Advertisement

MILESTONE: Bartlesville High baseball grabs 20th win

mike tupa, bartlesville examiner-enterprise
·5 min read
Bartlesvillel High's Nik Johnson let's a pitch fly during a home win on April 20, 2023, against Tulsa Washington.
Bartlesvillel High's Nik Johnson let's a pitch fly during a home win on April 20, 2023, against Tulsa Washington.

Make that 20 wins — again!

For the third-straight season, the Bartlesville High baseball team has attained that sleek standard.

With 69 wins — and counting — in three seasons, the team’s players from 2021 are part of a special Barternity.

But, what is certain is this: Bartlesville has been blessed with an extraordinary group of players and coaches — led by skipper Cody Price — during the 2020’s.

Bartlesville (20-11) wrapped up the historic win Saturday against the visiting Coweta Tigers, 5-2.

As was fitting in such a climatic moment, the game ended with the crowd hoisted on a troposphere of drama.

Coweta led off the top of the seventh by earning a walk, which put the potential tying run on-deck.

But, two batters later, a batter ripped a liner that Bruin shortstop Zeb Henry gobbled up with his glove and then pulled out the ball and fired it to first baseman Masyn Dryden to retire the runner trying to get back to first.

That twin-killing put win No. 20 in the books.

Bartlesville had eclipsed that milestone less than 24 hours earlier. On Friday evening, Jenks held off the Bruins, 7-6, in a 10-inning keister-squirmer.

Barring any rainouts or make-ups, Bartlesville is down to four regular-season games.

The Bruins are scheduled to be home at 6 p.m. Monday (vs. Bixby) and on Thursday at 5 p.m. (vs. Grove), and to be on the road on Tuesday (at Bixby) and on Friday (at Collinsville).

The Class 6A regional playoffs are scheduled to begin tentatively on May 3. The playoff schedule is yet to be determined.

Following are summaries of this weekend’s games.

—

JENKS 7, BARTLESVILLE 6 (10)

All that that lacked from making Friday’s Bartlesville vs. Jenks prep baseball game a true marathon was a 26.2 mile run and a ton of water stops.

The visiting Bruins and Jenks Trojans slogged through nine-and-a-half innings battling to a draw.

Bartlesville led after three-and-a-half innings, 6-2, but Jenks tied it up, 6-6, i the bottom of fourth.

For the following five innings, the teams grappled to a 0-0 deadlock.

It all came down to the 10th.

All Bartlesville could do was bang its head after squandering a chance in the top of the 10th.

Nik Johnson led off with a single and rolled to second on Davis Chancellor’s sacrifice bunt.

Jenks then intentionally walked Brett Eaves. Courtesy runner Hunter Shae took Johnson’s place at second.

But, Jenks pitcher Draden Burgess struck out the next two Bruin batters to leave the runners stranded and the score still knotted, 6-6.

Jenks finally ended it in the bottom of the 10th on a double, error, sacrifice bunt and another error. This was Jenks’ 20th win (20-11).

Several Bruin hitters made a strong assault on Jenks pitching.

Johnson belted 3-for-5 at the plate and drove in two runs. Luke Fox tripled and singled and scored a run. Eaves ripped a double and walked twice. Aidan Silva doubled and plated two a pair of tallies.

Brenden Asher lifted a sacrifice fly.

Price called on Kaden Romesburg and Fox to split pitching duties. Fox turned in a sparkling six-inning stint.

Burgess threw the final 7.2 innings for Jenks. Luke Diener doubled twice for Jenks and Cole Whittington tripled and brought home three runs.

—

BARTLESVILLE 5, COWETA 2

Whew!

Bartlesville not only had to tangle with the Tigers, it also had to battle against exhaustion.

Not only were the Bruins coming off the 10-inning slobberknocker on Friday night — the showdown against Coweta was their 11th game in 13 days.

Even so, Bartlesville overcame both the Coweta claws and and their own yawns.

Eaves doubled for the second-straight game and Asher poked a single to drive in two runs.

Jaxon Zaun, one of the batters who had struggled in the 10th the night before, came through in the clutch with a single and RBI.

Olenberger walked twice, stole two bases and scored. Fox pilfered four bases and crossed home plate once.

Olenberger snapped off a complete-game four-hitter, walking two and striking out one. Neither of Coweta’s runs were earned.

Vince Urrutia pitched most the way for Coweta.

Coweta snuck out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

Bartlesville stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Asher’s 2-run base hit to score Fox and Olenberger. Asher also scored on a passed ball to push Bartlesville’s lead to 3-1.

Coweta pawed to within a run, 3-2, in the top of the third.

The Bruins added two insurance runs in the sixth — Zaun’s grounder to plate Chancellor and Eaves dash home on an error.

Olenberger then caged the Tigers in the seventh and the Bruins held on.

—

BRUIN SEASONS

(Following is a list of most of Bartlesville’s baseball records for most the past 25 seasons. Information wasn’t available for all seasons. The name of the head coach is in parentheses.)

  • 2023: 20-11 (season not completed) (Cody Price)

  • 2022: 25-14 (Cody Price)

  • 2021: 24-14 ( Cody Price)

  • 2020: 3-5 (virus spring lockdown) (Cody Price)

  • 2019: 19-18 (Austin Jarvis)

  • 2018: 11-18 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2017: 9-14 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2016: 10-20 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2015: 18-17 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2014: 10-22 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2013: 12-14 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2012: 8-15 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2009: 22-11 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2008: 14-13 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2007: (less than .500) (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2006: 25-14-1 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2005: 20-15 (Spence Rigdon)

  • 2004: 21-14 (Rusty Zumwalt)

  • 2002: 25-7 (Rusty Zumwalt)

  • 1999: 15-20 (Rusty Zumwalt)

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville High annexes 20th win on diamond, one week left season