Taber and Pennington pitch like pros in double-header shutouts of Sapulpa

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

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The fast-pitch softball edition of the Highway 97 Rivalry went to Charles Page High School (9-3, 4-0) Thursday evening at the Sandite Softball Complex. The Sandites won back-to-back games against the Sapulpa Chieftains (1-9, 0-4); both by shutout, one by run-rule.

Senior Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington (3-0) pitched a no-hitter in game one and sophomore Jacie Taber (4-1) struck out a career-best ten batters in game two and only gave up one hit.

The first game was a slow starter, but finished on a high note for the Sandites. Felicity Horn scored on an error in the bottom of the first, but the home team didn't find home plate again till the bottom of the fifth when Madelyn Blair singled to score Jessica Collins. Blair advanced to score on a throw. Freshman Sabrina Usher added a double, but was left stranded after stealing third. 

In the bottom of the sixth Sapulpa changed pitchers from Jessica Hobbs to Taylor Acree. Hobbs finished with four hits, two earned runs, and five walks over five innings. 

The pitching change did little to stem the Sandite tide as Cameron Clemons singled, Rachel Blair reached on a failed fielder's choice, and Horn was walked to load the bases. Collins grounded out to score Clemons, and Pennington doubled to score Blair and Horn. 

Acree finished with two hits, three earned runs, and one walk over one inning. Pennington had no hits, three strikeouts, and four walks over seven innings. 

Sapulpa put two on base in the first inning of game two. Pitcher Ally Zanca reached on a dropped third strike and Hobbs was walked, but the Sandites pulled out of it and piled on runs in the bottom of the inning.

Horn doubled, Collins singled, and both scored on a passed ball with Pennington at bat. Madelyn Blair was walked and Usher doubled. Kimi Presnell scored Blair on a single and Taber scored Usher and Presnell on a single for the 5-0 advantage.

Taber struck out two in the top of the second and one in the third. Horn was left stranded after a single in the second, and Sapulpa stranded two in the third. Kali Husman smacked a double for the lone Chieftain hit of the evening and Acree was hit by pitch.

Sand Springs added two more runs in the bottom of the third. Usher reached on error, Presnell reached on a fielder's choice that outed Madelyn Blair, and Taber singled to load the bases. Clemons hit a double to bring in Usher and Presnell, but was stranded.

Taber added two more strikeouts to her resume in the fourth inning and Pennington and Madelyn Blair both singled but were left on base. Taber struck out the side in order in the top of the fifth and Sandites came home to win it on run rule.

Taber doubled, Rachel Blair singled, and Makenna Skaggs scored Taber with a single. Collins reached on a failed fielder's choice that allowed Blair to score, and Skaggs scored after tagging up on a flyout by Madelyn Blair to end the game 10-0. 

Taber finished with ten strikeouts, one hit, and only one walk over five innings. Zanca pitched thirteen hits, one strikeout, and two walks over four and a half innings. 

The Lady Sandites return to action Friday at the Rogers State Festival in Claremore. They will play the Muskogee Roughers (3-1) at 7:00 p.m. and Pryor (7-3) at 8:30 p.m.

Sapulpa will take a break till the 27th when they will play Checotah (5-6) and Mustang (9-2) at the Stillwater OSU Festival.

Lady Sandite Volleyball heads to Coweta Tournament this weekend

Photo:\\MORGAN MILLER

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-3) will compete in their first tournament this weekend. The Lady Sandites will travel to Coweta High School Friday morning for an eight team competition beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites started the season with back-to-back wins over opponents who dominated them in years past. The Muskogee Roughers (1-2) fell 3-1 to the Sandites in the season opener and next to go down were the Catoosa Indians (1-2). The Lady Indians were Regional Champions last year, but fell in straight sets to Sand Springs.

The ladies gave the defending 5A State Champions from Bishop Kelley a run for their money before falling 3-2 Monday night. Tuesday they were defeated 3-0 by the 6A State Runners-Up from Jenks (7-2) and Thursday they fell in sets of 22-25, 16-25, and 21-25 to Ponca City (5-4).

The girls will look to get back in the win column Friday when they take on yet another State Finalist in 5A Heritage Hall (0-4). At 11:00 a.m. Catoosa will get a rematch, at 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will play Coweta (1-1), and at 3:00 p.m. they will take on the Edison Eagles (2-3). 

On Saturday the Sandites will return to action with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (4-3) followed immediately by an 11:00 a.m. match against Tahlequah (0-0) and a 1:00 p.m. match against Claremore (2-2).

After pool play concludes, all eight teams will compete in the bracket competition. There will be two brackets, each beginning at 3:00 p.m. The second round will be played at 4:00 p.m. and the championship match will be played at 5:00 p.m. Each match will be decided by the best two out of three sets with the first two sets capped at 30 points and the third set played to 15 points with no cap. 

Sandite Volleyball falls 3-2 to Bishop Kelley, Mutiri scores 29 kills

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-1) got off to a great start against the Bishop Kelley JV Red, winning two sets before the host team rallied for the win. 

Bishop Kelley is last year's 5A State Championship team, and boasts a record seventeen State Titles, including thirty consecutive Regional Championships. The last two years that Sand Springs played the Bishop Kelley JV, they were defeated 3-0. Last year the Sandites never scored more than 20 points in a set, and in 2014 they only managed to break 10 points in a single set against the annual powerhouse.

The Lady Sandite program is clearly in an impressive turnaround under Head Coach Janna Green's third year at the helm. The last two years they opened to back-to-back losses. This year they won their first two matches over teams they lost to last year and gave Bishop Kelley a run for their money.

The Lady Sandites won the first set in a back-and-forth thriller, 25-22. The game was tied seven different times and every time Sand Springs worked up a decent lead, the Comets would rally to tie things up. Kelley took an early 5-3 lead before junior standout Gloria Mutiri scored six kills in eight rallies for a 10-6 advantage. The Comets tied it back up at 11-11 but Sand Springs regained the lead and held it till the Comets scored a six-pack on Makenna Cypert to tie it at 19-19. Freshman Madison Burris was crucial in the final rallies, setting up Mutiri for a kill to make it 23-21, then assisting on a block on the next rally. 

Sand Springs got off to a great start in the second game, winning the first six rallies via Bishop Kelley errors, and capped it off with an ace from Mutiri for the 7-0 lead. The Sandites held the lead for the entire set, despite a five-straight streak from the Comets bringing it to a close 17-12, and ultimately won 25-16.

The Comets pulled a complete about-face in the third game, taking a 5-0 lead. Mutiri scored six kills in the set and sophomore Holly Kersgieter added three more, but the Comets prevailed 25-14. 

Game four was hotly contested and saw the two teams tied up eight separate times. Freshman Devree Youngblood started things off with an ace, Kersgieter and Mutiri combined on a block, and the Sandites led 4-2 before the Comets scored their first kill. Bishop Kelley scored again on free ball with no hands on deck from the Sandites to tie it at 4-4. The Lady Sandites picked up two more points on errors and Mutiri added an ace for the 7-4 advantage.

Sand Springs worked up a 17-12 advantage thanks to a pair of blocks from Mutiri and a kill from Kylie Taylor, but the Comets battled back to a close 17-16. Mutiri and MaKenzie Ward combined on a block to try and build some cushion, but Kelley won the next three rallies for the lead. Ultimately the Comets won 25-23.

Sand Springs never led in the final set and Bishop Kelley won 15-9.

Mutiri led in scoring for the match with a season-best 29 kills, including five solo blocks, four block assists, and two aces. Kersgieter added twelve kills with four block assists. MaKenzie Ward registered the most assists with fifteen, followed by Burris with five. 

Next up for the Sandites is a Tuesday evening Home match against Jenks (5-2) at 6:00 p.m.

SEE RELATED: Sand Springs vs Bishop Kelley Volleyball Photo Gallery

Sydney Pennington rips Putnam North from the mound, Sandites win 3-1

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Senior Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington (1-0) needed a few at-bats to warm up her pitching game Friday, but once she got going she was unstoppable. Pennington pitched seven strikeouts, gave up only four hits, and scored a run to lead the Charles Page High School varsity softball team (3-2) to victory at the Broken Arrow Tournament Friday evening.

The Lady Sandites split the first two games of the day, falling 2-1 to the eventual tournament champions from Owasso, but getting revenge on last year's State Champions with a 4-1 victory over Choctaw. Choctaw defeated Sand Springs 4-3 in the State Finals last year. 

The Putnam City North game was a slow starter for both teams as Felicity Horn and Rachel Blair struck out swinging in the first inning. Pennington walked Lorren Kromer in her first appearance on the mound this season and gave up a single to Steffany Dickerson before finding her groove and striking out Meridee Lawson. 

Senior Jessica Collins registered the first hit of the game for the Sandites in the top of the second but was left stranded. The Lady Panthers nearly got on the board in the bottom of the third. Kromer hit a single, advanced to second as Lawson was walked, advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was caught stealing home to end the inning. 

The Sandites broke their dry spell in the top of the fourth as Pennington singled on a hard ground ball into left field. Madelyn Blair hit what should have been a sacrifice bunt, but an overthrow error to first gave Pennington enough time to clear home plate and Blair reached second. Jacie Taber hit a single to advance Blair to third, and freshman Sabrina Usher brought them both home with a single of her own for the 3-0 advantage.

The Lady Panthers got on the board in the bottom of the fifth as Sydni Gibbs reached second on an error, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on an error that allowed Maleina Fortin to reach first. Fortin nearly scored but was tagged out at home by Horn. 

Undefeated Sandite Volleyball shuts down Catoosa in straight sets

Photo by: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team is off to a great start this year, winning their first two matches by substantial margins. Entering their third year under Head Coach Janna Green, the two seniors on the team got to play against their former head coach in Caleb Horton Thursday night at their home debut against Catoosa. 

The teams took to the road Tuesday for the season-opener and defeated Muskogee (1-1) three sets to one. Varsity won the first game 27-25, lost the second 19-25, but rebounded with solid and decisive wins of 25-19 and 25-21 to secure the win. The JV squad lost their match 2-1 with sets of 18-25, 25-19, and 10-15. The freshman team lost 21-25 and 19-25. 

In their first home match the Lady Sandites took on Catoosa (0-1) and swept all sets at all divisions. The 4A State Quarterfinalists were little match for the vastly improved Sand Springs program that Green has been building. This time last year the Lady Sandites were 0-2 and were dominated 3-0 by both Catoosa and Muskogee.

Sand Springs got off to a fast 3-0 lead and doubled the Lady Indians throughout the game. The Sandites built up a 12-6 lead thanks to hard-hitting attacks from Gloria Mutiri and Lee Leslie. Freshman Tiffany Maxey scored an ace for the Indians but they were unable  to capitalize on it and the Sandites surged forward for a 25-13 finish after a kill from Mutiri.

In game two the Indians were the ones to take the lead after a series of Sandite faults gave up the first four points to Catoosa. Devree Youngblood and MaKenzie Ward combined for a hard block to get the Sandites back on track and the competitive matchup continued till the teams were tied 8-8. Sand Springs took their first lead off a block from Mutiri, but Catoosa's Melissa Velazquez tied things right back up. Mutiri reclaimed the lead before Makenna Cypert's overserve put it at 10-10. From then on Sand Springs never trailed, but the Indians did tie things up four more times before the home team ultimately pulled in the 25-21 win with a kill from Youngblood. 

The final set was another back-and-forth affair before Sand Springs blew ahead from a close 17-16 to a final score of 25-17.

Mutiri was the leading scorer for the evening with twenty-two total kills, including four blocks and two aces. Eleven of her kills came in the third game alone. Youngblood recorded seven kills and Leslie recorded six. Madison Burris and MaKenzie Ward were crucial in setting up the plays with seven and eleven assists, respectively. 

The JV and freshman teams also won their matches with sweeps. JV won sets of 25-16 and 25-17. The freshmen won 25-10 and 28-26.

The Sandites will return to action Monday at Bishop Kelley (1-0) then will play a home match against Jenks (3-1) on Tuesday. Thursday they'll travel to Ponca City (1-1) before wrapping up the week at the Catoosa Tournament Friday and Saturday. 

Sandite Softball trumps defending State Champions from Choctaw, 4-1

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (2-2) split their first two games at the Broken Arrow Tournament Friday morning. A knock-down drag-out game against Owasso ended in a 2-1 loss after being tied up at 1-1 for four innings. The next game started out the same as the first with Sand Springs taking an early lead before being tied up for several innings once again. This time, however, they were able to go-ahead for a 4-1 payback win over Choctaw, who defeated the Sandites 4-3 in the State Championship finals last year. 

Madelyn Blair (1-1) got the loss on the mound against Owasso, giving up nine hits against two strikeouts. The girls had a tough time getting on base, landing only two hits over the course of the game.

Senior Jessica Collins reached base in the bottom of the second after being hit by a pitch, then scored on an RBI double from freshman Sabrina Usher. The Lady Rams (2-0) quickly retaliated with an run in the top of the third, then took the lead in the top of the seventh for the win.

Jacie Taber (1-1) picked up her first win of the season against Choctaw, pitching five strikeouts against three walks and only two hits. 

The Lady Sandites took an early lead in the top of the first as Sydney Pennington reached on a fielder's choice and scored off an RBI double by Madelyn Blair. Janessa Larman got the Yellowjackets on the board with a sacrifice to score Brooke Edwards in the bottom of the second.

In the top of the fifth freshman Felicity Horn smacked a beautiful RBI double to score Cameron Clemons. Sydney Pennington hit her first homerun of the season in the top of the sixth and Collins sent a double into the left field fence to score Madelyn Blair for the fourth and final run. 

The defending State Champions threatened in the bottom of the sixth. Josie Swafford reached on an error at shortstop, Kennedy Henry drew a walk, and Lainee Brown reached on an error at second base to load the field with only one out. Haleigh Scott sent a big hit into the waiting glove of Horn in left field, and Taber struck out Megan McAffrey for the win.

The tournament is only playing to six innings. 

Weather pending, the Lady Sandites will take on Putnam City North (0-3) at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday they'll play Durant (2-0) at 9:00 a.m. and Edmond North (2-2) at 12:30 p.m. before beginning bracket play at 6:00 p.m.