Down, but never out

The heroes were aplenty.

The big plays in abundance.

But if two players were representative of Kingfisher baseball team last Friday night, they were T.J. Parker and Will Taylor.

Both had their rough moments, but both also stepped up in time of need.

And both helped guide KHS back to the state tournament.

In a roller coaster of a marathon game, Kingfisher got the final huge play as it defeated Blanchard 10-9 in eight innings on the Lions’ home field to win their Class 4A regional tournament.

The victory pushed the Yellowjackets into this week’s state tournament in Shawnee (see related story).

Although sweet at the end, victory was in doubt throughout.

It wasn’t until Taylor’s squeeze bunt scored Cade Stephenson on the game’s final play that the Jackets were able to celebrate their biggest win of the season.

“I figured I was going to get the bunt call,” said Taylor, who stepped up to the plate with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth.

Cade Stephenson led off the inning by taking the first pitch he saw to the wall for a double.

The Lions intentionally walked Ian Daugherty and after Parker flied out, Slade Snodgrass laid down a perfect bunt on the third base line and legged out the single.

That brought Taylor to the plate with a chance to win the game.

He had the opportunity to do that in the top of the seventh, but with his arm.

After Parker neared his pitch limit, the Jackets went to Taylor to close out the game with the Jackets up 9-6. But Taylor gave up a single and two walks in just 15 pitches. “I was pressing,” he said. “And I couldn’t throw strikes.”

Coaches went to Mason Snider, who nearly worked his way out of the jam. Snider earned a strikeout and a fly out and was one pitch away from the save before Kale Miller emptied the bases with a game-tying, three-run double.

Taylor knew that was on him.

“I was pretty down because we were up three runs and it put us in a bad spot,” he said.

The Jackets didn’t threaten in the bottom of the frame, sending it to extra innings.

The Lions got the first two batters on base, but Snider worked his way through it.

In the bottom of the eighth, Taylor again got his chance.

Coach Stan Blundell, as expected, called the squeeze, meaning Stephenson was running toward home not knowing the outcome of the pitch.

“It was about two inches from the dirt,” Taylor said. “I had to go down there to get it because I knew if I could, Cade would score.”

Taylor did and Stephenson did as the Kingfisher bench emptied and ran down Taylor to celebrate.

“It felt pretty good,” Taylor admitted. “I’m jacked.”

The win negated the need for an “if” game on Saturday, but the teams appeared headed in that direction early.

Parker got the starting nod for KHS, but he too struggled to consistently find the strike zone.

Although he worked around his struggles with a scoreless first two innings, the Lions pounced in the third.

A walk and an error set up a three-run home run by Blanchard’s Colyn McNair.

Another walk led to a two-run bomb by Cody Lemons as the Lions took a 5-0 lead.

“At first, I was overthrowing trying to be too perfect and it cost me,” Parker said. “I couldn’t throw strikes, got behind in the count and had to start throwing them down the middle and they hit them out.”

But Parker began to settle down and the Jackets quickly got three of those runs back in the bottom of the third.

Daugherty ripped an RBI single, Tate Taylor scored on an error and Parker’s sacrifice fly scored Stephenson.

A balk by Parker in the fourth led to another Blanchard run, but the Jackets again fought back.

A single by Stephenson and two hit batters loaded the bases for Parker, but two runs scored on a passed ball.

Stephenson was the second runner and a “disagreement” between Stephenson and Lions catcher Caleb Reed saw both teams get heated.

Parker, still at bat, followed it up with an RBI double down the left field line to tie the game, 6-6.

“After the deal at home with Cade just happened, we were fired up and they were fired up,” Parker said. “It was a full count. The pitch down and way, I stayed on it drove it into left field for a double. It felt great to contribute at the plate.”

Parker then held the Lions scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings.

“I was getting ahead in the count,” he said. “I was able to command my curveball better and had better touch with it.”

The Lions committed two of their five errors in the fifth and that led to Taylor scoring to give KHS a 7-6 lead.

Stephenson led off the sixth with a home run and Tate Barton put the Jackets on top 9-6 with a double that scored Daugherty.

Snider eventually earned the win with his two innings of work. He gave up two hits and struck out two.

Parker ended his day after six innings. He surrendered seven hits and four walks.

Four of the six runs were earned as he also struck out four.

One day after helping deliver Kingfisher’s first win over Blanchard by making a diving catch for the last out, Stephenson did a majority of his damage in the clinching win on offense.

The senior was 4 for 4 with the homer and double and scored four times.

Tate Taylor and Daugherty scored two runs apiece while Parker added two RBIs.

The trip to state is Kingfisher’s fourth, but second in a row.

The Jackets qualified in Class 3A in 2007 and 2009.

They won their first-ever state tournament game when they reached the 4A semifinals in 2019 prior to last year’s COVID-canceled season.

For Parker, who moved to KHS as a junior, this is a new experience.

“My first two years at Enid, we never went,” he said. “This is my first time going and I’m stoked.”