RIPPING GOOD TIME: Doenges Boys bounced Ada, Three Rivers during baseball opening weekend
Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians head coach John Pannell didn’t feather bed his team’s opening weekend baseball schedule.
Quite the opposite — Pannell scheduled three of the Indians’ fiercest opponents year-in-and-year-out — the Ada Braves, Ft. Smith (Ark.) Sportsman and the Three Rivers Bandits.
All things considered, the Indians emerged from the weekend with a tremendously successful showing — a 3-2 record, including a loss in which they left the tying run stranded in scoring position.
The teams met in the Bartlesville Memorial Day Weekend Tournament at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium and played on Rigdon Field.
More than 10 teams — with the age groups of 19-U/college league, 17-and-U, and 15-and-U — played a total of more than 22 games in three days.
New Indian player Ryan McClendon exploded into the consciousness of Doenges Ford fans with an incredible offensive display as the one-hole batter.
McClendon’s awe-striking offensive numbers for the weekend included: 10-for-16 at the plate, a grand slam homer, two triples, 11 runs scored and six RBIs.
He rapped posted five-game hitting streak and also scored at least one run in every game.
Veteran Indian catcher/infielder/designated hitter Karson Lee also swung a dynamite stick to start the season.
In the first two games, he ripped five hits, including a double, and drove in six runs.
His bat cooled a bit Saturday and Sunday, but he still added another hit and run scored.
Battle-tested Indian slugger Harrison Clark added a crunch-time homer on Sunday to help the Indians break a 6-6 tie and beat Three Rivers.
The Indians opened up by walloping the Ada Braves, 12-4 and 14-2 in back-to-back games Friday night.
On Saturday evening, Fort Smith erupted with a barrage of runs in the last few innings to win, 15-3.
On Sunday afternoon/evening, the Indians split with Three Rivers.
Three Rivers held on to win the first game, 11-10, in a game of scoring eruptions.
In the night cap, the Indians took control with seven runs — sparked by Clark’s dinger — in the bottom of the sixth and won, 13-7.
Several other Indians, in addition to those mentioned, contributed difference-busting performances.
In the second game against Ada, Haden Fiddler ripped three singles and drove in two runs; Cole Hancock added two hits and scored two runs and Luke Fox drove in three runs.
Daniel Barham clubbed a single and drove in one of the few RBIs against Ft. Smith.
In the first game Sunday, Fox scored two runs.
Fox also scored three times in the Sunday nightcap.
Pitching-wise, Pannell had plenty about which to be happy — especially considering he still doesn’t have some of his top arms available for play yet.
In the Friday opener, Alan Covarrubias gave up only two hits and no earned runs (one unearned) against Ada.
Matt Winters struck like arctic freeze for opposing batters.
The first-year Indians hurled four innings of one-hit, no-earned runs (two unearned) in Friday’s second game. He struck out nine batters — an average of more than two per inning — and walked only two.
In the same game, Hayden Catlin turned in two shutout innings in relief while whiffing four batters.
Hancock turned in a strong 2.2 innings of work as the starter against Ft. Smith, but the score didn’t record his effectiveness. Ft. Smith scored nine runs on him — but only one of them was earned. He struck out four in 2.2 innings.
In the Indians’ final game of the tourney, Josh Weber wrangled out a successful starting stint, giving up four hits and no earned runs (three unearned). Fiddler came in the game in short relief to record a couple of key outs.
Winters finished up the game in relief to earn the win.
A follow-up with more details is planned for Wednesday’s sports pages.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Doenges Ford baseball team finished 3-2 in home tourney
