Lady Sandite Volleyball knocks off No. 10 Union in beautiful upset

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 10 ranked Union Redskins (5-5) probably expected little competition from the No. 17 Sand Springs Lady Sandites (13-9). Union’s only losses before their journey to Sand Springs were to top-ten teams. Unfortunately for them, the Sandites’ ranking is misleading.

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team had recently gone 2-4 at the Broken Arrow Invitational, but that record doesn’t show that they were one of only two teams there to win even a single set against No. 2 Norman North (12-2). It also doesn’t show that six of the ten games they lost were by five points or less.   

The Redskins got off to a fast start on the Sandites in the first set before giving up three points on errors. Madison Burris and Gloria Mutiri combined on a block to tie things up at 4-4 and Mutiri scored a kill for the lead.

Union went on a five-point run from there, but the Sandites won eight-straight rallies to reclaim the advantage. Mutiri and Holly Kersgieter each scored several kills off Burris and Lee Leslie, and Madison Ward scored the first ace of the game.

The Sandites were up 16-11 when Union went on another streak. Kendall Cotter scored a pair of aces, Gabbie Inman and Paris Hornor both registered kills, and the Redskins took the 19-16 lead before freshman Devree Youngblood broke the streak with a spike off Burris. Union continued to outscore Sand Springs till a 24-19 score looked like they had it all wrapped up.

The Sandites had other plans.

Mutiri scored off Kenzie Bradshaw, Kylie Taylor served an ace, Ashley Barrows gave up a point on an error, and MaKenzie Ward set up Mutiri to narrow the score to 24-23. Barrows scored a kill to win the set for Union, but the Sandites had shown they were here to play.

The second set was far closer and neither team allowed the other to go on a run this time. The longest scoring-streak either team managed was four rallies. The game was tied up six different times, but the Sandites led six different times and only allowed the Redskins to lead once.

Union tied things up at 15-15 with a kill from Chloe Click, then took the lead on a pair of errors. They held the advantage for only five rallies before giving it up on an error at 18-18 and never recovered. Mutiri took the lead at 20-19 off a set from MaKenzie Ward, Kersgieter served an ace, then scored again after a Union time out. The final minutes were back-and-forth on scoring, but Sand Springs never relinquished the lead and ultimately won 25-23 on a kill from Mutiri.

The third game belonged explosively to the Sandites. After giving up the first three rallies to Union on errors, the Sandites tied things up at 4-4 and took the lead with back-to-back aces from Burris. Union never tied it and never even got close to leading again.

The Sandites scored seven aces in the third game: two from Burris, two from Kersgieter, two from Kendall Wise, and one from Mutiri. The host team had doubled down on their visitors 22-10 midway through the game. The Redskins tried to rally, but they were too far in the deficit and Sand Springs won 25-17.

The visitors found their feet in the fourth game and led for most of it. Sand Springs battled heavy in the last minutes and got within a few points, but Union prevailed 25-22 to force a fifth set.

The final game started off a tad rocky for the Sandites with some communication errors and campfires, but after tying it up at 5-5 with a kill from Mutiri, the Sandites took the lead and never looked back. Kersgieter scored the go-ahead point, Mutiri and Leslie combined on a block, Hornor committed an error, Mutiri added another kill, and Mutiri and Leslie combined on yet another block for the 10-5 lead.

The next five points were decided by errors and the Redskins closed the gap to 12-9 with a tipped ball from Inman. Kersgieter almost saved a shanked dig that went OB, but the ball caught the antenna for the point. Morgan Livingston hit an ace, and the Redskins threatened at 12-11.

Union got into the net on the next rally and Wise served an ace to make it 14-11. A four-touch call gave Union a point, but MaKenzie Ward set up Youngblood for the game-winner.

Mutiri led the Sandites in scoring with twenty-nine kills, five blocks, and two aces, followed by Kersgieter with a season-best fourteen kills, two assists, and four aces. Youngblood was next in on the action with a season-best ten kills, and Wise also scored a season-best with five kills and four aces. Burris had her best night of the season with nineteen assists, followed by MaKenzie Ward with eighteen.

The Lady Sandites will get a full week off after playing twenty matches in twenty-one days. They’ll return to action next Tuesday in an away match at Owasso. Owasso is ranked fifth in 6A with a 4-0 record. Freshmen begin play at 4:00 p.m., Junior Varsity is at 5:00 p.m. and Varsity is at 6:00 p.m.

Sandite Softball trumps defending State Champions from Choctaw, 4-1

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (2-2) split their first two games at the Broken Arrow Tournament Friday morning. A knock-down drag-out game against Owasso ended in a 2-1 loss after being tied up at 1-1 for four innings. The next game started out the same as the first with Sand Springs taking an early lead before being tied up for several innings once again. This time, however, they were able to go-ahead for a 4-1 payback win over Choctaw, who defeated the Sandites 4-3 in the State Championship finals last year. 

Madelyn Blair (1-1) got the loss on the mound against Owasso, giving up nine hits against two strikeouts. The girls had a tough time getting on base, landing only two hits over the course of the game.

Senior Jessica Collins reached base in the bottom of the second after being hit by a pitch, then scored on an RBI double from freshman Sabrina Usher. The Lady Rams (2-0) quickly retaliated with an run in the top of the third, then took the lead in the top of the seventh for the win.

Jacie Taber (1-1) picked up her first win of the season against Choctaw, pitching five strikeouts against three walks and only two hits. 

The Lady Sandites took an early lead in the top of the first as Sydney Pennington reached on a fielder's choice and scored off an RBI double by Madelyn Blair. Janessa Larman got the Yellowjackets on the board with a sacrifice to score Brooke Edwards in the bottom of the second.

In the top of the fifth freshman Felicity Horn smacked a beautiful RBI double to score Cameron Clemons. Sydney Pennington hit her first homerun of the season in the top of the sixth and Collins sent a double into the left field fence to score Madelyn Blair for the fourth and final run. 

The defending State Champions threatened in the bottom of the sixth. Josie Swafford reached on an error at shortstop, Kennedy Henry drew a walk, and Lainee Brown reached on an error at second base to load the field with only one out. Haleigh Scott sent a big hit into the waiting glove of Horn in left field, and Taber struck out Megan McAffrey for the win.

The tournament is only playing to six innings. 

Weather pending, the Lady Sandites will take on Putnam City North (0-3) at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday they'll play Durant (2-0) at 9:00 a.m. and Edmond North (2-2) at 12:30 p.m. before beginning bracket play at 6:00 p.m.

Down but not out: Sandites fall 4-0 to Owasso, but could get rematch Thursday

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team got off to a great start at Regionals Wednesday when they handed the Broken Arrow Tigers a 6-3 defeat at Stigall Field in Owasso. The Rams would prove to be too much for the Sandites in round three, however, and the host team shut out their foe 4-0.

The Regional Tournament is double-elimination, so despite the loss the boys could still earn their ticket to State if they can win three more games. The Sandites will face the winner of the Broken Arrow vs Sapulpa game Thursday at 5:00 PM, and if they win that match they'll get to play Owasso again Thursday at 7:30. Because Owasso is undefeated, the Sandites will have to beat them twice to win the Regional. 

It may sound improbable, but the Lady Sandite Fast Pitch Softball team accomplished that feat last fall when they battled their way through the consolation bracket to win the Regional Tournament and ultimately lost the State Championship by a single run.

University of Oklahoma committed junior Jake Terry (5-4) pitched all six innings for the Sandites, giving up seven hits, six walks, and four earned runs against three strikeouts. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College-signee Shane Lang got the win for the Rams, allowing just six hits and one walk against six strikeouts and zero runs in seven innings. 

The game was a slow starter with neither team getting on the board till the bottom of the third when Lang hit a sacrifice fly to score Connor Beichler. The score held at 1-0 till the bottom of the fifth when the Rams finally began to put in work at the plate. 

Beichler walked, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice by Tyler Brown. All-American Parker Dunn singled, Lang walked, and Nick Keim hit a sacrifice fly to score Dunn. Kyle Petty brought in pinch runner Sam Thompson on a single for the 4-0 lead.

It was down to the wire for the Sandites. Trevor Tolbert reached on an error and Joey Montgomery was hit by pitch in the top of the sixth, but both were stranded. Terry pitched a no-hitter in the bottom of the inning with one strikeout, and the Sandites had one shot left to tie or take the lead.

Hunter Greathouse grounded out to short. Jake Ward hit a line drive single into left field and was replaced on base by Kameron Adcock. Mack Thompson flied out in foul territory. Ty Fain picked up a single, but the two runners were left stranded as Tolbert grounded out to second to end the game.

Sandites go down 11-10 to Owasso despite 7th inning homers from Thompson and Rutledge

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The top-seeded Owasso Rams (23-5, 10-1) traveled to Sand Springs (20-13, 6-6) Monday night for what will likely be one of the most memorable games of the season. The seven inning game lasted for three and a half hours as the two teams each reached double digits in hitting and went through a total of five pitchers. Three Sandites hit home runs, including two in the final stretch that nearly propelled the Sandites past their opponent. Sand Springs never once led, but it was easily one of the most hotly contested games of the year. 

Owasso's Lance Christenberry got the start and the win on the mound, giving up two earned runs and four hits over two innings. Shane Lang got the win, pitching over four innings and allowing three earned runs and six hits against four strikeouts. University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (5-4) got the start and loss for the Sandites and allowed six walks, seven hits, and seven earned runs against six strikeouts over four innings. Rhett Rutledge (1-1) pitched relief and gave up three walks, three hits, and three earned runs over three innings.

Owasso started off the scoring early as Athanie Leeviraphan doubled and came in on a hit by Parker Dunn in the top of the first. The home team retaliated quickly, however, as Joey Montgomery walked and reached home on an error.  

The Rams had an explosive second inning with four base hits and a walk for a 5-1 lead. Nick Keim singled, Jake Enzbrenner walked, and Caleb Denny brought in Keim on a single. Connor Beichler hit a two run double to score Denny and Jordan Lytle, and Tyler Brown singled in Beichler. 

Terry was first to the plate in the bottom of the second and hit his second home run of the season. Josh Taber singled in Rutledge to narrow it to 5-3 and despite a pair of walks in the top of the third, the Sandites managed to hold Owasso to their first runless inning. 

Brayden Lloyd replaced Christenberry on the mound in the bottom of the third and gave up a single to Montgomery and walked Hunter Greathouse. Tyler McCallie ran courtesy for Montgomery and advanced to third on a fielder's choice before scoring on an error to cut the gap to 5-4.  

The Rams more than made up for their prior gaffs in the top of the fourth, however, as Leeviraphan and Beichler drew walks. Dunn scored Leeviraphan on a double into the top of the right field fence and Lang reached on a dropped third strike that allowed Beichler to score. Enzbrenner hit a sacrifice to score Dunn for the 8-4 advantage before Dodger Turner foul tipped out to bring in the Sandites. 

The fourth continued to be the wildest inning of the game as Mack Thompson, Taber, and Jake Ward singled to load the bases. The Umpire took a pitch to the head with Ward at bat and went down for a solid five minutes before getting back on his feet and valiantly continuing the game. Taber started for third on Ward's hit and doubled back and was nearly picked off but was saved by an error that allowed Thompson to come home. Montgomery struck out, but Treyce Tolbert tripled to score Taber and Ward and cut the score down to 8-7. 

Rutledge went to the mound in the top of the fifth. Leeviraphan and Sam Thompson grounded out to start but Brown and Beichler both drew walks and came in on a three run homer by Dunn to make it 11-7. 

The bottom of the fifth was a no hitter and while the Rams came close to scoring in the sixth, Enzbrenner was put out at home to bring the Sandites in. Rutledge drew a walk and Ward was hit by pitch, but neither scored in the first runless inning of the game. 

The Sandites set themselves up well for a rally as they stranded two Owasso base-runners in the top of the seventh and didn't allow any more runs. Greathouse reached on an error to start the offense off, but was put out at second on a fielder's choice. Mack Thompson hit his first home run of the year to score McCallie, and Rutledge followed it up his second homer of the year to cut the gap to a single run. Unfortunately Taber went down swinging and the Rams walked away with the win. 

The Sandites will get a rematch Tuesday at 4:30 in Owasso, assuming the weather stays away till then. The season is rapidly coming to a close with only three games left till Regionals. The boys have a district makeup game Thursday against Bartlesville (10-19) and the season finale will by Friday against Tulsa Memorial (9-16).

The photo gallery from this event can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Baseball/42516-Sand-Springs-vs-Owasso/