Okmulgee drops 15-14 slugfest title to Stonewall

The Okmulgee Bulldog varsity baseball team took home the runner-up plaque at last weekend’s Darrell Fairchild Memorial Tournament in Depew.

The Bulldogs came away with the second-place finish at the 3-day event following a 15-14 loss to the Stonewall Longhorns in Saturday’s championship game.

The Okmulgee diamond squad began tournament play last Thursday morning with a 10-2, run-rule, win over the Davenport Bulldogs, who are coached by former Preston baseball standout Brett Case, then advanced to the title game with a 7-5, comefrom- behind, victory over the Meeker Bulldogs in Friday’s semifinal action.

The second-place finish puts the Bulldogs at 3-7 on the year, heading into this week’s home-andhome District 3A-6 series against Metro Christian. The Okmulgee squad was scheduled to travel to Tulsa on Monday for the opening contest with the Patriots, while the Bulldogs are scheduled to host the Tulsa private school in the series finale on Tuesday.

Okmulgee will also be in action Thursday with a trip to Roland for a 3-way showdown with Sallisaw Central and the host Roland Rangers, beginning at 1 p.m.

In last Thursday’s opening-round win over Davenport, the Okmulgee squad broke a scoreless tie with six runs in the top of the second.

Davenport tallied its two runs in the home half of the inning, while Okmulgee plated two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings to put the finishing touches on the 10-2, run-rule, victory.

Daylan Callaway led the offensive attack for the victorious Bulldogs, finishing 3 for 5 with two singles, a double, and an RBI.

Braelin Lewis also recorded a multi-hit game for Okmulgee in the opening-round win, going 2 for 3 with a pair of singles.

The other Bulldog hits in the win over Davenport came on a double by Joseph Robertson, RBI single by Alex Gilmour, RBI triple by Jordan Deere, and 2-run double by Dustin Dunlap.

Brandon Simon earned the pitching win for Okmulgee, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out seven, walking four, and hitting a batter in five innings of work.

In Friday’s semifinal showdown with Meeker, the Okmulgee squad began the scoring with a run in the top of the first. Meeker plated three in the third and two in the fifth for a 5-1 advantage after five innings of action.

The Okmulgee diamond squad erupted for six runs in the top of the sixth, then kept the Meeker bats quiet in the final two innings of regulation for the 7-5, come-from-behind, win and earn a spot in the tournament title game.

Alex Gilmour earned the pitching win for Okmulgee in Friday’s semifinal contest, striking out five, walking four, and hitting a batter in three innings of scoreless relief work.

Gilmour took over for starter Daylan Callaway with no outs, the bases loaded, and the Bulldogs trailing 5-1, in the fifth. Callaway gave up five runs on 10 hits with three walks and six strikeouts in four-plus innings of work.

The Bulldog offense was led by Dustin Dunlap (2 for 3, 2 singles, 2 RBIs) and Joseph Robertson (2 for 2, single, double) with two hits apiece. Dunlap’s 2 RBIs came on a go-ahead 2-run single in the 6-run sixth.

The other Okmulgee base hits against Meeker came on singles by Jordan Deere, Braelin Lewis, and Jax Finch, a double by Gilmour, and RBI singles by Callaway and Ryder Hedges.

In Saturday’s title game against Stonewall, the Bulldogs found themselves in an early 9-0 deficit after Stonewall scored two in the first and seven in the second. Okmulgee tallied three runs in the home half of the second to make it a 9-3 contest after two innings of action.

Stonewall made it an 11-3 margin with two runs in the top of the third, while the Bulldogs countered with six runs in their half of the inning for an 11-9 deficit.

After the Longhorns pushed across a run in the top of the fourth for a 12-9 advantage, the Okmulgee squad cut the deficit to one, 12-11, with two runs in the last of the inning.

After a scoreless fifth, both teams tallied three runs in their half of the sixth to send the championship game to the final inning of regulation with Stonewall still clinging to a 1-run lead, 1514.

After the Okmulgee defense kept their opponents off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, the Bulldog offense was unable to complete the comeback bid, being held scoreless in their last at-bat of regulation to wind up on the short end of a 15-14 outcome.

The top hitters for the Bulldogs in the title game were Alex Gilmour (2 for 3, 2 singles, RBI) and Brandon Simon (2 for 5, 2 singles, RBI) with two hits apiece.

The other Okmulgee base hits against Stonewall came on singles by Daylan Callaway, Braelin Lewis, and Joseph Robertson, 3-run single by Jordan Deere, 3-run double by Dustin Dunlap, and 3-run triple by Jax Finch.

Dunlap was saddled with the pitching loss for the Bulldogs, allowing 12 runs on 14 hits with five walks, two strikeouts, and two hit batters in three-plus innings of work.

Deere gave up three runs on six hits in four innings of relief for Okmulgee, taking over for Dunlap with no outs in the top of the fourth.

— Depew Tournament First Round

Okmulgee 10, Davenport 2

Okmulgee: 0 – 6 – 0 – 2 – 2 10 – 9 – 2 Davenport:0-2-0-0-0 2 -2-0 WP: Brandon Simon LP: Edwards HR: None — Semifinals

Okmulgee 7, Meeker 5

Okmulgee:0-1-0-0-0-6-0 7-10-0 Meeker: 0-0-3-0-2-0-0 5-10-0 WP: Alex Gilmour LP: Wahpepah HR: None — Championship

Stonewall 15, Okmulgee 14

Stonewall:2-7-2-1-0-3-0 15-20-0 Okmulgee:0-3-6-2-0-3-0 14-10-0 WP: Romines LP: Dustin Dunlap HR: None