Oklahoma HS baseball: Stillwater, Sand Springs, Westmoore, Owasso advance in Class 6A

The Class 6A Oklahoma high school baseball state tournament started Thursday at Norman North High School. Here are recaps from each game.

More: Oklahoma high school baseball: Class 6A-2A state tournament schedule, scores

Class 6A: Stillwater 6, Choctaw 5

Tyner Wilson stepped into the batter’s box at the top of the seventh inning with one goal in mind.

“I just wanted to hit the dang baseball,” Wilson said.

Stillwater’s senior left fielder stared down a two-run deficit with a final opportunity to make something happen. Choctaw’s closer Drake Fittro had managed to get two outs but loaded the bases in the process. Wilson then smashed a double to left field, scoring three runs and securing the Pioneers' 6-5 win in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

“I thought it was gone,” Wilson said. “But it just shows, never count us out. We are a fighting team. We have the best lineup and the best hitters in the state. We’re never out of any ballgame no matter what the score is.”

Choctaw had gone up 5-0 in the fourth inning after senior Easton Teel was threatening with a no-hitter. However, momentum changed in the sixth after Stillwater junior Ethan Holliday, the son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, hit a three-run home run on a full count.

“We didn’t panic,” Stillwater head coach Marty Lees said. “We took advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves. We just didn’t have a lot of baserunners to do much with, but once we did, we put a guy in the stretch where the ball wasn’t as firm and the slider wasn’t as good and a lot of good things happened.”

The Pioneers will play Westmore, who run-ruled Enid 10-0 in the first round, in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Norman North High School.

“It is great that we get to play another day,” Lees said. “All you are trying to do is live for another day.”

Class 6A: Westmoore 10, Enid 0 

Westmoore started early against Enid and never looked back.

A season ago, the Jaguars were in their opponents position, losing in the opening round of the state tournament, but this year, Westmoore redeemed itself cruising past the Plainsmen 10-0 run-rule win in the Class 6A state quarterfinal game.

“They were unbelievable today,” Westmoore coach Andrew McGuire said. “They came out from the very first pitch. We expected that we could do that, but to actually go and execute was pretty impressive.”

A quick start halted Enid, which had won 12 of its last 14 games, and forced it to pull from the bullpen after senior Seth Carlson gave up five runs in the first. Junior shortstop Jacob Wehba led the way for Westmoore during its 6-0 start, clocking a hit, a run and two RBIs.

The Jaguars put together a three-run inning in the third and plated one in the sixth, giving them their final run of the game. Westmoore finished with 10 hits, two walks and tallied nine RBIs against the Plainsmen. Despite the showing from the Jaguar’s offense, the defense, behind senior pitcher Bradley Ruby who pitched six innings, allowed four hits and four walks, handed Enid its largest loss of the season.

“Rudy was awesome,” McGuire said. “He battled early, settled in and he did what he’s done all season.”

Westmoore will play the winner of the Stillwater-Choctaw game during the state semifinals at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at Norman North.

“We are doing the same thing tomorrow,” McGuire said. “It is always, play catch, throw strikes and get your hits when they matter.”

Sand Springs 9, Edmond Santa Fe 3

Sand Springs knew it would have to play well offensively after Edmond Santa Fe started Savion Sims.The sophomore is an OU commit. However, the Sandites battled in the box, causing Sims, who threw almost 70 pitches through the first two innings, to load the bases and bring in the first run of the game off a walk, setting the pace for Sand Springs’ 9-3 win during the Class 6A state tournament quarterfinals.

“Our approach is the same every single time,” Sand Springs head coach Matt Brown said. “We are going to go up there and be aggressive, and the kids were just really disciplined today.”

Although the Wolves kept it close through four innings, tying the game at 3 after junior Jorge Balcazar scored Sims, the Sandites strung together consistent at-bats through the next three innings.

After two consecutive failed tagouts at home plate by Edmond Santa Fe that scored seniors Wyatt Rutledge and Miller Tavaglione, Sand Springs had a three-run inning in the fifth. The Sandites scored six of their nine runs in the last three innings.

“The kids played great today,” Brown said. “But I wasn’t expecting anything different. They got up there. They were competitive.”

Sand Springs will play the winner of the Edmond Memorial and Owasso game at 11 a.m. Friday at Norman North.

“They are going to show up ready to play,” Brown said about the next matchup. “We are going to get after it.”

Owasso 7, Edmond Memorial 1

Jackson Farrell stood on the mound as Edmond Memorial loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth inning.

“I just had to trust my stuff,” Farrell said.

Before that, the Owasso senior had not allowed a walk or a hit. Looking down the first true threat of the game from the Bulldogs, the left-hander, who has signed with Arkansas, stayed steady.

“Jackson has just been really good all year,” Owasso head coach Larry Turner said. “He has only allowed five earned runs all season.”

Edmond Memorial was able to plate one run in the fifth. However, Farrell then forced a fly out to right, which also resulted in a tag out at home, and an out at first, propelling the Rams to a 7-1 win in the Class 6A state tournament quarterfinals.

“Everything was going great, but I had to trust my defense to help me get out of that one," Farrell said. “We had a great defensive showing and the offense came out as well.”

Farrell threw 81 pitches, 63 of which were strikes, and pitched seven innings, allowed three hits, a run, a walk and struckout eight. The Ram’s dominant performance continued on offense and was led by senior center fielder Luke Williams, who went 3 of 4 at the plate and tallied three runs and three RBIs.

Owasso will play Sand Springs, which defeated Edmond Santa Fe 9-1, in the semifinals at 11 a.m. Friday at Norman North High School.

“I’m not surprised at all they’re in the semis,” Turner said. “They’re just hard working guys. They just go grind and find a way to score runs and make it happen.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS baseball: Stillwater, Sand Springs, Westmoore, Owasso win