Oklahoma high school baseball state tournament pairings set for 6A-2A; Red Oak, Roff claim first two baseball state titles
By Buck Ringgold
Five high school baseball state championships in Oklahoma will be decided later this week.
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association officially released the brackets for the state tournaments in classes 6A through 2A.
All quarterfinal games in each class take place Thursday starting at 11 a.m. Then on Friday, all semifinal games begin at 11 a.m.
Saturday, the 5A and 6A title games take place at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, while the 4A-2A title games will be held at Shawnee.
Here now are the state tournament pairings for each classification:
Class 6A
Thursday
at Norman North
Edmond Deer Creek (30-10) vs. Jenks (34-6), 11 a.m.
Edmond Memorial (27-11) vs. Owasso (29-8), 1:30 p.m.
Bixby (33-7) vs. Westmoore (29-11), 4 p.m.
Enid (25-9) vs. Edmond Santa Fe (29-11), 6:30 p.m.
Friday
at Norman North
Edmond Deer Creek-Jenks winner vs. Edmond Memorial-Owasso winner, 11 a.m.
Bixby-Westmoore winner vs. Enid-Edmond Santa Fe winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (OKC)
Championship, 12:05 p.m.
Class 5A
Thursday
at Edmond Santa Fe
Piedmont (30-8) vs. McAlester (21-18), 11 a.m.
Noble (26-11) vs. Sapulpa (28-10), 1:30 p.m.
Collinsville (34-7) vs. Midwest City Carl Albert (22-17), 4 p.m.
Bishop Kelley (21-11) vs. Duncan (26-7), 6:30 p.m.
Friday
at Edmond Santa Fe
Piedmont-McAlester winner vs. Noble-Sapulpa winner, 11 a.m.
Collinsville-Midwest City Carl Albert winner vs. Bishop Kelley-Duncan winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (OKC)
Championship, 3 p.m.
Class 4A
at Shawnee
Tuttle (34-8) vs. Fort Gibson (25-6), 11 a.m.
Elk City (28-9) vs. Verdigris (30-4), 1:30 p.m.
Pryor (29-12) vs. Blanchard (32-5), 4 p.m.
Lincoln Christian (30-12) vs. Marlow (30-8), 6:30 p.m.
Friday
at Shawnee
Tuttle-Fort Gibson winner vs. Elk City-Verdigris winner, 11 a.m.
Pryor-Blanchard winner vs. Lincoln Christian-Marlow winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Shawnee
Championship, 5 p.m.
Class 3A
Thursday
at Choctaw
Oklahoma Christian School (31-8) vs. Kingston (26-7), 11 a.m.
Bethel (18-7) vs. Keys (17-12), 1:30 p.m.
Victory Christian (33-8) vs. Washington (29-9), 4 p.m.
Salina (30-8) vs. Heritage Hall (30-4), 6:30 p.m.
Friday
at Choctaw
Oklahoma Christian School-Kingston winner vs. Bethel-Keys winner, 11 a.m.
Victory Christian-Washington winner vs. Salina-Heritage Hall winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Shawnee
Championship, 11 a.m.
Class 2A
Thursday
at Dolese Park (OKC)
Silo (27-0) vs. Calera (16-10), 11 a.m.
Cashion (24-5) vs. Amber-Pocasset (25-6), 1:30 p.m.
Dale (22-9) vs. Morrison (25-8), 4 p.m.
Latta (20-8) vs. Oktaha (28-7), 6:30 p.m.
Friday
at Dolese Park (OKC)
Silo-Calera winner vs. Cashion-Amber-Pocasset winner, 11 a.m.
Dale-Morrison winner vs. Latta-Oktaha winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Shawnee
Championship, 2 p.m.
Red Oak outlasts Canute for Class A state title
For the first time since 2016, Red Oak claimed a spring baseball state title.
In a back-and-forth Class A championship game Monday at Shawnee, the Eagles outlasted top-seeded Canute, 7-6. The Class A and B state tournaments were pushed back due to rain, and both title games were held Monday.
Red Oak (26-7), which was ranked third entering the state tournament, also won its first baseball title since capturing the 2019 fall championship.
The Eagles scored two runs in both the third and fourth innings to take two-run leads, only to have Canute respond each time. In the top of the fifth, the Trojans tied the score at 5-all on a two-RBI home run from Dru Steffes.
But in the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles posted another two-run inning and this time made it stand. Red Oak broke the deadlock for good on an RBI single from sophomore Tanner King and added another run for a 7-5 lead.
Canute scored again with a run in the top of the sixth, but Red Oak relief pitcher Coby Bell retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to seal things for the Eagles.
King, Bell, Brex Caldwell and Chance Pair each had two-hit games, and King, Bell and Caldwell each drove in two runs.
Caldwell, a sophomore and Oklahoma State commit, was also the winning pitcher, allowing five earned runs on nine hits over six innings, striking out eight. Bell struck out two batters in his one-inning relief appearance to pick up the save.
Kasen Legrand had two hits for Canute, which finished the season 27-3.
Roff rolls to another Class B title
Roff made it a "four-peat" in Monday's Class B championship game in Shawnee after a 9-3 victory against Fort Cobb-Broxton.
It was the Tigers' fourth consecutive Class B spring baseball title, also having won it in 2018, 2019 and 2021, with the 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19. They also won fall baseball state titles in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
Roff (29-3), the top-ranked team entering the Class B state tournament, actually spotted Fort Cobb-Broxton a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. But the Tigers answered with four runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a triple from Cale Baldridge which broke a 2-all score.
Fort Cobb-Broxton (27-5) closed to within a run in the top of the fifth before Roff broke the game open with three runs in its half of the inning. Beau Joplin's RBI double capped the inning, giving the Tigers a 7-3 advantage, and they added two more runs in the sixth.
Junior pitcher Tallen Bagwell threw a complete-game three-hitter in the win. He allowed two earned runs and struck out eight while throwing 107 pitches.
Kagan Honeycutt was 3-for-4 and scored twice for Roff, while Baldridge and Dylan Reed each had two hits.
Jaxon Willits, an Oklahoma commit, was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, an RBI and a run scored for Fort Cobb-Broxton.
