By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
Dominance has been the motto for Owasso’s baseball team all season long.
For the second straight season and seventh time since the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association sanctioned baseball in 1996, Owasso won the Class 6A state championship with a 5-2 victory over Moore in Norman on May 13.
Owasso, ranked second in the MaxPreps.com National Baseball Rankings and has been as high as the top spot this season, finished their dominating campaign with a 35-3 record. Only two losses to Broken Arrow and a loss to Bishop Kelley were the blemishes on an outstanding season. Owasso went 7-0 against out of state competition, owning victories over teams from Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Moore actually struck first blood, clearly not intimidated by Owasso’s glowing résumé. Owasso appeared to be the team with the most nerves, as Moore’s Romus Cezar reached base on an error in the bottom of the first inning. A wild pitch and a pair of booted ground balls would score Cezar, giving the Lions a shocking 1-0 lead.
It was not until the top of the fourth inning when Owasso’s bat finally heated up. The Rams put up a three spot on the scoreboard. Austin Kirk and Jarrod Huneryager hit for doubles, and catcher Joe Spring laid down an outstanding squeeze bunt to allow Owasso to take a 3-1 lead against Moore starter Kyle Wormington.
Moore’s Dalton Hilliard reached on another Owasso error in the bottom of the sixth and would eventually score on a fielder’s choice as the Lions climbed back to 3-2.
Owasso would add its insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. Ryan Wilson and Ben Kozma hit for singles before Moore committed another error.
Normal Owasso starter and state tournament bullpen ace Brandon Bargas fanned two out the three to nail down the save for the Rams and the state championship.
6-foot-8 hurler Brian Flynn struck out five Moore batters to pick up the victory. Moore starter Wormington only allowed five hits in a complete game effort, but picked up the loss.
Kirk was 2-for-4 from the plate with a double to lead the Owasso hitting line-up.
5A: Bixby Downs Chickasha for Title
Winning state in baseball doesn’t happen very often for Bixby. Unfortunately for Chickasha, they have had a nasty taste in its mouth for the past two seasons after losing in the state final. Bixby downed the Fighting Chicks 4-1 to win the Class 5A title giving the Spartans their first state title since 1978.
Bixby pitcher Jon Furlong was outstanding on the mound. The sophomore struck out eight batters and allowed just five hits, notching his fourth straight complete game in the process.
The final suffered a long delay. Originally scheduled for Shawnee, the teams were forced to pack up and move to Norman due to inclement weather.
Bixby’s Ricky Grinstead tripled down the right field line in the second inning. He would later score on a wild pitch by Chickasha starter Kennedy Winn.
Bixby would manufacture another run in the top of the fifth inning as Ryan Williams scored on a single by Jacob Inbody.
The Spartans piled on two more runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 4-0. Kyle Bayles scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Jeffers later scored on a double by Williams to put the game virtually out of reach for Chickasha.
Chickasha attempted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth scoring a run, but could not overcome Bixby. The Fighting Chicks stranded six runners on the evening.
4A: McGuinness Shocks Tuttle for Crown
Tuttle was heavily favored, and Bishop McGuinness might have been just happy to be there. But when you put on the McGuinness green, winning is normally contagious. The Class 4A state baseball final was no exception, as the Fighting Irish and their lucky green defeated Tuttle 4-1 to win its second title in school history.
McGuinness, with the baseball crown, won its eighth title in all sports this school year. McGuinness was at .500 at one point in the season before winning 16 of 17 en route to the state title.
The first three innings were more of a chess match, with both teams scoreless. McGuinness got going in the top of the fourth inning. Andrew Boaz hammered a two-run double off Tuttle ace Kyle Ebert, who was rolling through the first three innings of play.
McGuinness would add two more runs in the next two innings, in the fifth without a hit. Boaz would have all he needed, as he got the upper hand in the pitching dual with Ebert.
Tuttle would score a run in a desperate comeback attempt in the bottom of the seventh when Tuttle’s Chris Williams singled. The southpaw regrouped to get the final out before pandemonium ensued with McGuinness doing the celebrating.
3A: Sperry Bombs Beggs for 3A Title
Owasso might have had the best team in the state of Oklahoma, but the best player could very well have been Sperry’s Bobby Joe Bundy. The Bundy-led Sperry baseball team made a mockery out of the Class 3A state title game, whipping Beggs 15-2.
Sperry wasted no time in setting the tone, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning. Behind Bundy’s 90-plus miles per hour rocket of an arm, that would be all Sperry would need.
The Arkansas recruit did it at the plate, too. Bundy had three hits and three runs batted in, and Byron Teel had four hits for the victors.
Sperry led 15-0 at one point with Bundy striking out eight batters on the mound.
2A: Silo Makes Easy Work of Oktaha in Final
Silo brought its bats to the Class 2A final, rolling to a 13-2 whitewash of Oktaha to claim its fourth state title in eight seasons.
Logan Oller had the easy task of being the winning pitcher, having plenty of run support. Damien Mantzke and Cody Stepehns doubled, Brandon Wells tripled, and Trevor Bowen went deep as part of the Silo onslaught.
Oktaha led 2-0 early on before Silo would put together runs in the next three innings to lead 3-2.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the flood gates opened as Silo poured on 10 runs. As part of the explosion from the plate, Bowen’s hammered a three-run jack.
Silo finished the season with a 32-3 record.
