Oklahoma high school baseball: Class A, B state tournament semifinal roundup
The Class A and B state baseball quarterfinals began on Friday with the state semifinals starting on Saturday. The Class A games were played at Shawnee High School while the Class B games were played at Palmer Field at Dolese in Oklahoma City. Here is a recap of the action.
'They saved us': How a group of girls helped keep four OKC baseball teams afloat this season
State Semifinals
Class A: Canute 8, Dewar 2
Colt Randall dug his foot into the mound for the last time.
With one strike away from the state championship game, Randall had everything going for him.
The senior pitcher reared back and fired the pitch past the Dewar batter for his final strikeout of the game. Catcher Dalton Williams caught the ball pumped his fist and went to shake his pitcher's hand.
Randall pitched a complete game, giving up one hit as Canute took down Dewar to advance to the Class A state championship game.
“It’s great,” Canute coach J.W. Gillett said about advancing to the state championship game. “We got a great pitching performance from Colt Randall and scored just enough runs and put some pressure on them. They were really good and we just came out and found out a win.”
In total, Canute plated eight runs but it was the fourth inning where the Trojans did most of their damage. After Dewar’s Thomas Brownfield hit an RBI single to score Christian Cargola, Canute responded big.
Canute’s Kyron Whinery hit an RBI single to score Randall then Williams hit an RBI single to score Kasen Legrand. Whinery and Williams also made their way around the bases on Dewar throwing errors.
Canute will take on Red Oak for the Class A state championship on Saturday. Canute won the Fall baseball state championship in 2020, its only title.
Class A: Red Oak 7, Tushka 6
The situation couldn’t have been worse for Red Oak.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Tushka loaded the bases with nobody out while Red Oak clutched to a one-run lead.
But the seasoned Red Oak Eagles did not waiver at the moment. Red Oak tallied the first out at home and two pitches later, Tushka’s Walt Kerr hit a ground ball to Red Oak pitcher, Brex Caldwell.
The Oklahoma State commit picked up the ball and threw it home to beat the runner before Chance Pair fired the ball to first base for the double play. The Eagles stormed for a group hug near their dugout.
Withstanding a Tushka comeback push in the final inning, Red Oak bested Tushka to advance to the Class A state championship game.
Tushka plated four runners in the fifth inning to tie the game. Bryston Tuck hit a bases-clearing double to score Tagen Simon, Austin Self and Lex Simon. But Red Oak responded with two more runs in the sixth as Caldwell tallied an RBI single to score Tanner King. Denver Hamilton scored from third on a walk.
Tushka’s Simon recorded a bunt single to score Tushka’s final run in the seventh with nobody out. But Red Oak escaped.
Class B: Roff 5 Caney 1
All season Danny Baldridge had emphasized for the Tigers to start fast. Roff scored five runs in the first inning of its quarterfinal matchup and wanted to come out with the same start.
The Tigers nearly did.
With Bill Mccarter’s RBI single and Brand Wilson’s two-run home run, Roff put across three runs in the first inning to lead to its state semifinal win. After the retirement of legendary coach Ead Simon, Baldridge has the Tigers back in the championship game.
“Anytime you can jump out on top up here it sure does help things,” Baldridge said. “It just sets the tone for the game.”
After Caney’s Jake Taylor hit an RBI sac-fly to score Ty Jackson in the top of the third inning, Roff scored two more runs to pad its lead.
McCarter tallied his second RBI with a sac-fly to score Beau Joplin in the fourth inning before Drew Sheppard hit an RBI single to score Dylan Reed in the bottom of the fifth.
Roff will take on Fort Cobb-Broxton. Roff is coming off of two state championships in 2021, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Class B: Fort Cobb-Broxton 9, Tupelo 2
Blayke Nunn just wanted to do a job.
In the bottom of the first inning, the junior from Fort Cobb-Broxton had two runners on base. Nunn took full advantage of the opportunity and hammered a three-run home run over the left-field wall.
Fort Cobb-Broxton scored six more runs but the home run proved to be all the Mustangs needed to take a win over Tupelo to advance to the Class B state championship game.
Nunn's homer scored Oklahoma commit Jaxon Willits and Drew Woods. Willits and Kaden Baker had the other two RBI for Fort Cobb-Broxton. FCB plated runs in the first three innings and the sixth.
State Quarterfinals
Class B: Caney 5, Glencoe 2
Jake Taylor had one goal coming into the state quarterfinal game.
“Throw it hard,” Taylor said, “and get in a rhythm and try to work ahead early.”
The Redlands Community College commit did just that.
Taylor struck out 15 batters on 121 pitches in 6 ⅓ innings to lead Caney to a win over Glencoe. Taylor gave up just one hit in his outing. Telly Nutter relieved Taylor in the seventh inning once Taylor reached the state’s 120-pitch count restriction.
It was a low-hitting quarterfinal as both teams combined to tally just three hits. Caney tallied just one while Glencoe finished with two. With the hits coming sparingly, the runs came in bunches in the fourth inning on passed balls. After loading the bases on walks, Caney’s Zach Bagby, Ty Jackson and Nutter stole home on wild pitches to give Caney a 5-1 lead.
Glencoe plated one runner in the fifth inning after a dropped third strike, there was a wild throw to first and Glencoe's Ryan Cook stole home. But that was all Glencoe could muster.
“Our boys haven’t made it to state in 10 years,” Taylor said. “So it feels great; especially to succeed on the first round.”
More: OSSAA announces updated brackets Class A, B for 2022 Oklahoma high school baseball state tournaments
More: Which OKC-area high school baseball teams are state championship contenders?
Class B: Tupelo 2, Lookeba-Sickles 1
Taecyn Meek just wanted to get his team started.
The sophomore from Tupelo had already scored the first run for the Tigers earlier in the game which led to the tie score in the bottom of the seventh inning.
But in his final at-bat of the state quarterfinal, he did a lot more.
“He left it right down the middle and I got the barrel to it luckily,” Meek said. “It’s crazy, I still can’t believe it.”
Meek hit a walk-off home run over the left field wall of Palmer Field at Dolese Park. Upon the realization, Meek started crying when he made it to second base but finishing his home run trot, he just couldn’t stop smiling. Meek’s walk-off home run sent Tupelo into the state quarterfinals.
“I didn’t feel it come off the bat,” Meek said. “I thought I popped it up foul. When I seen (the left fielder) going back to the wall, I was like, ‘Oh, did I do it?’”
Meek saw his coaches jumping up and down as the ball sailed over the wall.
Lookeba-Sickles earned the first run of the day. With runners on second and third, Gavin Houston laid down a squeeze bunt to score Jacob Vincent, who hit a leadoff double.
But Tupelo responded one inning later as Meek hit a single to left. Then on the ensuing pitch stole second, third and home on back-to-back wild Lookeba-Sickles throws.
Tupelo's Cody Airington struck out 13 batters in seven innings pitched.
Class B: Roff 14, Granite 0
Kagan Huneycutt highlighted a big first inning as Roff took down Granite. Huneycutt delivered a two-run single as Roff scored five runs in the opening inning. The Tigers plated four runs before their first batter was called out. Roff jumpstarted its rally again in the fourth inning, plating nine runs. Roff tallied 13 hits, most coming by way of bunting. Roff’s Drew Sheppard threw all five innings in the shutout, giving up just four hits.
Class B: Fort Cobb-Broxton 17, Boswell 1
Kaden Baker led Fort Cobb-Broxton over Boswell. Baker batted 3-for-4 from the plate with two RBI, three runs and one stolen base. Baker opened his night with an RBI double to give FCB a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Fort Cobb-Broxton scored in every inning except for the first, finishing the game with a seven-run fifth inning. Drew Woods, Blaine Davis and Blaine Bellamy combined to throw 87 pitches, giving up just four hits.
Class A: Dewar 5, Sterling 3
Jameson Ross led Dewar to a win over Sterling in the state quarterfinals. The Seminole State commit recorded two hits, one RBI and one run. Ross knocked in Thomas Brownfield in the first inning. Ross then stole home in the third inning to complete his big day. Dewar scored two runs in the first, and three in the third while Sterling plated three runs in the seventh. Dewar’s Jaden Maxwell tallied the other RBI while Tryton Mack and Brownfield each had hits.
More: Oklahoma high school Class 3A-A slowpitch softball state tournament roundup
Class A: Canute 9, Hydro-Eakly 4
Colt Randall hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning to secure Canute’s win over Hydro-Eakly. With RBI also coming from Kyron Whinery and Colby Maddox, Canute scored six runs in the fourth inning all with two outs. The fourth inning ultimately decided the game but Canute also scored two in the first, six in the fourth and one in the sixth en route to the quarterfinal win.
Class A: Red Oak 10, Pioneer Pleasant Vale 0
Chase Pair threw 61 pitches to shut out Pioneer Pleasant Vale. Pair gave up just one hit and struck out eight batters as Red Oak run-ruled Pioneer Pleasant Vale, even striking out the last batter. Red Oak followed Pair's performance with 11 hits as a team. Reed Kauk capped the game with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Class A: Tushka 2, Rattan 1
After being stuck in a scoreless battle through regulation, Tushka's Tagen Simon hit an RBI single to left field for the first run of the game and Lex Simon scored on an error to go ahead by two runs. Rattan's Cale Clay hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth but it wasn't enough to overcome Tushka, which tallied six hits in the game.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school Class A, B baseball state tournament roundup
