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October 11, 2008

Oktaha to play Dale for state championship

By Mike Kays

Phoenix Sports Editor



OKLAHOMA CITY — It wasn’t a work of art, but at this point for Oktaha, just staying alive counts.

Surviving a plethora of miscues in a battle of cats, the Tigers of the east side of the state beat Verden’s Tigers 5-3 in a Class A baseball semifinals at Dolese Park on Friday.

Winning pitcher Daniel Hayes (5-1) allowed just two hits, a leadoff single in the first inning and a two-out single in the fifth. Oktaha committed four errors, three of which led to a pair of first-inning runs and another in the fourth. The latter making it a 3-2 Verden advantage.

“I got a little frustration out of me and just went out and did my job,” Hayes said.

“I was beginning to wonder if we’d have more errors than runs,” Oktaha coach Chris Burt said. “We can’t come out and do that today. The way Dale’s been scoring runs they don’t need our help.”

Oktaha, No. 2 in the okrankings.com poll, will play No. 3 Dale (30-4), an 11-0 winner over Fort Cobb-Broxton, in today’s 2:30 p.m. championship game, also at Dolese Park.

In the Oktaha second, Trent Martin singled and scored on a sacrifice fly, then Eric Sheridan, who doubled in the inning scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2. Oktaha took a 4-3 lead in the fifth when Cale Elam’s sacrifice fly plated Hayes, then Jon Hayes’ infield grounder was mishandled by Verden shortstop Wade Crowder, scoring Derrick Skinner, who doubled to left field.

Crowder came in to relief-pitch in the sixth and Elam added some insurance for Oktaha with a single to center that scored Dalton Perry. Perry’s walk ended the night of starting pitcher Colton Hendricks (3-2).

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