Okmulgee County has sent 64 teams to spring baseball state tournament in last 77 seasons
For 45 of the last 77 seasons, Okmulgee County has had at least one representative at the spring baseball state tournament.
The 2023 season saw Okmulgee County send its 63rd and 64th teams to the spring baseball state tournament with the Dewar Dragons earning their thirdstraight trip to the Class A ‘Big Dance’ and the Preston Pirates punching their first ticket to State in seven seasons, competing in the Class 2A tournament.
In those 45 seasons, Okmulgee County has only had one season where four teams were represented at the spring baseball state tournament. That season was 2001 when the county representatives were Beggs, Henryetta, Okmulgee, and Preston. Beggs defeated Henryetta in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A state tournament, then had their state title dreams dashed in the semifinals with a 6-2 loss to Metro Christian. Preston was the only other county team to reach the semifinals in 2001, opening Class 2A tournament play with a 13-1 thrashing of Crowder before falling to Latta by a 9-4 margin in the semifinal round. Okmulgee’s 2001 Class 4A appearance ended with an opening-round loss to Elk City, 4-0.
The first county squad to punch their ticket to the ‘Big Dance’ was the Henryetta Fighting Hens in 1947. Henryetta also made state tournament appearances in 1948 and 1949 to become the first county school to reach the state tournament in three-straight seasons.
Henryetta’s first state baseball appearance saw the Hens earn a 3-2 win over Northeast in the Class A quarterfinals. Henryetta saw its inaugural state tournament appearance come to a close in the semifinal round, falling to Tulsa Central by a 13-0 margin.
Since 1947, the first season that did not feature a county diamond squad was 1951.
The first season Okmulgee County had multiple state tournament participants was 1953 when Okmulgee and Wilson competed at State. The Bulldogs competed for the Class A crown, while the Tigers battled for the Class C title in 1953.
After the 1953 season, Okmulgee County did not have a representative at the spring baseball state tournament for the next 12 seasons.
The Beggs Demons ended the state tournament hiatus in 1966, competing in their very first state baseball tournament in Class B.
The first county team to reach the state championship game was the Okmulgee Bulldogs, who battled Owasso in the Class 3A state title contest in 1973. The Bulldogs came home with the runner-up trophy, falling to the Rams by a 5-0 margin.
Two years later, the Bulldogs returned to the Class 3A state championship game in a rematch with Owasso. Okmulgee once again finished runner-up to the Rams, suffering a 10-0 defeat to the Owasso squad.
In 1976, Okmulgee found itself in its third state title game in Class 3A, falling by an 8-7 margin to Bishop Kelley for the Bulldogs’ third state runner-up trophy.
Two years later, Okmulgee County crowned its first state champion, as the Dewar Dragons, in their third state tournament appearance, defeated Welch by a 1-0 margin to take home the Class A state title.
In their journey towards the state championship, the Dragons opened tournament play with a 6-2 win over Stonewall, then routed Granite 16-6 in the semifinals to put the Dewar squad into the state title game for the first time in school history. The lone run for the Dragons in the state title game came on an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the first.
The only other county team to be crowned state spring baseball champions were the Henryetta Knights in 2003, who defeated Marietta by a 2-0 margin with both runs coming across in the Henryetta half of the third.
The 2003 season is the only time two county teams competed for two different state titles in the same campaign. While Henryetta was on its way to the Class 3A crown in 2003, the Preston Pirates were competing in their first-ever state championship game in Class 2A, falling by a 5-0 margin to Latta.
In 1988, Okmulgee County had its first 3-team state tournament appearance. Dewar (Class B), Okmulgee (Class 4A), and Preston (Class A) all had their 1988 state tournament appearance end in the first round with Okmulgee falling to Ardmore by a 2-1 margin, Dewar suffering a 13-0 loss to Taloga, and Preston dropping a 5-0 decision to Asher.
The other seasons that saw three county teams punch their ticket to the state tournament in spring baseball were 1999 (Henryetta, Morris, Preston) and 2002 (Beggs, Henryetta, Preston).
Henryetta holds the county record for consecutive state tournament appearances with seven with the Knights earning a state tournament berth from 19972004.
Preston and Okmulgee lead the county in total state tournament appearances in spring baseball with 15 apiece. Preston punched their ticket to State in 1980, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2023, while Okmulgee has earned trips to State in 1950, 1953, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001.
Below are the complete details of each Okmulgee County spring baseball team that earned a state tournament appearance in the last 77 seasons.
— Beggs Golden Demons Appearances: 9 (6-9 Record) Championships: 0 Runner-ups: 1 (2008) — 1966 (Class B)
Quarterfinals: Beggs 2, Vinita 1 Semifinals: Sulphur 6, Beggs 5 — 2001 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Beggs 9, Hen- ryetta 5 Semifinals: Metro Christian 6, Beggs 2 — 2002 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Marietta 11, Beggs 1 — 2008 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Beggs 3, Keys 2 Semifinals: Beggs 6, Bethel 2 Championship: Sperry 15, Beggs 2 — 2010 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Sperry 3, Beggs 2 — 2015 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Beggs 7, Hartshorne 3 Semifinals: Adair 3, Beggs 0 — 2016 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Kingston 2, Beggs 1 — 2017 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Marlow 8, Beggs 7 — 2018 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Beggs 2, Marlow 1 Semifinals: Oktaha 5, Beggs 2 — Dewar Dragons
Appearances: 11 (9-10 Record) Championships: 1 (1978) Runner-ups: 0 — 1970 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Wister 13, Dewar 8 — 1977 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 1, Crescent 0 Semifinals: Lone Grove 1, Dewar 0 — 1978 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 6, Stonewall 2 Semifinals: Dewar 16, Granite 6 Championship: Dewar 1, Welch 0 — 1979 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dale 12, Dewar 9 — 1983 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 10, Dale 5 Semifinals: Stonewall 2, Dewar 0 — 1988 (Class B)
Quarterfinals: Taloga 13, Dewar 0 — 1989 (Class B)
Quarterfinals: Eakly 15, Dewar 9 — 2009 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 2, Fort Cobb-Broxton 1 Semifinals: Verden 6, Dewar 1 — 2021 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 4, Canute 1 Semifinals: Wister 5, Dewar 3 — 2022 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 5, Sterling 3 Semifinals: Canute 8, Dewar 2 — 2023 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Dewar 7, Wright City 4 Semifinals: Rattan 14, Dewar 4 — Henryetta Golden Knights Appearances: 11 (7-10 Record) Championships: 1 (2003) Runner-ups: 1 (2002) — 1947 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Henryetta 3, Northeast 2 Semifinals: Tulsa Central 13, Henryetta 0 — 1948 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Byng 10, Henryetta 5 — 1949 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: McAlester 4, Henryetta 1 — 1997 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Henryetta 8, Prague 5 Semifinals: Blanchard 10, Henryetta 0 — 1999 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Chandler 12, Henryetta 7 — 2000 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Hennessey 10, Henryetta 7 — 2001 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Beggs 9, Henryetta 5 — 2002 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Henryetta 7, Heritage Hall 1 Semifinals: Henryetta 4, Marietta 2 Championship: Verdigris 2, Henryetta 1 — 2003 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Henryetta 9, Metro Christian 1 Semifinals: Henryetta 7, Sperry 2 Championship: Henryetta 2, Marietta 0 — 2004 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Sperry 6, Henryetta 5; 9 innings — 2012 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Metro Christian 4, Henryetta 2 — Morris Eagles
Appearances: 2 (0-2 Record) Championships: 0 Runner-ups: 0 — 1999 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Heritage Hall 10, Morris 9 — 2011 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Sperry 1, Morris 0 — Okmulgee Bulldogs
Appearances: 15 (8-15 Record) Championships: 0 Runner-ups: 4 (1973, 1975, 1976, 1987) — 1950 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Tulsa Central 18, Okmulgee 2 — 1953 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Tahlequah 11, Okmulgee 2 — 1973 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Okmulgee 2, Bishop McGuinness 1 Semifinals: Okmulgee 7, Bishop Kelley 6 Championship: Owasso 5, Okmulgee 0 — 1975 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Okmulgee 3, Choctaw 1 Semifinals: Okmulgee 5, Ardmore 0 Championship: Owasso 10, Okmulgee 0 — 1976 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Okmulgee 3, Claremore 0 Semifinals: Okmulgee 6, Guthrie 0 Championship: Bishop Kelley 8, Okmulgee 7 — 1978 (Class 3A)
Quarterfinals: Southeast 8, Okmulgee 1 — 1985 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Guthrie 5, Okmulgee 2 — 1986 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: U.S. Grant 4, Okmulgee 3 — 1987 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Okmulgee 11, Ardmore 4 Semifinals: Okmulgee 8, Tulsa Edison 7 Championship: Miami 10, Okmulgee 5 — 1988 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Ardmore 2, Okmulgee 1 — 1994 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Clinton 6, Okmulgee 4 — 1995 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Weatherford 9, Okmulgee 1 — 1997 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Grove 11, Okmulgee 3 — 2000 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Clinton 15, Okmulgee 1 — 2001 (Class 4A)
Quarterfinals: Elk City 4, Okmulgee 0 — Preston Pirates
Appearances: 15 (5-15 Record) Championships: 0 Runner-ups: 1 (2003) — 1980 (Class B)
Quarterfinals: Binger 3, Preston 2 — 1984 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Preston 12, Crowder 2 Semifinals: Binger 9, Preston 1 — 1986 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Smithville 8, Preston 3 — 1987 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Red Oak 13, Preston 9 — 1988 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Asher 5, Preston 0 — 1991 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Sentinel 4, Preston 2 — 1992 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Binger-Oney 7, Preston 2 — 1999 (Class 2A)
Quarterfinals: Dale 11, Preston 9 — 2001 (Class 2A)
Quarterfinals: Preston 13, Crowder 1 Semifinals: Latta 9, Preston 4 — 2002 (Class 2A)
Quarterfinals: Preston 8, Wayne 1 Semifinals: Wellston 3, Preston 2 — 2003 (Class 2A)
Quarterfinals: Preston 8, Coalgate 6 Semifinals: Preston 3, Colbert 1 Championship: Latta 5, Preston 0 — 2011 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Sterling 13, Preston 5 — 2014 (Class A)
Quarterfinals: Roff 20, Preston 0 — 2016 (Class 2A)
Quarterfinals: Christian Heritage 5, Preston 1 — 2023 (Class 2A)
Quarterfinals: Silo 11, Preston 0 — Schulter Bulldogs No State Appearances — Wilson Tigers
Appearances: 1 (1-1 Record) Championships: 0 Runner-ups: 0 — 1953 (Class C)
Quarterfinals: Wilson 11, Blackburn 7 Semifinals: Southside 31, Wilson 2
