SBLive Oklahoma Top 25 baseball rankings: Tulsa Union vaults to top spot
By Ty Loftis
Photo of Tulsa Union baseball by Union Baseball's Twitter page
As spring has sprung, baseball season has arrived.
With that, it is time to take a look at this week's official SBLive Oklahoma Top 25 baseball rankings.
Note: Rankings are from games through Saturday, April 15.
1. Tulsa Union Redhawks
The Redhawks have taken over the top spot in the rankings with another conference sweep against Muskogee to improve to 7-1 in conference play and 24-6 overall.
The one district loss is to Bixby and the Redhawks also have conference wins against Stillwater and won the Gladys Winters Festival. In the two-game sweep of Muskogee, the offense had 23 runs on 26 hits.
2. Broken Arrow Tigers
The Tigers had a busy week, playing five games in six days. Over that span, they went 4-1, with the one loss coming to Choctaw.
They won their two district games against Ponca City, outscoring the Wildcats, 12-0. In the Turf War Festival over the weekend, Broken Arrow beat McAlester and Bryce Smith had two hits, while Dylan Holmes got the win in his first varsity start.
3. Stillwater Pioneers
The Pioneers had an interesting week last week, as they split a district series with Bartlesville. The game they lost, in Stillwater, started on Monday and finished on Wednesday because of weather.
Following that loss, Stillwater defeated Edmond Santa Fe, 15-3, on Friday. In that win, Ethan Holliday hit two home runs and added a triple.
The Pioneers have a conference series with Bixby this week that could determine the district winner.
4. Sand Springs Sandites
The Sandites have been on a tear as of late, winning their past seven and moving to 19-6 on the year.
Sand Springs won their district series against Southmoore, outscoring the Sabercats, 18-4. In a 3-2 win against Westmoore heading into the weekend, Easton Webb pitched five innings, striking out eight, and Dominic Ornelas had two RBIs.
5. Bixby Spartans
After losing three straight to start the year, it appeared as though the Spartans had turned the corner. That is until they lost a series to Enid last week and fell to Westmoore and Jenks as the week came to a close.
The Spartans have plenty of talent returning to turn things around.
6. Elk City Elks
Continuing to move up in this week’s poll is the Elks, who have won 19 of their past 20 games. This includes a perfect district record and a 10-6 win against the defending Class 4A state champs in Blanchard.
The Elks have gotten off to a solid start this year thanks in large part to the play of Oklahoma State University commit Kash Mayfield. The junior has been great on the mound and his teammates have fed off his energy.
7. Enid Plainsmen
Making a jump into the top 10 this week is the Plainsmen, who have come on strong, winning nine of their last 10.
Junior utility player Cooper Jarnigan has helped keep his team right in the hunt for playoff positioning. The Plainsmen had a big week by sweeping Bixby in district play, moving to 8-2 in conference play.
They were also down 7-0 in a game at the Edmond Tournament and scored 15 unanswered runs to get the victory, showing that they are beginning to turn the corner.
8. Washington Warriors
The Warriors suffered another loss last week, putting their overall mark at 20-4, but they remain unbeaten in district play.
Washington lost in the championship of the Marlow Outlaw Tournament. Following their most recent loss to Lone Grove, the Warriors got a 15-0 run-rule win against Comanche and Marlon Moore went 2-for-3 with a home run.
The Warriors are likely to learn from those struggles and are the favorites to repeat as Class 3A state champs.
9. Choctaw Yellowjackets
Choctaw had went through a bit of a midseason slump, but has bounced back well by winning their last 12, including two conference wins to move their district record to 9-1 and a 10-4 win against Broken Arrow.
Easton Costa struck out nine in five innings pitched in a 10-0 win against Moore last week.
10. Midwest City Carl Albert Titans
The Titans split a district series with Bishop McGuinness last week and lost to Southmoore in a festival over the weekend, dropping to 21-5 on the year. That district loss drops the Titans to 9-2 in conference play.
Despite the average week, Sammy Gonzalez hit two home runs, one of which was a grand slam.
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11. Blanchard Lions
The Lions are looking to repeat as Class 4A state champions and after a perfect start to district play and a 3-2 win against Tuttle, they seem to be the odds-on favorite.
Junior Carson Howe has already made his commitment to Murray State College, and he has been putting in a lot of hard work in the infield so far this year.
The Lions, who are a perfect 9-0 in conference, got some great experience by playing in an out-of-state tournament and that should pay dividends down the road.
12. Piedmont Wildcats
The Wildcats had been on a roll before losing to Salina and Edmond Deer Creek a week ago. Those losses move their record to 19-6, but they remain perfect in district play.
Jackson Califano is getting it done on the mound for Piedmont, as he recently pitched a complete game against El Reno, only giving up one run and allowing only two hits. In a 17-0 conference win against Del City, Weston Thomas went 3-for-3 with a double, triple and a home run.
13. Tuttle Tigers
Tuttle has moved to 25-4 on the year and got a great win against Collinsville over the weekend at the Tiger/Zebra Shootout. The Tigers suffered two losses recently, with those losses coming to Owasso and an out-of-state team in Ozark, Mo.
Tuttle will be a team to keep an eye on in Class 4A and Alex Conover will be the name to keep an eye on, as he can do a little bit of everything. The Tigers are now 12-0 in conference play and will be a real contender for the Class 4A crown.
14. Silo Rebels
The Rebels are the defending Class 2A state champions and are hungry for more, having gotten off to an 18-4 start in 2023.
Silo has now won seven straight. One of their losses came to a team at a tournament in Florida and the other three came recently against solid teams in lower classifications.
Senior Kyler Proctor is committed to Oklahoma State University and is expected to lead the way for the Rebels as the year rolls along.
15. Owasso Rams
The reigning Class 6A state champs haven’t gotten off to the hot start that they had hoped, as they stand at 18-11 on the year. Most importantly, Owasso is 8-2 in district play and most recently split a series with Jenks.
In the 2-1 win against Jenks, Jackson Farrell struck out nine and only allowed the one run.
16. Sapulpa Chieftains
The Chieftains are now 22-6 on the year after splitting with Shawnee in a district series last week. Senior Hayden Lance has kept things steady on the mound in the early parts of the season, and Jack Blevins has gotten off to a great start behind the plate.
Sapulpa has a notable win against Sand Springs and beat a few out-of-state teams at an exhibition in Gulf Shores, Ala.
17. Edmond North Huskies
The Huskies lost two district games to Yukon to start last week, and with that have fallen to 16-8 overall and are 7-3 in district play. During a recent eight-game win streak, the Huskies only allowed 11 runs.
Will Crabtree has gotten off to a great start for Edmond North and he recently announced he would be furthering his collegiate career at Westminster College in Missouri.
18. Noble Bears
The Bears split a district series with Lawton MacArthur last week and dropped another game to Deer Creek as the week neared an end to drop to 21-6 on the year.
Noble will look to get back on track this week with a key district matchup against Elgin. Following this series, they will only have one district game left.
19. Jenks Trojans
The Trojans are now 17-10 on the year, but most importantly are 8-2 in district play after a series split with Owasso.
They had an impressive 10-9 win against Bixby and in that win, it was junior Tanner Primeaux coming up clutch, as he came up with the game-winning hit.
20. Elgin Owls
The Owls are coming on strong as of late, having won 13 straight games, including two big district games against Duncan.
Elgin is a perfect 10-0 in conference play and have won both the Bill Tipton Classic and the Marlow Outlaw Tournament. Four of their losses were against top 25 competition.
Freshman Jaxon Southerland is a name to keep an eye on, as he recently threw a no-hitter, while also going 3-for-3 at the plate.
21. Collinsville Cardinals
The Cardinals are an impressive 25-3 on the year even after dropping two games last week. Those two losses were against an out-of-state team and Tuttle, with the third loss coming in early March to Stillwater.
Their offense is rolling and the pitching staff is doing its job as well. In a run-rule win against Jay, Corbin Gorrell hit a home run and had three RBIs.
22. Fort Cobb-Broxton Mustangs
The Mustangs were a game short of winning the Class B state championship last year and sitting at 19-4, they are looking to avenge that loss from last year. Three of their losses were against top 25 teams.
The Mustangs won the Cashion Tournament by outscoring opponents, 38-3. The Mustangs most recently beat Weatherford and Lindsay, and will begin district play this weekend.
23. Duncan Demons
The defending Class 5A state champions have gotten out to a solid 19-6 start, but recently dropped two district games to Elgin. For the Demons, it all starts with their dominant pitching staff.
In the Duncan Tournament, they went 2-1, losing to Norman in the championship game. Preston Giles hit a home run in a recent conference game.
24. Edmond Deer Creek Antlers
Despite going 4-2 last week, the Antlers won the most important games, winning the two district games against Putnam City West by a combined score of 24-0. Most importantly, Deer Creek stands at 8-2 in the district standings.
Expect Ashton Hardwig to lead the way for Deer Creek as the year goes along.
25. Cushing Tigers
The Tigers are a perfect 21-0 on the year, but have yet to play a team ranked inside the top 25. In their most recent win against Bristow, Brody Berlowitz and Stetson Ethridge both hit home runs.
Cushing won’t face a team ranked inside the top 25 until the playoffs start.
