Sandite Softball wins Regional Championship 7-5 over Stillwater

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (30-8) is headed to the State Championship for the second year in a row after winning their fourteenth Regional Championship in a three-game thriller against Stillwater (25-14). For the second year in a row the Lady Sandites had to battle their way up through the consolation bracket with a Thursday afternoon triple-header, and for the second year in a row they did it with style. 

After suffering a come-from-behind 9-7 loss to the Pioneers Wednesday evening, the Sandites scored a 5-2 victory over Claremore (12-23), then got payback on Stillwater with a 9-5 victory to force a tie-breaker. In the Regional Finals, the Sandites once again trumped their foes, this time 7-5.

It was a shootout from the beginning with Taylor Tuck, Morgan Rohwer, Taylor Lane, and Laikyn Anderson all singling. The latter two scored the first two and Hunter White was hit by pitch to load the bases. With two outs on the board, Oklahoma State committed shortstop Sydney Pennington caught an impressive line drive to put out Sage Fluty and save the inning. 

Freshman Felicity Horn made it as far as third base in the bottom of the first, singling and picking up a pair of sacrifices, but was left stranded. Alexis Hoang was hit by pitch in the top of the second but was also left stranded.  

The Sandites tied things up in the bottom of the second. Sabrina Usher reached on an error and Kimi Presnell singled. Both scored on a single from Madelyn Blair. 

Anderson sent a double into the centerfield fence and scored on a single from Sage Fluty to regain the lead at 3-2, but the Sandites surged ahead from there. 

Usher doubled in the bottom of the third to score Makenna Skaggs, then Presnell singled to score both Usher and Elizabeth Luttrell for the 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, Pennington sent a homerun over the centerfield fence to score Jessica Collins and make it 7-3. 

Neither team scored in the fifth or sixth innings and the Pioneers needed four runs in the seventh just to stay alive. It wasn't impossible, they had already beat the Sandites once with seven runs in the seventh.   Hoang was hit by pitch and scored on a sacrifice from Rohwer. Tuck hit a single and scored on a sacrifice from Lane. With two outs and Anderson on base, White hit a ground ball to Luttrell at first and the game was over, 7-5. 

Taber got the win on the mound with nine hits and four walks against three strikeouts.  

The Lady Sandites will travel to ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City next Thursday for round one of the Oklahoma 6A State Championship. Last year the girls made it all the way to the finals and lost 4-3 to Choctaw. 

Lady Sandites beat Stillwater 9-5, play Regional Championship at 5:00

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

After beating Claremore (12-23) twice in two days to stay alive in the Regional Tournament, the Charles Page High School varsity softball team (29-8) got a rematch with Stillwater (25-13) and prevailed 9-5. With both teams holding one loss to the other, they will play the deciding game of the Regional Championship at 5:00 p.m. 

The Sandites took the initial lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from freshman Sabrina Usher to score Sydney Pennington.  

The Lady Pioneers were quick to tie it up in the top of the second as Hunter White reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a throwing error from Felicity Horn to Elizabeth Luttrell. 

Stillwater took the lead in the top of the third thanks to a series of errors and walks. Julia Cottrill reached on an error by Jessica Collins and Alexis Hoang hit what should have been a bunt sacrifice but reached on an error by Luttrell. Taylor Tuck singled to load the bases and Laikyn Anderson was walked to score courtesy runner Landry Leming. White was hit by pitch on the next play to walk in Hoang for the 3-1 advantage. Luttrell averted further runs, catching a foul zone fly out and the Sandites came in to reclaim the lead.  

Pennington, an Oklahoma State commit, started off the bottom of the third with a fence hitting, ball-beating slide for a double and was joined on base by Jacie Taber who reached on error. Luttrell was next up with a fence hitting double to right field, scoring Pennington, then Usher hit a 2RBI double to bring both runners in and take the lead 4-3.  

Stillwater wasn't going down without a fight, and Hoang sent a Homerun over the centerfield fence to score Leming for the 5-4 advantage.  

The bottom of the fourth was plagued by errors for the Pioneers and Sand Springs capitalized. Collins reached on error, Pennington reached on fielder's choice, Taber reached on error, and Luttrell reached on error to score Pennington. Usher reached on a fielder's choice that outted Taber, but Usher and Luttrell both scored on a 2RBI double from Rachel Blair for the 7-5 advantage. 

Sand Springs switched pitchers from Madelyn Blair (12-2) to Taber (10-6) in the top of the fifth and gave up a pair of singles before finding their rhythm. 

Coming in to bat the bottom of the fifth, Horn singled and was joined on base Pennington with a walk. Both runners scored on a double from Taber for a 9-5 lead. Taber was stranded along with Luttrell.  

 Neither team fielded a hit in the sixth inning and it was on Stillwater to make some big plays in the seventh. Morgan Rohwer was hit by pitch to start things off, but her courtesy runner was put out on the pitch in a double play from Pennington to Luttrell. Taber wrapped things up with a strikeout of Anderson to secure the game. 

Blair got the win on the mound with five hits, three walks, and five runs. Taber finished with one strikeout, two hits, and one walk.  

Sandite Softball holds on for 5-2 playoff victory over Claremore

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (28-8) found themselves in the consolation bracket Thursday afternoon after a 9-7 loss to Stillwater (25-12) during the Regional Tournament. After beating Claremore (12-23) 8-0 in the first round of the tournament, the Sandites would need to beat them once more to get another shot at the Lady Pioneers. 

The Lady Zebras got on the board first with a run in the bottom of of the first, but the Sandites tied things up in the top of the second with a sacrifice by Kimi Presnell to score freshman Sabrina Usher.  

The first two Zebras to bat in the bottom of the second grounded out to Madelyn Blair at shortstop and Oklahoma State commit Sydney Pennington (6-0) got the strikeout to end the inning and bring in her team for another offensive. Freshman Felicity Horn reached on an error to start the third. Jessica Collins reached on a fielder's choice and Horn made second on an error. Pennington singled to load the bases, and Elizabeth Luttrell batted in Collins to make it 3-1.

Pennington had a hand in all three putouts in the top of the fourth, catching a line drive from Kayleigh Schumacher, fielding a bunt from Sam Johnson, and striking out Abbey Mayfield. The Sandites added another run in the bottom of the inning as Presnell singled and scored on a sacrifice bunt from Collins.

Pennington struck out two batters in the bottom of the fourth and Searra Collins grounded out to short. Jacie Taber hit a lead off double to start the fifth and scored on a single from Luttrell to make it 5-1. Luttrell was put out at second on a single from Usher, Presnell drew a walk, and Madelyn Blair singled to load the bases. All three runners were left stranded however. 

The game went into a dry spell from there with no runs till the bottom of the seventh as the Zebras staged a comeback attempt. Collins hit a lead off double, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a single from Alexis Williams. Pennington got a strikeout against Whisenhunt, but gave up a single to Reagan Jordan. Madelyn Blair (11-2) relieved Pennington on the mound and loaded the bases after hitting Schumacher with the pitch. Sam Johnson hit a pop fly to Horn at third and Blair struck out Abbey Mayfield to win the game 5-2.

The Sandites will take a brief reprieve to reset the field and will play a rematch with Stillwater. The Pioneers only need to beat Sand Springs once more to win the Region, but the Sandites will need back-to-back wins for the title. It's not an unfamiliar position for Sand Springs who made the comeback last year with four-straight wins after a round one loss. They won the region and went on to take second in State.

Stillwater defeats Sandites 9-7, Sandites must win 3-straight games to advance to State

Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (27-8) got off to a great start at Regionals Wednesday, shutting out Claremore (12-22) 8-0, then taking a 7-2 lead over Stillwater (25-12) into the seventh inning. The Lady Pioneers wouldn't go down without a fight, however, and rallied for seven runs in the seventh to put the game away and send Sand Springs to the consolation bracket where they will now have to win all three games of a triple-header to earn their way to the State Championship. 

Neither team landed a hit till the bottom of the third when the Sandites took a 2-0 lead. Madelyn Blair reached on an error at shortstop and was joined on base by freshman Felicity Horn who singled on a full count. Both runners scored on a double from Jessica Collins, who was joined by Sydney Pennington and Makenna Skaggs to load the bases. None of the runners would score, however, as Collins was put out at home and Skaggs was put out at second on a double play.

Pennington, an Oklahoma State University committed senior with a .564 batting average, was intentionally walked three times in the game and was never allowed to hit.

Stillwater tied things up in the top of the fourth with two hits and a trio of walks. After striking out Julia Cottrill, sophomore pitcher Jacie Taber (10-6) struck Alexis Hoang with the pitch, gave up a single to Taylor Tuck, and hit Morgan Rohwer with the pitch to load the bases. She then walked in a run and gave up a single to Laikyn Anderson to tie things up at 2-2. Rohwer was forced out at home on a fielder's choice, and Sage Fluty fried out to right field to bring in the Sandites.

The Lady Sandites exploded for three more runs in the bottom of the inning after Rachel Blair drew a walk, Presnell doubled, and Madelyn Blair doubled to score both runners. Horn was walked next, Collins was put out on a fielder's choice to land Collins at first, but Pennington was walked to load the bases. Taber hit a single to bring in Horn, but a fly out from Sabrina Usher brought the inning to a close at 5-4.

Taber struck out the first two batters of the fifth inning and put out Hoang at first to bring her team back in where Elizabeth Luttrell hit her second home run of the day to make it 6-2. Rachel Blair was walked once again, and like the first time, scored on a double from her sister.

Neither team landed a hit in the sixth inning and with only one inning left to play it looked like the Sandites had it all wrapped up. Stillwater, however, managed three hits and capitalized on Sandite errors and walks to come from behind for the win. 

Anderson reached on an error by Madelyn Blair at third base, was joined by Hunter White with a single, and scored on a single from Fluty. Gracie Ore walked to load the bases, and Cottrill was walked to score White. Hoang smacked a double to bring in Fluty and Ore, then Tuck walked to reload the bases. Rohwer reached on an error by Pennington at shortstop to score courtesy runner Landry Leming, then Hoang tagged up on a fly out by Taylor Lane to take the lead. Tuck tagged up on a fly out by Anderson for the final run of the game before White grounded out to bring in the Sandites.

Sand Springs was unable to land a hit and the Pioneers secured the victory. The Pioneers went through three pitchers over the course of the game, with Lane, Rohwer, and Caitlin Fluty all seeing action. Fluty got the win on the mound, giving up two hits and no walks with one strikeout. Taber got the loss with five hits, nine runs, five earned runs, seven strikeouts, and seven walks. 

The Sandites will return to action Thursday at noon when they replay Claremore who advanced through the consolation bracket with a 10-2 win over Sapulpa (9-20). The Sandites will not only have to beat Claremore to get a rematch with Stillwater, but they'll have to beat Stillwater twice to win the Regional and advance to State. Last year the Sandites battled their way back through the Consolations with three-straight wins after an upset by Claremore, and went on to play the State Championship game where they lost 4-3.

Madison Burris scores 7 aces in Senior Night victory over Bartlesville

Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 13 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (24-13) won their final match of the regular season Tuesday night at home, and celebrated Senior Night with a 3-1 victory over the No. 17 Bartlesville Lady Bruins (12-18). 

Sand Springs: 72 kills, 39 errors
Bartlesville: 42 kills, 26 errors

SS Kills: Mutiri 19, Kersgieter 14, Burris 9, Youngblood 6, Cypert 3, Leslie 2, Ward 2, Taylor 1, Bradshaw 1. 
BV Kills: McPhail 13, Lindsly 5, Covell 5, Culver 4, Krause 3, Tisdale 1, Kirchner 1.

SS Assists: Burris 24, Ward 18, Youngblood 1, Cypert 1.
BV Assists: Britt 27.

SS Blocks: Mutiri 7, Kersgieter 3, Youngblood 3, Leslie 2, Burris 1.
BV Blocks: McPhail 6, Krause 5, Lindsly 4, Culver 2.

SS Aces: Burris 7, Youngblood 3, Ward 2.
BV Aces: Tisdale 1.

SS Digs: Mutiri 9, Kersgieter 7, Mudd 6, Taylor 5, Ward 4, Burris 2.

The Lady Sandites will be graduating three senior this year: two players and one manager. Baylee Mudd plans to attend Tulsa Community College where she will major in Sonography. Lee Leslie is undecided on where she will attend college, but intends to major in Business Marketing and wants to play collegiate volleyball. Malany Benton plans to attend Oklahoma State University to study Canine Rehabilitation. 

The seniors from both teams were celebrated before the game and presented with flowers.

Sand Springs started off the first game hot, taking a 7-1 lead thanks to aces from Devree Youngblood and Madison Burris. The first two Bruin points came on combined blocks from Madi McPhail and Callie Krause. Those two would combine for eleven blocks over the course of the four games. 

Sand Springs held a significant lead through the entirety of the first set and wrapped it up 25-17, scoring sixteen points and committing only seven errors. The Bruins were held to a mere ten points and committed nine errors. 

The Bruins never led in the first game, and only led once in the second game after the opening serve from the Sandites traveled out of bounds. Bartlesville returned the service error on the next rally, and the Sandites scored four straight points on a trio of kills from Ohio State commit Gloria Mutiri and a kill from Burris. 

Once again, after the Sandites got going, nothing slowed them down and they prevailed to a 25-18 victory. This time Bartlesville committed only four errors, but the Sandites were on fire and scored 21 points with six kills from Holly Kersgieter and seven from Mutiri, while holding the Bruins to only eight kills. Sand Springs committed ten errors in that set.

In the third set the Sandites started out hot with a kill from Youngblood, an error from Bartlesville, and back-to-back Youngblood aces to lead 4-0, before committing three straight errors to allow a tie at 6-6. The girls got back in rhythm and regained the lead at 12-7 before once more allowing a tie at 12-12. This pattern of building then relinquishing leads would persist until back-to-back errors gave Bartlesville their first lead of the game at 24-23. A kill from McPhail gave Bartlesville the set, 25-23. Sand Springs scored sixteen points and committed eleven errors while the Bruins scored fourteen points but only committed seven errors. 

The fourth game was equally matched and tied up six times. The Sandites led or tied all the way till the end before the Bruins were once more allowed to take the lead at 21-20, but this time the Sandites surged to a 25-21 victory after a block combo from Mutiri and Leslie. The Sandites scored nineteen points to the Bruins' ten, and committed eleven errors to the Bruins' six. 

The Sandites will return to action at the Regional Tournament in Edmond on Tuesday, October 11 and will play No. 4 Edmond Santa Fe (21-8), No. 18 Yukon (9-18), and Moore (5-22). Sand Springs hasn't played Santa Fe or Yukon yet this season, but have beaten Moore six sets to one over two matches at the Broken Arrow tournament. The Sandites are 0-4 against teams that have beaten Santa Fe, while the Lady Wolves are 5-4 against teams that have beaten Sand Springs. 

Luttrell hits home run in 8-0 playoff shutout over Claremore

Elizabeth "Lizard" Luttrell hit her second career home run in an 8-0 victory over Claremore. (Photo: Scott Emigh)

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (27-7) won their first game of the Regional Tournament by 8-0 shutout Wednesday afternoon at the Sandite Softball Complex. The Lady Sandites defeated the Claremore Red Zebras (11-22) in their first meeting this season and will wait till 6:00 p.m. to face the winner of the Sapulpa (9-18) vs Stillwater (23-12) game.

The Lady Sandites took the lead once and for all in the top of the second inning as freshman Sabrina Usher hit a leadoff double and scored on a double from Elizabeth Luttrell on the very next play.

Luttrell went at it again in the third with a solo home run, then Rachel Blair and Kimi Presnell both hit doubles. Presnell scored Blair, and was in-turn brought in on a single by Felicity Horn. Madelyn Blair hit a single and was replaced by courtesy runner Makenna Skaggs. Skaggs and Horn both scored on a double from Oklahoma State commit Sydney Pennington, who was left stranded as the Sandites came in with a 6-0 advantage. 

Luttrell added yet another run in the top of the fourth, scoring on a 2RBI double from Madelyn Blair that also brought in her sister, Rachel Blair for the final two runs of the game. 

The Zebras landed three hits throughout the game, walked three, and had one reach on an error and another on a fielder's choice, but ultimately stranded six players and scored none in their sixth shutout loss of the season. 

Madelyn Blair (11-2) got her eleventh-straight win on the mound with six strikeouts, against three walks and three hits with zero runs. The sophomore currently holds a 1.31 ERA for the season.

As a team the girls batted .424 with fourteen hits, including seven doubles, and only one strikeout. The girls committed only one error in the game.