Stillwater claims wild Class 6A baseball regional by holding off Sand Springs, 8-7
By Buck Ringgold
Photo of Stillwater team by Stillwater Baseball Twitter page
SAND SPRINGS - Regardless of how Stillwater's baseball team will fare at the upcoming Class 6A state tournament, the Pioneers won't forget their unconventional journey there.
In a regional that saw a day postponed by rain, a crazy late Friday night comeback and a Saturday suspension, the Pioneers finally finished the tournament with a championship.
A two-out RBI single from Parker Jeffery in the top of the seventh broke a 7-all score as Stillwater finally finished off tournament host Sand Springs with an 8-7 win on Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers (28-9) won three straight elimination games after losing to Sand Springs on Wednesday.
"Basically, we said all we had to do was fight," said Stillwater senior Gage Gundy, who hit three home runs in the title game. "When we lost that first game to Sand Springs, we knew it was going to be a journey to fight back.
"It's a lot more games and a lot more pitching, we just had to piece things together and every day, every inning, all we talked about was just keep fighting and fighting and fighting, just keep going and don't stop."
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Stillwater will now move on to play in the 6A state tournament later this week in the Oklahoma City area. Pairings are likely to be announced sometime on Monday.
The Pioneers fought their way back through the regional elimination bracket after falling to Sand Springs on Wednesday. Thursday's games were postponed due to rain.
Stillwater then won its first elimination game Friday, building a 20-1 lead at one point before finally holding off Booker T. Washington, 25-15, to reach the regional championship round later that day, a rematch with Sand Springs.
The Pioneers trailed the Sandites, 3-1, entering the bottom of the seventh before tying the score on a two-RBI home run from Owen Coil. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Ty Wilson's walk-off single gave Stillwater a 4-3 win, forcing an extra game between the Pioneers and Sandites, which was played on Saturday.
However, after Stillwater took a 7-5 lead in the top of the sixth, the game was suspended after the home plate umpire was injured on a foul ball, though he was able to walk off the field on his own power. With only one other umpire being used, and after a lengthy delay, it was decided both teams would come back and finish the game on Sunday.
When action resumed, Sand Springs tied the score at 7-all in the bottom of the sixth on solo home runs from Rhen Rutledge and Jackson Turney, the latter coming with two out.
But in the top of the seventh, Wilson hit a one-out single and went to second on a groundout. That brought up Jeffery, who dropped a single into center to bring home Wilson and put Stillwater in front.
Stillwater pitcher Anthony Smith then retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to put the finishing touches on the Pioneers' unbelievable ride to the regional title.
Gundy - who helped lead Stillwater's football team to a state title last December playing quarterback - finished the game going 3-for-3. All three hits came on solo home runs.
He led off the start of the game Saturday with a drive to left. Sand Springs came back to take a 4-1 lead, but Gundy led off the top of the third with another solo shot.
The Pioneers eventually rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth, but the Sandites tied it at 5-all with a run in their half of the inning.
Then, after the first two Pioneers were retired in the top of the sixth, Gundy came up again and drilled an 0-2 pitch which he sent soaring over the wall in left center.
"I really think (the third homer) was one of my best ones," Gundy said. "Even though it wasn't the furthest one out, but since it was a two-strike situation, I just stayed back and stayed on it with the off-speed pitch and getting out there and getting a hold of it to put the ball in play, and good things happened.
"The last two games we played against Sand Springs, I hadn't done my best but not terrible; I just had kind of been off-balance with my swings and swinging at bad pitches, and (Saturday) I really saw the ball well, not swinging at first-pitch off-speed (pitches) and really working the count and it's came in my favor."
Stillwater's Gage Gundy
Two pitches after Gundy's third home run, sophomore Ethan Holliday followed with a solo blast of his own, which cleared the wall in right. On the very next pitch was the foul ball which injured the home plate umpire.
Smith was the winning pitcher in relief, going the last two innings and striking out four.
For Sand Springs (29-9), Jace Arnold was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Brody Rutledge also doubled and drove in three runs.
The Pioneers' regional title also continued a wild shakeup in Class 6A. Each of the top three teams in the latest SBLive Oklahoma Top 25 poll - No. 1 Tulsa Union, No. 2 Sand Springs and No. 3 Broken Arrow - all were eliminated in regional tournaments each team hosted.
Stillwater had been ranked No. 4, so it's possible the Pioneers could move all the way up to No. 1 when the 6A state tournament starts later this week.
But now the Pioneers are determined to continue the momentum from this past weekend - a weekend they won't sure forget. Gundy is one who will definitely remember his performance, especially in a game that took two days to complete.
"That's what I'm here for, trying to help the team in any way possible," he said.
