College baseball
CONNORS SPLITS — With a No. 1 ranking in another national poll achieved on Tuesday, the Connors State Cowboys split a doubleheader with Redlands College, winning 8-5 in the first game and dropping the nightcap 5-3 at El Reno.
The Cowboys are No. 1 in the pgcrosschecker.com national poll. Perfect Game (pg) is a baseball scouting service that provides the poll to the publication Baseball America. The Cowboys were No. 4 in the March 3 NJCAA poll.
In the first game, Marcus Knecht added to his home run total with his 15th as part of his four hits in four at-bats. He also had two RBIs.
Connors took the lead for good in the third inning when Knecht singled home Muskogee High School graduate Wes Newman and Daniel Meeley singled home Peter Bako. Meeley had two hits and two RBIs. James Kottaras added two hits.
Bryson Phionett (3-0) was the winning pitcher and Justin McGee entered the game in the seventh to record his first save of the season.
In the nightcap, losing pitcher Nick Grimmett gave up all five runs in the first inning and didn’t allow a runner past second base for the rest of the game. He struck out six batters in pitching a complete game.
Meeley singled in Newman and Knecht in the fifth inning for the Cowboys’ first two runs. Knecht hit his second double of the game to score Bako after Bako doubled. Meeley then hit a fly out to end the game.
Connors is off until next Tuesday when it plays at Northern-Enid at 1 p.m.
ROGERS STATE 6, BACONE 4 — Playing in Claremore, the Warriors’ Brandon Debo slugged a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to put his team ahead at 4-3, but the advantage didn’t last as the Hillcats scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the win.
Bacone drops to 12-16 for the season.
Bacone got its other seventh-inning run when Cody Pifer reached on an error to score Logan Sansoni.
Debo also had two singles in the game, while Blake Kastl hit a solo homer — his third of the season. Muskogee High School graduate Derrick Roland added two singles and two stolen bases.
Ryan Brewer (1-2) was the losing pitcher, throwing six innings, giving up five runs and striking out four batters.
Rogers State improved to 15-6 for the season.
The Warriors start Red River Athletic Conference action at 1 p.m. Friday with a doubleheader against Northwood University in Cedar Hill, Texas. The two play a single game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Prep baseball
CHECOTAH 7, OKMULGEE 1 — Winning pitcher Ryan Goad (2-0) struck out nine batters and gave up just two hits at Checotah’s diamond as the Wildcats improved to 8-2 for the season.
Mike Howell led the hitting with two singles, a double and driving in a run. Mike Easley had three singles and scored twice, while T.J. Christian had two singles and scored once.
Checotah, coming off a fourth place finish its own tournament, plays in the Poteau Festival on Thursday, facing Idabel at 1 p.m. and Panama at 3 p.m.
College softball
OSU 18, NORTHERN IOWA 0 — The No. 18 Oklahoma State softball team run-ruled the Northern Iowa Panthers 8-0 in five innings on Tuesday evening at Cowgirl Stadium. Senior Anna Whiddon threw the complete game shutout and finished with 10 strikeouts.
Mariah Gearhart and Katelyn Bright started the game with consecutive hits in the first inning. Gearhart scored on single to left field by Julie Ward and Bright scored on a sacrifice fly by Tamara Brown.
Gearhart led off the third inning with her second hit of the game and then stole second base. Three batters later, Ward hit her 13th double of the season to score Gearhart.
The Cowgirls scored two more runs in the fourth inning when Megan Castle reached on a single and advanced to third on a double by Chelsea Garcia. Castle scored when Kelsey Anchors hit the ball to right field and then Garcia scored on a sacrifice fly from Mariah Gearhart.
OSU added on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the run rule into effect. Bright started the inning with a single to left field and scored from first on a double hit by Alysia Hamilton. The final two runs scored were from UNI errors.
Whiddon picked up her 13th win of the season improving to 13-3. She gave up just three hits, walked none and struck out 10 in five innings of work.
The Cowgirls will play Northern Iowa again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Cowgirl Stadium.
EAST CENTRAL 4-11, NSU 2-9 — East Central used home runs to overtake Northeastern State for a doubleheader sweep in Lone Star Conference play at the NSU Softball Complex on Tuesday, 4-2 and 11-9.
In the opener, the Tigers (17-7, 5-3) built up a 4-0 lead before the RiverHawks (6-18, 1-7) struck for two runs in their half of the seventh.
Megan Heskett, hitting for for Jenny Collins, singled to center field, scoring both April Marsee and Lisa Ripperger. The RiverHawks pounded out five base hits with Ripperger hitting safely twice.
East Central’s Kasey Barber hit three home runs and drove in seven runs in the nightcap.
The RiverHawks led the Tigers 9-7 entering the seventh inning when Barber connected for her third homer of the game, a three-run shot over the left center field wall.
Northeastern held a 5-3 lead after two innings with a five-run explosion in the second. The big hits were a two-run single by Cayce Coleman and a Kelsi Hilderbrandt two-run RBI double to left field.
The RiverHawks increased their lead to 6-3 in the fourth on a solo homer by Shelbi Bowin, her fifth of the season.
