KHS baseball state ticket is punched

In perhaps the biggest game ever played at its home park and with a packed house watching, the Kingfisher offense promptly fell flat on its face Saturday at Homier Field.

Oh, but not on Sunday.

One day after nearly being no-hit and shutout for the first time all season, the Kingfisher offense came to life Sunday to run-rule Clinton 14-1 in the deciding game of their regional tournament.

The regional championship propelled KHS to the Class 4A state tournament for the first time ever. It’s Kingfisher’s third appearance at state overall as it qualified for 3A in 2007 and 2009.

“I couldn’t be happier for the kids,” said coach Stan Blundell, whose first season at the helm of the program resulted in the last trip to state.

“They’ve worked hard for this and deserve the reward.”

For at least an instance, however, there had to be some wonder if the Jackets would collect on it.

After two wins to start the regional, Kingfisher was in the driver’s seat and awaited the survivor of the loser’s bracket…and a one-day rain delay.

The survivor was Clinton, who on Saturday afternoon eliminated Heritage Hall 12-2 for the right to play the Jackets in the regional championship.

The Red Tornadoes trotted out Manning McAtee to try to prolong their season.

He delivered in the 6-0 Clinton victory as he gave up just one hit - a bloop infield single to Clayton Abercrombie - over 6 2/3 innings before being removed by the mandatory pitch count.

The hard-luck loss went to Creighton Bugg, who limited Clinton early, but eventually gave up 11 hits.

He still struck out nine batters and only walked two.

“He pitched well enough for us to win,” Blundell said. “We just didn’t give him any support at all.”

Clinton’s win brought about the “if” game, which was set for Sunday, allowed by the OSSAA due to Friday’s rainouts.

This time around, the Kingfisher crowd that filled the stands left in a celebratory mode thanks to the awakened bats and the right arm of Zach Goodwin.

“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” said Goodwin, who pitched for the first time since the first week of March.

“I woke up in the middle of the night.”

Tired or not, he kept the potent Clinton bats at bay. The Red Tornadoes scratched a run across in the first inning, mostly taking advantage of two Goodwin walks.

“I was scattered early in the first inning,” Goodwin said. “But then I got the hang of it and it felt like it was pretty easy going from there.”

Goodwin needed just 73 pitches over his five innings. He struck out four batters, including two in the fifth.

Meanwhile, he was part of the top of Kingfisher’s batting order that dominated three Clinton pitchers.

On Saturday, Goodwin, Cole Crosswhite, Ian Daugherty and Keaton Abercrombie were a combined 0-for-10 and struck out four times.

Two of those strikeouts were by Keaton Abercrombie as he swung and missed the first six pitches he saw.

“I think I let my nerves get the best of me in my first at-bat and then let them get me again in my next one,” Abercrombie admitted.

The junior right fielder put some time in the cage late Saturday and then came back for more batting practice early Sunday.

“I knew we had one more day and we were going to make the best of it,” he said.

The Jackets certainly did.

After narrowly missing tying the game in the bottom of the first, the Jackets scored four runs in the bottom of the second.

The first, when Logan Rutledge scored on an error, was the most important.

“It was huge; the dugout went crazy,” Goodwin said. “And it felt nice to get that run support.”

The Jackets scored three more runs with two outs, including run-scoring hits by Goodwin, Daugherty and Keaton Abercrombie.

The Jackets then chased Clinton starter Gage Gaunt before he could record an out in the fourth inning.

It took two more Clinton pitchers to get the job done.

Keaton Abercrombie’s single pushed one run across to make it 6-1. Tate Taylor later singled for a 10-1 lead.

Crosswhite’s sacrifice bunt sent another run home for an 11-1 lead.

With two runners in scoring position, Daugherty had the chance to bring some run-rule insurance home.

He did more than that.

The sophomore blasted a three-run homer over the left-field wall to deflate any and all Clinton hope.

Daugherty finished 2 for 2, drove in four runs and scored twice.

The top four in the order, overall, was 10 for 12 with eight RBIs and six runs scored.

Abercrombie had four hits.

He’s been a part of the last two Kingfisher teams that reached the regional final before being eliminated by Heritage Hall.

“It’s unforgettable,” Abercrombie said. “I’ve never been to state. I’ve dreamed of it since I was a little kid and it’s awesome to get to do it.”

Kingfisher had 13 hits in all and got two RBIs from both Abercrombie and Taylor.

Rutledge, Crosswhite and Stephenson scored twice each.

It was quite the 180 from the previous day when very few KHS offerings even left the infield.

“I honestly thought we’d win Saturday,” Blundell said. “But I wasn’t too worried about Sunday. We had beaten him (Gaunt) once this year and these are just some tough kids.”

They’re kids who’ve knocked on the door of state for two straight years.

“I definitely can appreciate this more,” Goodwin said. “I don’t really know how I feel right now. I’m just excited; I’ve never been here before.”

Notes:

• Kingfisher plays Verdigris at 4 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals at Edmond Santa Fe.

•  Verdigris is 31-4 and won Regional 7 (KHS won Regional 2). The Cardinals are making their 10th consecutive trip to the state tournament.

•  The last time Verdigris didn’t make the state tournament was 2009. The Cardinals were defeated by Kingfisher and Heritage Hall, one eventually won by the Jackets, in a 3A regional at Perry.

•  Since then, Verdigris has been a dominant program. The Cardinals won five 3A titles and had another runner-up finish between 2011-17.

•  Verdigris moved up to 4A prior to 2018 and advanced to the state semifinals last year.

•  The Cardinals finished 12-2 and in second place in District 4A-5. Grove, which is also in the state tournament, won the district with a 14-0 record.

• Newcastle, which finished third in 4A-2 behind KHS and Tuttle, defeated Weatherford Saturday and Sunday to also qualify for state.

•  Kingfisher enters state with a 32-7 record. It’s the most wins a KHS baseball team has produced in a single season.