Jackets make run to regional championship game
KHS SENIOR Dallen Barton had some big moments at the plate and on the mound during the Yellowjackets’ Class 4A regional last week. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon- sports-photos.smugmug.com]
Top-seeded Tuttle knocked off Kingfisher 10-1 Friday on the Tigers’ home field to claim a Class 4A regional championship.
However, the Jackets earlier in the day were able to exact a bit of revenge before their season came to an end.
KHS earned its way into the regional championship game by eliminating Madill 11-2.
It was Madill that sent the Jackets into the loser’s bracket the day before with a 2-0 defeat.
In that loss, Dallen Barton pitched a gem, but got no run support.
On Friday, Trypp Lack kept the Wildcats off balance on the mound and the offense backed him up with 14 hits.
Seven different Jackets drove in runs and eight different players in the lineup had at least one hit.
Kingfisher scored at least one run in its first three at-bats.
Tanner Parker got things started with an RBI double in the first inning.
Back-to-back run-scoring doubles from Hunter Delozier and Kaden Cline in the second made it 3-0.
Madill trimmed it to 3-1 in the bottom half of the inning, but the Jackets quickly struck back.
Barton’s triple in the third scored Eli Johnson, who started the inning with a single.
Damien Haynes’ double scored Barton and Jett Braun as the Jackets extended their lead to 6-1.
Kingfisher added five more runs in the final two innings to add to their cushion.
Meanwhile, Lack and the defense put in their work.
The freshman allowed only five hits. He struck out one batter and walked two while the defense didn’t commit an error.
Parker and Johnson finished the game with three hits apiece. Johnson scored twice and drove in a run.
Delozier and Cline both had two hits and two runs scored.
Johnson got the call on the mound against Tuttle.
At the plate, he led off the second with a double, which set up courtesy runner Carter Stephenson to score, tying the game at 1-1.
Class 4A’s top-ranked Tigers were able to score five combined runs in the third and fourth innings, then got four insurance runs in the sixth.
Barton and Bryce Cockayne joined Johnson in collecting Kingfisher’s three hits.
Tuttle moved to 33-4 on the season and advanced to this week’s super-regional.
KHS saw its season end with a 12-25 mark.