James D. Jackson|Oklahoman
SHAWNEE —The slowpitch softball state tournament wrapped up on Wednesday at the Ball Fields at Firelake. Here is a quick look at the championship action:
See scores for all the games at the bottom of the page:
State Championships
Dale 24, Silo 12
Madison Conley knew she had to step up for the team.
With the bases loaded in the sixth inning, Conley hit a grand slam to force the run-rule. As she stepped on home plate, the Dale Pirates jumped on her in celebration.
"It felt so good, I knew it was long gone," Conley said.
Conley's walk-off grand slam earned Dale a 24-12 win over Silo in the Class 4A state championship.Dale knocked off its rivals Latta and Silo on its way to its fifth straight slowpitch state championship.
"To beat them two, who are our rivals is so, so gratifying," Dale coach Andy Powell said."We played our best in all three games and proved we were the best team today."
Dale fell behind Silo 8-2 in the second inning. But the team never worried. They rallied back before taking a commanding lead.
"Our schedule allowed us to do that," Powell said. "There was no doubt. We knew we were thehome team and we knew we could score. It can get a little nerve-racking but I don't think we were nervous at all."
More: 'For our coach': Broken Bow wins 5A slowpitch state title after coach's cancer diagnosis
Mustang 17, Moore 13
Sierra Selfridge made the defensive play of the year.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the senior outfielder reached over the right-field field and robbed the Moore player of a home run. The spectacular catch wasn't just the first out of the inning but it was also a big momentum boost.
"Once she caught that ball it felt like it was going to go our way," Mustang coach Lacy Darity said. "They got a couple hits after that but when you make an outstanding play like that you just feel like things are on your side. So it was awesome."
Mustang stormed past Moore 17-13 to win the Class 6A slowpitch softball state championship on Wednesday night. Mustang knocked off No. 4 Jenks, No. 1 Southmoore and No. 3 Moore in route to its first slowpitch state championship.
"It's awesome," Darity said. "It's very surreal right."
Binger-Oney 18, Shattuck 6
The Binger-Oney players held hands andlined up just outside the foul line.
After the announcement of their championship season blared over the loudspeaker, the players ran and hoisted their trophy high above their heads.
Binger-Oney knocked off Shattuck 18-6 in four innings to win the Class 2A slowpitch softball state championship. With the Covid-19 pandemic canceling its season last year, Binger-Oney didn't waste any time reclaiming the title.
Binger-Oney combined to score 65 runs in its three state tournament games, forcingthe run-rule in every one. Binger-Oney coach Jason Wilson can't remember a team he's coached that was as good as the 2021 team.
"This tournament bracket was loaded," Binger-Oney coach Jason Wilson said. "And for us to come up and do what we did just shows how good and talented these girls are. The teams didn't do anything wrong we just played at our potential."
State Semifinals
Tec*mseh 12, Sulphur 11
Serenity Jacoway stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.
With the game tied at 12, Jacoway knew she could finish it.
As soon as she got her pitch, she did.
Jacoway hit a walk-off single to lead Tec*mseh past Sulphur 12-11to advance to the Class 5A state championship.Jacoway's hit to the gap in the outfield scoredKatelyn Fleming and the celebration commenced.Tec*mseh rallied from behind in the final inning to overcome a four-run deficit.
"It was great," Tec*mseh coach Perry Wilson said. "we've been planning it all year and I knew this could be our year to win it."
Tec*mseh dropped from Class 6A to 5A at the beginning of the season. In its first year in the new class, Tec*mseh will play for the state championship after a hard-fought battle.
Tec*mseh advanced past Kingston with a three-inning 16-0 run-rule Wednesday morning. Without getting a break because of the schedule, Tec*mseh found a way to win its second game.
Dale 16, Latta 4
Karson Griggs couldn't have been more comfortable at the plate.
With a commanding lead in the fourth inning, Griggs waited for her chance and took it.
Griggs hit a two-RBI single to center that induced the run-rule.
Dale advanced past Latta 16-4 to return to the Class 4A state championship. Dale will play for its fifth consecutive title on Wednesday night. Dale coach Andy Powell wants his team to get started early so they can score a lot of runs and that is what the Pirates have done.
Through two games, Dale is one of the highest-scoring teams in the state tournament. The Pirates have a combined 14 runs.
State Quarterfinals
Southmoore 30, Deer Creek 28
KayleeCarter stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning.
She knew this was her moment.
Her teammate Taitum Bradshaw hit a grand slam to left field just a few batters before her to bring the SaberCats within one run of Deer Creek.
Now it was her turn.
With two runners on, Carter hammered a three-run, walk-off home run to left field to sneak past Deer Creek 30-28 in the Class 6A state quarterfinals. Southmoore trailed 28-23 in the seventh inning before Bradshaw and Carter smashed a pair of home runs.
"Our kids now we're never out of it," Southmoore coach James Lingo said."It don't matter how many runs you're down, if you have last at-bats you have a chance. And our kids played awesome that last inning."
Dale 25, Valliant 7
Dale coach Andy Powell knew his team was going to have to jump off to a good start.
Itdid.
Dale scored six runs in the first inning and 10in the second inning to get off to a biglead. It allowed Dale to coast to a 25-7 win over Valliant in four innings. Sam Hartman led Dale with a perfect performance at the plate. She was 4 for4 with four solo home runs. Three PIrates each had two home runs to anchor her.
"It's going to be a lot of runs scored today so if you don't get off to a good start, you're going to get beat out here today because you're going to need so many runs. It's going to be interesting.
Mustang 17, Jenks 10
Eden Anderson decided she was going to put the game away.
Just after Payton Henry hit an RBI single, Andersonreared back and smashed a grand slam to left field. She pumped her armaround the bases.
Mustang didn't need its final five runs to win but theycemented the momentum the Broncos had found in the lastinnings. Mustang knocked off Jenks 17-10 in seven innings to advance to the Class 6A state semifinals.
"Our bats weren't as hot as they have been previously," Mustang coach Lacy Darity said."We just found a way to claw our way back in."
Heavener 18, North Rock Creek 14
Cayleigh McGee knew she had made an error.
After just making a spectacular catch to rob the batter of a hit,the freshman from Heavenerthrew a wild ball to first thateventually led to North Rock Creek tying the game at 14 in the 7th inning.
But McGeewasn't going to let her mistake define her game. She let her swing do that.
McGee smashed one of the hardest-hithome runs of the day over the left-field wall. But it wasn't just a powerful hit, it was a game-winning hit. McGee's walk-off grand slam pushedHeavener past North Rock Creek 18-14 in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
"She made up for it," Heavener coach Rodale Sanders said of McGee. "God had it planned there.We survive and move on."
Heavener will battle top-ranked Broken Bow in the Class 5A semifinals at 5:30 p.m.
Broken Bow 9, Perkins-Tryon 8
Carlyssa Crutchfield had an opportunity to finally put Broken Bow on top.
Broken Bow fell behind early, playing under its standards in the first three innings. But Broken Bow finally had the momentum in thefifth. Crutchfield reared back and hammered a two-run home run in the fifth inning to give Broken Bow a long-waited lead.
Broken Bow rallied past Perkins-Tryon to win 9-8 in the Class 5A state quarterfinals.Broken Bow was down 8-1 in the third inning before making its comeback.
Crutchfield was 3-for-3 with a home run, triple and a double.
"We were a wreck," Broken Bow coach Jimmie Wyrick said of his team's first three innings. "We were emotional a lot has been going on lately with us... but I felt like they settled down and played like we could in the last four innings."
Navajo 27 Wister 5
The Navajo fans and playerscouldn't contain themselves.
Emry Solis hit another home run for the side and the sea of red in the stand was up in arms, cheering on their team.Navajo stormed past Wister 27-15 to advance to the Class 3A state semifinals.
Class 6A
Q-Southmoore 30,Deer Creek28.
Q- Mustang 17, Jenks 10.
Q- Moore 26, Choctaw 14.
Q- Broken Arrow 13,Westmoore 11.
S- Moore 20, Broken Arrow 10.
S- Mustang 14, Southmoore 7.
C- Mustang 17, Moore 13.
Class 5A
Q- Broken Bow 9, Perkins-Tryon8.
Q-Sulphur13, Cushing3.
Q- Heavener 18, North Rock Creek 14.
Q-Tec*mseh 16, Kingston 0.
S-Tec*mseh 12, Sulphur11.
S- Broken Bow 12, Heavener 11.
C- Broken Bow 10, Tec*mseh 8.
Class 4A
Q- Dale 25, Valliant7.
Q- Latta19, Kellyville4.
Q- Washington 11,Henryetta 6.
Q-Silo 9, Pocola8.
S-Dale 16, Latta 4.
S- Silo 17, Washington 13.
C- Dale 24, Silo 12.
Class 3A
Q-Navajo 27,Wister, 15
Q-Calera 11, Ripley 9.
Q-Caddo11, Hydro-Eakly 4.
Q- Morrison18, Tushka6.
S- Calera 13, Navajo12.
S-Morrison 16 Caddo 6.
C-Morrison 15, Calera 9.
Class 2A
Q- Shattuck 17, Rattan, 7.
Q- Kiowa 14,Sterling, 4.
Q-Binger-Oney 28, Stuart6.
Q-Bennington 14, Canute8.
S- Shattuck 15, Kiowa 5.
S- Binger-Oney 19, Bennington8.
C- Binger-Oney 18, Shattuck 6.
Class A
Q-Latta 19, Kellyville4.
Q-Red Oak 15, Tupelo0.
Q-Hammon 21, Arnett 6.
Q- Whitesboro 9, Caney 8.
S-Red Oak 19,Lookeba-Sickles 3.
S-Whitesboro 15, Hammon12.
C-Red Oak24, Whitesboro 8.
James D. Jackson, Staff writer
