SANDITES BEAT OWASSO IN FINAL GAME OF BA TOURNAMENT

BROKEN ARROW – The final game of the Broken Arrow Tournament provided the most excitement for Sand Springs fans and put a positive spin on a bad day for the Sandites. After dropping two games earlier in the day, Sand Springs needed to end on a good note and third baseman Cameron Clemons answered the call. The Sand Springs fast-pitch softball team went 4-2 in the BA Tournament, beating Owasso, 6-5, in extra innings in their last game Saturday, Aug. 11 at Arrowhead Park. Clemons started the game with two errors at third base that led to four Owasso runs, but she more than made up for it in the eighth inning. In an international tie breaker, with the game tied at, 5-5, freshman Avery Tanner was placed on second base and Felicity Horn grounded out to move Tanner to third. Clemons then hit a walk-off single to the short stop to score the winning run, 6-5. Clemons went 1-4 with two RBIs, but the Sandites could only manage four hits, total. Senior pitcher Madelyn Blair pitched all eight innings with nine hits, no earned runs, three strike outs and one home run. Sand Springs ended the tournament with a 5-2 season record. DURANT 9, CPHS 4 (game 5): Sand Springs trailed 9-0 before putting runs on the boards in the board in the bottom of fifth inning, but they were too far behind. Junior pitcher Mackenzie Bechtold (1-1) got the start and freshman Reagan Rector relived her in the fifth inning. Bechtold, who got the loss, went four innings with nine hits, five earned runs, strike outs, one walk and one home run. Rector gave up three hits, four unearned runs and a walk. The Sandites recorded six hits, and Kimi Presnell, Sabrina Usher and Clemons RBIs. MOORE 4, CPHS 3 (game 4): Sand Springs took a 2-1 lead early in the game, but Moore scored three more runs to win 4-3, handing the Sandites their first loss of the tournament. Sophomore pitcher Aliyah Taff (1-1) got the start and the loss on the mound, throwing all five innings with six hits, four earned runs, one walk and one home run. Presnell, Usher, Elizabeth Luttrell and Horn were the only to record hits, and Usher, Luttrell and Horn drove in runs. FRIDAY, AUG. 10 Sand Springs got tested early in the season and they responded in a big way. The Choctaw Yellowjackets have stung the Sandites over the past few seasons and they sent Sand Springs home from the state tournament last year. On Friday, Aug. 10, Sand Springs beat Choctaw, 3-2, in the Broken Arrow Tournament at Arrowhead Park, getting that monkey off their backs. Senior pitcher Madelyn Blair (1-0) got the win againt Choctaw, throwing five innings with six hits and two runs. Seniors Cameron Clemons, Jensen Arnold and Jacie Taber all recorded RBIs for Sand Springs and the Sandites never trailed in the game. In the first inning, Arnold hit a sacrifice fly to score Kimi Presnell, but Choctaw tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Taber then hit an RBI single down the third base line to score Felicity Horn from second for the 2-1 lead. With runners on second and third and no outs in the fourth, Choctaw tied the game, 2-2, and Blair got the Sandites out of the inning with several big defensive plays. In the top of the fifth, Clemons hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Drew Hawkins for the final run of the game. SAND SPRINGS 6, POCOLA 0 (game 2): Sophomore pitcher Aliyah Taff gave up only three hits in a 6-0 win over Pocola in game 2 of the tournament. After two scoreless innings, Sand Springs scored in the top of the third and added two in the fourth and three in the sixth for the shutout-win. Taff (1-0) threw all seven innings with three hits, two strike outs and three walks. Presnell was impressive from the plate going 3-4 with one run and one RBI. Blair was 1-2 with two RBIs. SAND SPRINGS 6, BROKEN BOW 3 (game 3): Catcher Sabrina Usher hit the first home run of the season, sending the ball over the center field wall in a 6-3 win over Broken Bow to end day one of the tournament. With Makenna Skaggs on base, Usher tattooed a ball over the fence for the 2-1 lead early in the game. In the top of the second, Horn and Skaggs had a miscommunication in the outfield, allowing a ball to drop, but Horn threw a runner out at home plate with Usher making in the tag. Broken Bow tied the game in the top of the third, 2-2, but Liz Luttrell started the fourth inning with a double and Horn added another scoring Luttrell for the 3-2 Sandite lead. Clemons sacrifice fly scored Horn and Blair’s double to the left field wall brought home Taber for the 5-2 advantage. Presnell’s RBI double to left scored Blair for the final run of the game. Junior pitcher Mackenzie Bechtold (1-0) went all five innings four hits, three runs, three strike outs and one walk.