CPHS Softball: Sydney Pennington selected as All-Tulsa World Player of the Year Finalist

Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate and Oklahoma State University freshman Sydney Pennington was selected as one of three All-Tulsa World Athlete of the Year finalists for Softball.

Pennington finished her senior season with a .543 batting average, 1.010 slugging average, and .647 on-base percentage. She hit 27 singles, 19 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, and 38 RBI, and scored 45 runs. She was also walked 31 times, usually intentionally. As a pitcher she earned an undefeated 6-0 record with a 1.41 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and 1.135 WHIP. The Lady Sandites finished the year with a 30-9 record. They were the District Runners-Up, State Semifinalists, and 6A Academic State Champions.

In addition to her impressive stats on the diamond, she was also the leading scorer on the basketball team with 10.77 points per game, despite sharing the ball with two other Division I recruits. She led the team on four separate occasions her senior year and set a personal-best of 32 points in a single game during her sophomore season. The Sandites went 24-2 for a Conference Championship and were State Semifinalists. 

Pennington was named to the OCA All-State teams for both sports, was the FVC Player of the Year in basketball, and is a four-time Sandite of the Week.

Final selection for the Athlete of the Year will be made at the All World Awards dinner on July 8th at Marriott Southern Hills.

CPHS Senior Sydney Pennington signs with Oklahoma State University Softball

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Sydney Pennington signed with the Oklahoma State University softball team Tuesday morning in a ceremony at the Ed Dubie Fieldhouse. 

The No. 31 ranked Cowgirls finished last season with a 32-26 record overall and 12-12 in the Big 12. Head Coach Kenny Gajewski will be in only his third season when Pennington arrives at OSU and was previously an assistant coach at Florida, which won its second-consecutive Women's College Word Series in his final year there. 

Pennington finished her senior fast pitch season with a .543 batting average, 1.010 slugging average, and .647 on-base percentage. She hit 27 singles, 19 doubles, 1 triple, and 10 home runs and scored 45 runs and 38 RBI on 105 at bats without a single strikeout. She was two-for-two on base stealing and recorded five double plays.

She was undefeated on the mound with a 6-0 record and 1.41 ERA over 39.2 innings pitched with 29 strikeouts and only 23 hits while throwing 61% strikes. 

The Lady Sandites finished the season 30-8, 11-3 for second place in their district and first in Regionals They made the State Championship two years in a row and finished as State Runners-Up in 2015. 

Pennington is a four-time All-Metro player, four-time All-District player and was name the District Player of the Year in both 2014 and 2016. In 2015 she was the District Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-Region and All-State teams this year. She is currently a finalist for the USA Junior National Team and is ranked the No. 36 Middle Infielder in the nation by Flo-Softball. 

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jake Terry officially signs with University of Oklahoma baseball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jessica Collins signs with Connors State College Softball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Cheyenne Walden signs with Oklahoma State University Cross Country
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Alexis Davis signs with SWOSU Cross Country
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Kyle Keener signs with University of Central Oklahoma Basketball

Lady Sandite Softball hammers Jay 14-2 in three innings

Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (23-6) dropped the hammer on Jay (16-15) Saturday afternoon at the Northeastern State University high school tournament and needed only three innings to secure a 14-2 victory. Madelyn Blair (10-2) got the start and win on the mound with one hit, two runs, and three walks in one inning. Makenna Skaggs (0-0) made her varsity pitching debut and threw two strikeouts with one hit in two innings at the mound.

SEE RELATED: Jacie Taber pitches no-hitter in 1-0 tournament win over Muskogee

SEE RELATED: Elizabeth Luttrell's three-run homer secures 4-0 shutout over Moore

Jay took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first after Marissa Lokey and Jessie Summerfield both drew walks. Jade Creekkiller reached on a fielder's choice to out courtesy runner McKenzie Buzzard at third, and Caitlin Taylor walked to load the bases. Haley Dry sent a double into left field to score Summerfield and Creekkiller for the brief lead, but it wouldn't last long.

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Dry went to the mound in the bottom of the first and gave up a walk to Felicity Horn who scored on a triple from Oklahoma State commit Sydney Pennington. Jacie Taber walked and Blair reached on a failed fielder's choice to load the bases. Skaggs went in to run for Blair. Sabrina Usher reached on a failed fielder's choice to score Pennington, Cameron Clemons walked to score Taber, and Kimi Presnell reached on an error to score Skaggs and Usher. Elizabeth Luttrell singled to score Clemons for the 6-2 advantage, but was put out advancing on the play and Jessica Collins grounded out to third to bring the scoring melee to an end.

Skaggs took the mound in the top of the second and struck out Jade Frazier swinging. Lokey popped an infield fly to Presnell at second base, and Kyla Rogers was put out at first on a dropped third strike.

The Sandites tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the second. Pennington and Taber were both put out to start the inning, but the girls got on track as Blair reached on an error and Usher hit a single. Skaggs ran courtesy for Blair and scored on a single from Clemons. Usher came home on a single from Presnell, and Luttrell singled to score Clemons. Horn put the exclamation mark on the inning with a two-run triple to score Presnell and Luttrell, but was put out at home to bring the inning to a close at 11-2. 

Creekkiller hit a double in the top of the third but was left stranded to bring in the Sandites for the duration.

Collins drew a walk to start things off and was joined on base by Pennington and Taber who hit singles. Collins scored on a passed ball and Usher hit a two-run single to bring in Pennington and Taber as time expired and the girls won 14-2. 

Lady Sandite Softball defeats Bixby 13-1 and will play District Championship Thursday

Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (20-5, 11-2) played a district double-header against the Bixby Lady Spartans (15-13, 10-4) Tuesday at home and split the games. After winning the first game 13-1, the Sandites couldn't bring in a run in the second game and lost 1-0. Fortunately, they only needed one win to stay alive in the race for a district title. 

The Sandites jumped on the Spartans quick and early as Oklahoma State commit Sydney Pennington drew a walk in the top of the first, reached third on a sacrifice from Jessica Collins, and scored after tagging up on a fly out by Elizabeth Luttrell. Soon after, Cameron Clemons singled to score Collins and Makenna Skaggs for the 3-0 advantage. Felicity Horn scored on a failed fielder's choice, and Sabrina Usher reached on an error to score Clemons and Kimi Presnell to cap off the inning 6-0 after being put out at second.

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Sophomore Jacie Taber doubled in the top of the second inning to score Pennington, then came home with Skaggs on a single from Horn. She batted in another pair of runs in the top of the third, scoring Pennington and Usher on a single for the 11-0 lead.

Usher hit a double to start off the fifth inning and scored on a home run from Pennington, her ninth this season.

The Spartans hit their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, a double from Adrianna Forbus, to score Mia Gates. It would be their only run of the game, however, and the Sandites won it 13-1 after a five-inning run-rule.

Junior pitcher Madelyn Blair (8-2) picked up her sixth straight win on the mound with only one hit and two walks against four strikeouts and one run. She also hit two singles in the game.

The second leg of the double-header was an anomaly as the Sandites were shutout for only the third time this season, despite landing five base-hits and putting ten runners on base over the course of the game. 

In the first inning, Horn reached on an error and was joined by Pennington, who walked. Both were left stranded.

The Spartans scored their first and only run of the game in the top of the second with a home run from Meredith Iden. Bixby loaded the bases from there as Forbus was hit by the pitch, Brooklyn Lemon hit a single, and Kyndal Pirtle walked to load the bases. Sophomore pitcher Jacie Taber was able to save the inning, however, striking out Teri Pogue swinging. 

Presnell was stranded on a single in the bottom of the second. Sarah Tyree was stranded after a triple in the top of the third. Blair and Taber both singled in the bottom of the fourth, but Blair was caught in a double play and Taber was stranded. Horn reached on error once again in the bottom of the fifth, and Pennington walked in the sixth.

The Sandites threatened again in the bottom of the seventh. After Clemons grounded out and Jensen Arnold struck out looking, Usher drew a walk and Horn singled. Collins was next to the plate and also singled, but Usher was caught advancing on the play and the game was brought to an end.

Taber (8-3) pitched a career-best eleven strikeouts while giving up only four hits and two walks. She averages less than one run per game with five shutouts this season. This is her third double-digit strikeout game this season.

The Sandites' 11-2 district record is surpassed only by Yukon at 12-1. However, the Sandites and Millers will play the final district match for both teams Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at the Sandite Softball Complex. Sand Springs has already defeated Yukon once this season, 9-1 at the Miller's home turf. If the girls can pull off the repeat, they will match the Millers' record and win the district on head-to-head results. 

Sydney Pennington hits 3 homeruns in double-header victories over Ponca; Sandites win 14th straight

By: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

The runs came early and they came often in the Charles Page High School Varsity Softball team's (17-3, 8-0) district doubleheader against Ponca City (14-10, 2-5). The Lady Sandites won both games handily with a 10-0 five-inning run-rule victory in the first leg, and a 15-3 win in the second match-up which went the full seven innings.

Felicity Horn got scoring underway for the day when she singled and later scored on an error in the first inning of game one.

Ponca City loaded the bases in the second, but Madelyn Blair (6-2) forced Kylie Hopkins into a two-out popup which got the Lady Sandites out of the inning without allowing any runs. Jacie Taber hit an RBI double to left center which scored Cameron Clemons in the second inning.

Oklahoma State University commit Sydney Pennington hit the first of three home runs on the night in the home half of the third inning. Freshman Sabrina Usher hit an RBI double allowing Madelyn Blair to score, and scored a run on an errant throw to push the lead to 5-0.  Sand Springs scored the final five runs in the fourth inning on to put the game away, with Pennington, Usher, Madelyn Blair, and Clemons each adding an RBI to their totals.

Madelyn Blair picked up the win on the mound for the Lady Sandites, pitching five shutout innings, allowing just 6 hits. 

Game two saw Sand Springs getting off to an even quicker start, when Pennington sent a towering fly ball over the center field fence for a three-run-homer. Clemons scored on an error and Kimi Presnell picked up an RBI single in the third inning and lead 5-0 when Ponca City finally got on the board in their half of the third. Camenda Osborn doubled in a run to cut the lead to 5-1 and gave the Lady Cats some life. 

The Lady Sandites substituted Elizabeth "Lyz" Luttrell into the game and she quickly added an RBI single to make the score 6-1, and Taber added an RBI on a sacrifice fly to make the lead 7-1. The Lady Cats added another pair of runs to their score on RBI doubles by Osborn and pitcher Kelci Hasenfratz.

With the score 7-3 the Charles Page offense went back to work and didn't look back scoring the final 8 runs of the contest. Pennington led the way in game two with four RBI, Luttrell added three, Jensen Arnold and Presnell each had two. 

Pennington (5-0) picked up the win on the mound pitching all seven innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits and striking out four batters.

The Lady Sandite offense was hot all night, scoring at least one run in eleven of twelve innings played. The pair of victories pushed the Sand Springs win streak to fourteen games, including a 9-1 triumph over former district No. 1 Yukon. Sand Springs is the only undefeated team remaining in District 6A-3. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday at 1:20 p.m. when they play 3A Perry (10-17) on field #9 at Bentley Park in the Bixby Tournament.

Lady Sandite Softball wins 12-straight, takes #1 spot in district with 9-1 defeat of Yukon

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity Softball team (15-3, 6-0) withstood a lot of rain last week, but they didn't get rusty. After having rain-outs against Bixby and Yukon, the girls went eleven days without a game. Some teams might get soggy, but not the Lady Sandites.

This is the second year in a row that Sand Springs and Yukon met while both teams were undefeated in district play. Last year the Millerettes (18-3, 10-1) got the upper hand and spoiled an otherwise spotless season in Sandite district play. This time it was the Sandites who broke Yukon's nine-straight district win-streak. 

Sophomore standout Jacie Taber (7-1) got her sixth-straight win on the mound, giving up only five hits and one run against four strikeouts. Seniors Sydney Pennington and Jessica Collins led the offense. Each scored two runs and two RBI. Collins had three hits on four at-bats and Pennington had two hits on three at-bats, and one home run.

The Sandites took the lead in the top of the first, loading the bases with the first three batters. Freshman Felicity Horn scored on a wild pitch before Yukon pitcher Breley Webb found her groove and struck out Madelyn Blair and Sabrina Usher. Taber grounded out to second and the Millerettes warded off the Sandite tide.

The Sandite defense was quick to put Yukon on notice as Taber struck out Rylee Uhr, Madelyn Blair caught a popup, and Cameron Clemons scooped up a hard grounder at third for the putout at first.

In the second inning there was no stopping the Sandites. Webb struck out Kimi Presnell to start, but then the bats came alive. Clemons doubled, Rachel Blair singled, and Horn hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Clemons. Collins singled to score Blair, and Pennington hit her fourth home run of the season to make it 5-0.

The Millerettes got on the board in the bottom of the second with a home run from Hannah Franklin, but that would be the lone score of the evening for the Yukon team.

In the top of the fourth Clemons reached on an error and scored on a single from Collins, who was in turn brought in on a double from Madelyn Blair. Pennington singled before Blair's at-bat and advanced home on a throw for the 8-1 advantage.

In the top of the seventh Madelyn Blair, Usher, and Taber all singled to load the bases. Presnell hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Blair, but the other runners were left stranded. The home team managed to land a single in the bottom of the inning, but was unable to stage a come-back attempt.

The Lady Sandites still have eight district games left, including a rematch with Yukon, but for now they'll be sailing high on a twelve game winning streak as the only undefeated team remaining in district 6A-3. 

The girls will return to action Thursday afternoon in a home double header against district opponent Ponca City. First game starts at 5:00 p.m.