Hosting regional 'big deal' for Alva
May 6—Alva, being isolated from most 3A schools because of its location, has been accustomed to making long trips for baseball playoffs.
The shoe will be on the other foot Thursday.
The Goldbugs, 23-13, will be hosting a regional for what is believed to be the first time in school history.
Alva will face Beggs (15-14) at 11 a.m., followed by Victory Christian (22-12) and Vian (22-13) at 1:30 p.m. The winners will play at 4 while the losers play an elimination game at 6:30.
"We can't find one that we hosted," said Goldbugs coach Scott Baugh. "Hosting a regional is a big deal for these kids. It's always an advantage to host. You can sleep in your own beds. The community is excited, I hope we can play well."
Alva received a bye for last week's districts, but stayed sharp by going to Crossings Christian for games with the Knights (14-4 loss) and Holland Hall (7-0).
Baugh contributed his team's success to "good senior leadership and strong pitching" headed by senior ace Dominic Minjares.
"We have had a lot of seniors step up and have good years," Baugh said. "This team has been behind in several games and they have come back and won. They have a knack for just finding a way to win, it's been fun to watch them."
Morgan Cook is the team's leading hitter with a .360 average, followed by Minjares (.250) and Korey Faulkner (.340).
Baugh singled out Austin Reed and Kelton O'Neil as juniors who have made solid contributions.
"We have had a lot of different guys step up for us and do different things for us," Baugh said. "We have a junior class that has played well."
Beggs defeated Westville, 2-1 and 7-2 in its district. Victory Christian swept Chisholm, 6-4 and 13-0. Vian swept North Rock Creek, 10-0 and 16-1.
"This is going to be a really tough regional," Baugh said. "I've told the kids to expect some adversity and to be able to overcome it. We haven't seen any of those teams but we know some of them have some rich baseball tradition."
There will be another elimination game at 4 p.m. Friday. The first championship game is set for 6:30 p.m.. The "if game" is set for 2 on Saturday.
Hennessey (12-17) will face Cascia Hall (22-10) at 11 a.m. Thursday at Metro Christian in Tulsa.
The Eagles beat Community Christian, 13-6 in the deciding game of the district tournament Saturday. They had won the first game, 9-1 but lost the second, 8-4.
Cascia Hall received a bye for the district but has an impressive 6-5 win over 6A power Broken Arrow on April 27.
Coalgate (13-14) and Atoka (27-7) play at 1:30 p.m. in the other first round game. Winners will play at 4. Losers play an elimination game at 6:30.
Atoka swept Dickson, 7-1 and 12-0 at district. Colgate won two over three for Davis.
There will be another elimination game at 4 p.m. Friday. The first championship game is set for 6:30. The "if game" is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
Campbell is a former sports writer and current part-time writer for the News & Eagle, enidnews@enidnews.com.
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