixby Spartans (13-3) for the fourth time in a week and this time their rival got the win, splitting the series 2-2. During the Bixby Tournament pool play the Spartans won 4-1, but the Sandites spoiled things for the hosts with a 10-6 championship victory the next evening. Monday night the Spartans traveled to Sand Springs for a district game that the home team won 8-7, but when the Sandites traveled to Bixby Tuesday the Spartans exploded in the sixth inning for a come-from-behind 8-3 victory.

Junior University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (4-1) got his first loss on the mound of the season, giving up seven hits, eight walks, and six earned runs with two unearned runs and eight strikeouts. Fellow junior University of Oklahoma-commit Cade Cavalli got the win for the Spartans. As their record indicates, both teams are very close in talent with the Spartans leading the series scoring 25 runs to 22.

Both teams landed a single hit in the first inning and both runners were put out in double plays. Sand Springs did the same in the top of the second, but Bixby got in a run as Cavalli walked and came in on a Matthew Henderson single to strike first blood.

The Sandites weren’t content to play from behind, however, and scored two in the top of the third. Tyler McCallie and Mack Thompson were walked and McCallie scored on a fielding error off a Treyce Tolbert single. Sandite of the Week Rhett Rutledge sacrificed a grounder to short to score Thompson for the 2-1 lead.

Bixby stranded two walks in the bottom of the third but got another go at bat after Cavalli struck out the side in order to top the fourth. This time they landed a single by Jeremy Goodwin and Cole Parker was hit by pitch. Pinch runner Levi Harper scored on an error by Joey Montgomery to tie things up, but Terry struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

McCallie led off with a double to left field for the top of the fifth and scored on a Thompson bunt and error by Goodwin at third. Bixby stranded two in the fifth, pitched a no hitter in the top of the sixth, and finally reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth.

Goodwin singled to right field and was replaced by courtesy runner Kyler Herron. Parker reached on error but was caught stealing second. Braden Hackler reached on a fielder’s choice that failed to put out Herron and instead scored him. Gavin Staton singled to score Hackler, Breydon Daniel walked, then Staton scored on a Tanner Griffin single. Cavalli hit another double to score Daniel and the Sandites sent Josh Cordell (0-1) to the mound. Nic Swanson singled to score Griffin and Cavalli but the next two batters were put out. By the time the frenzy was over the Sandites were in an 8-3 hole.

Griffin went to the mound for the Spartans and pitched a no-hitter to secure the win in the top of the seventh.

The Sandites will return to action Friday at 4:00pm in a home game against Highway 97 rival Sapulpa (1-9), whom they already defeated 7-2 in the second game of the season.

Sandite soccer splits with Booker T: girls win 2-0, boys fall 4-1

View fullsize

Story and photo by: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

It has been a troubling year so far for the Charles Page High School Varsity Boys soccer team, who came into Tuesday night's game with a record of just 1-4. The Booker T. Washington Varsity Boys came into the first game of district play with a much better record of 3-0 and looked very formidable coming in. 

The Hornets got off to a hot start with Senior captains Zach Canady and Joseph Cuellar each scoring a goal to put their squad up 2-0. The visiting team's defense stifled the Sandite offense for nearly the entirety of the first half, until Senior forward Cody Gurley corralled a loose ball and fired a shot that squeaked by Hornet keeper Zac Haney. The Sandite goal came in the 39th minute and cut the lead in half going into the break. 

The second half would see a more aggressive Sandite offense, as they made far more trips into the box. Sand Springs nearly evened the game in the 50th minute when a left footed strike hit the right post and shot out of bounds. That would be as close as they would get though as Max Pettett, a sophomore midfielder, netted a header in the 63rd minute and Cuellar scored his second goal of the match on a penalty in the 66th to seal things for Booker T. 

The loss puts the Sandites at 1-5 (0-1) on the year and the Hornets continue their undefeated start at 4-0 (1-0). Charles Page will play next April 1-2 at the Edison Tournament. 

---

The Charles Page and Booker T Washington girls soccer teams both entered the district opener with records well over .500 for the year. The Lady Hornets carried an undefeated record of 4-0 with them into Memorial Stadium to face the Lady Sandites who boasted a record of 4-1 on the season. The lone Sand Springs loss came at the hands of Metro Christian Academy by a score of 1-0, but Bobby Behrens's girls have gotten back on track beating Enid 5-0 and Bixby 2-1. 

Sand Springs took a major hit offensively coming in, as Senior captain and leading goal scorer Kayla Foster was unable to play due to injury. Foster has scored 7 goals in the first 5 games, including a pair of hat tricks. 

The Lady Hornets made a strong run at goal in the opening minute as Freshman forward Lauren Cousins played a ball in to fellow freshman midfielder McKenna Raley who took a shot that went just wide to the right of the goal. That would prove to be the only shot of the half for Booker T. as the two teams would simply trade possession for the remainder of the half. The Lady Sandites managed one shot midway through the opening 40 minutes, and it came on a Brooklyn Eardley free kick that sailed well over the top of the goal. 

Both teams seemed to really pick up the pace in the second half as they traded shots for the first 20 minutes with Sandite keeper Abigail Banks making a key stop on a shot by Cousins. Sand Springs finally found pay dirt in the 64th minute when Eardley collected a loose ball on the left sideline, cut past her defender towards goal, took a couple of touches and stroked a shot inside post past the keeper. Kyndal Zicker got in on the fun as the junior contributed with her 5th goal of the season coming in the 76th minute.  The Lady Hornets refused to give up though, as Cousins and the offense continued to press forward and get off shots, but Banks and the Sandite back line stood strong and completed the shutout. It was Banks's fourth clean sheet of the year and the girls's third straight victory. 

The victory moves the Sandite girls to 5-1 (1-0) and the Lady Hornets fall to 4-1 (0-1). Sand Springs will play this weekend, April 1-2 at the Edison tournament.

Lady Sandite Softball drops season slow-pitch opener to Tahlequah

View fullsize

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.15 ranked Charles Page High School varsity slow pitch softball team (0-1) got off to a rough start in the season opener, dropping a 14-7 home loss to No.8 Tahlequah (5-3).

Senior Mid-American Christian University-signee Stella Millican got the start and loss on the mound.

The Lady Tigers took a quick 5-0 lead in the first inning and pitched a no hitter to come in and smack a homer in the second to make it 6-0. Jessica Collins was able to land a double in the bottom of the inning but was ultimately stranded on third. 

Neither team scored in the third inning, but the Sandites finally got on board in the bottom of the fourth as Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington doubled and came in on a single by Maddelyn Blair.

The Sandites held the Tigers scoreless in the fifth as well, and tied things up as Rachel Blair reached on a fielder's choice and came home on a Kennedy "Goose" Salyers triple. Salyers is signed to play for Southeastern Oklahoma State University in the fall. Freshman Kimi Presnall singled to bring in Salyers, Pennington doubled, and Northeastern State University-signee Jessica Schuler batted both runners in on a 3RBI Homerun. Collins doubled, but was left stranded as the Tigers came in to bat tied up 6-6.

The Tigers scored one run in the top of the sixth and held the home team scoreless before exploding in the seventh. Four batters were walked, errors abounded, and the Tigers scored a 2RBI double and a 3RBI homerun for a 14-6 lead. The Sandites tried to rally as Pennington homered, Schuler was walked, and Collins singled, but the two on base were stranded as Tahlequah brought home the 14-7 victory.

Lady Sandite Soccer deal Booker T first loss of the season for third straight win

View fullsize

Story by: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page and Booker T Washington girls soccer teams both entered the district opener with records well over .500 for the year. The Lady Hornets carried an undefeated record of 4-0 with them into Memorial Stadium to face the Lady Sandites who boasted a record of 4-1 on the season. The lone Sand Springs loss came at the hands of Metro Christian Academy by a score of 1-0, but Bobby Behrens's girls have gotten back on track beating Enid 5-0 and Bixby 2-1. 

Sand Springs took a major hit offensively coming in, as Senior captain and leading goal scorer Kayla Foster was unable to play due to injury. Foster has scored 7 goals in the first 5 games, including a pair of hat tricks. 

The Lady Hornets made a strong run at goal in the opening minute as Freshman forward Lauren Cousins played a ball in to fellow freshman midfielder McKenna Raley who took a shot that went just wide to the right of the goal. That would prove to be the only shot of the half for Booker T. as the two teams would simply trade possession for the remainder of the half. The Lady Sandites managed one shot midway through the opening 40 minutes, and it came on a Brooklyn Eardley free kick that sailed well over the top of the goal. 

Both teams seemed to really pick up the pace in the second half as they traded shots for the first 20 minutes with Sandite keeper Abigail Banks making a key stop on a shot by Cousins. Sand Springs finally found pay dirt in the 64th minute when Eardley collected a loose ball on the left sideline, cut past her defender towards goal, took a couple of touches and stroked a shot inside post past the keeper. Kyndal Zicker got in on the fun as the junior contributed with her 5th goal of the season coming in the 76th minute.  The Lady Hornets refused to give up though, as Cousins and the offense continued to press forward and get off shots, but Banks and the Sandite back line stood strong and completed the shutout. It was Banks's fourth clean sheet of the year and the girls's third straight victory. 

The victory moves the Sandite girls to 5-1 (1-0) and the Lady Hornets fall to 4-1 (0-1). Sand Springs will play this weekend, April 1-2 at the Edison tournament.

Sandites come from behind for 8-7 victory over Spartans, McCallie and Mongtomery hit homers

View fullsize

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sandites (15-3) and Spartans (12-3) went head to head for the third time in under a week in a district match up at Sand Springs Tuesday night. The Charles Page High School baseball team trailed for most of the game, frequently tying it up, but didn't take the lead till the final pitch of the game. 

In the Bixby Tournament Friday night the Spartans defeated the Sandites 4-1 but Sand Springs retaliated with a 10-6 victory for the tournament championship Saturday night to end the Spartans' ten-game win streak. 

In Monday night's home game the Sandites gave up a 2-0 lead to the Spartans in the first and had to fight from bottom for the duration of the game. Jake Ward got the start on the mound and hit the first two batters with the pitch to walk them. Tanner Griffin sacrificed to bring home Gavin Staton and Cade Cavalli sacrificed to score Breydon Daniel before the Sandites fielded a third out.

The Sandites returned the favor in the bottom of the inning as Sandite of the Week Rhett Rutledge reached on a fielder's choice and Hunter Greathouse singled to bring him home. Then, Greathouse came home on a passed ball to even the score.

The second inning was a no-hitter for both teams, but Bixby reclaimed their lead in the third as Staton doubled on an error and came home on a Daniel single. Once more the Sandites weren't content to leave an inning in the hole and Rutledge doubled before coming in on a wild pitch. 

In the top of the fourth AJ Parker and Braden Hackler both singled and Staton walked to load the bases. Daniel struck out but Griffin singled to score Parker for the 4-3 lead. Ward struck out Cavalli and Nic Swanson as well. 

Tyler McCallie hit his first home-run of the season in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game back up but once more the Spartans reclaimed the lead as Jeremy Goodwin stole home in the next inning. This time the Sandites would fail to land a hit and remained in the hole going into the sixth.

Daniel lined out to Rutledge at short to start the sixth and Griffin grounded out to Rutledge. Then, Cade Cavalli went to bat and drew a walk. He survived three pickoff attempts before coming in on a double by Swanson, who in turn came in on a single by Matthew Henderson for a 7-4 lead.

The Sandites had their most impressive inning yet in the bottom of the sixth and Trevor Tolbert singled and came in on a Joey Montgomery home run. Mack Thompson singled and took second on a passed ball. Rutledge and Ward were both hit by pitch to load the bases. Thompson came home on a balk with Greathouse at bat to tie things up 7-7 but Greathouse flied out to right field to strand the runners. 

Brock Youngblood relieved Ward on the mound and pitched a no-hitter and it came down to the bottom of the seventh. Taber was walked, Trevor Tolbert flied out, Montgomery singled, McCallie grounded out, and Thompson walked to load the bases with two outs. Treyce Tolbert came to bat and was walked to score Taber for the win.

The Sandites return to action tomorrow evening, once more at Bixby.