Bartlesville baseball returns from trip to thunder past Tahlequah

Tahlequah High School baseball players got the best of Bartlesville High and the worst of the evening during a district showdown Monday at Tahlequah.

The Bartlesville Bruins, meanwhile, romped to victory, 12-0, on the momentum they gathered during a spring break tournament last week in Alabama.

Bartlesville is improved to 6-4 overall and 5-1 in its last six gams.

Bruin coach Cody Price put the ball in the hand of senior pitcher Zeb Henry to get it done Monday.

Henry let his performance do his talking — a two-hitter with no walks and seven strikeouts. He was unofficially credited with only 54 pitches. Tahlequah left only one runner stranded.

The Bruin offense, meanwhile, did almost all its damage at the top end and bottom end of the batting order.

In the number one hole, Henry singled, walked and scored twice.

No. 2 hitter Luke Fox whacked a double and two singles, drove in four runs and scored twice.

The six-through-nine hitters for Bartlesville combined to hit 4-for-9, with one double (Davis Chancellor).

In fact, Chancellor drove in four suns and eight-hole batsman Shawn Tate added two RBIs.

Back in the four-hole, Eric Olenberger nailed a two singles and scored.

Two Bruins reached base as hit batsmen (Masyn Dryden and Easton Olenberger) and Brendan Asher launched a sacrifice fly.

Brett Eaves and Cason Leach both singled and scored, while Nik Johnson and Damien Niko scored a run apiece.

But, the Bruins proved to be promisingly efficient, leaving only six runners stranded.

The Bruins broke the game open with seven runs in the top of the third.

Bartlesville loaded with the bases with back-to-back walks to Fox and Johnson and a hit batsman (Eric Olenberger).

Asher then connected with his sacrifice fly to drive in Fox and stretch the Bruin lead to 2-0.

Bartlesville continued to turn the third inning into a basepath parade. Chancellor advanced runners on a sacrifice fly, Tate ripped a line drive to plate Niko and Eaves,

Following an error and a walk, Fox cleared the bases with a three-run double.

Next up, the Bruins play host this weekend to the Bruin Classic. The schedule might be tweaked, due to a forecast of inclement weather.

The current scheduled times for Bartlesville are: 4 p.m. Thursday against Oologah, 11 a.m. Friday against Ponca City and 4 p.m. Saturday against Sand Springs.

Bartlesville opens next week with a Monday home game at 6 p.m. against Muskogee.

Bartlesville head coach Cody Price saw this as a key week for his Bruins, who have won 49 games the past two seasons.

Heading into the Alabama tourney, Bartlesville’s record stood at 2-3 and consistent quality play was a bit shorthanded.

But, after Bartlesville crossed the Alabama border, the Bruins came to life and won their first three games.

“We were a little shaky in the first game, but Zeb competed well (at pitcher),” Price said. “We were not as sharp as usual, but we were able to find a win to win,” and beat Brentwood Academy, 7-5,.

In the second game, the freshmen stepped up on the mound and began throwing strikes, Price said.

Bartlesville beat Jackson Southside (Tenn.), 9-2.

The third game witnessed Asher pitched “really sharp,” Price said, as the Bruins won, 3-0, against Seymour (Tenn.).

In the final game, Gallatin edged the Bruins, 6-5, in a game that went down to the final out. Bartlesville scored left the winning run stranded at third.

Had the Bruins won that fourth game, they would have advanced to the Final Four out of 72 teams.

The Bruins spent most their time on the bench. In fact, Price set mandatory beach time for several hours in the afternoon.

“I don’t think we had a single video game played at the beach,” he said, although the Bruins did play inside board or card games.

A booster paid for a mean at a nice seafood restaurant.

Other activities included cornhole and football.

“It’s a blast, so much fun,” Price said about the shared vacation.

Last year’s Bruin team took off on a winning tear after the Alabama trip.

Price hoped this year’s team would respond in identical fashion.

The Bruins’ have put together a 49-28 record the past two seasons.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville High's baseball team wins big