Reaching the state finals hasn't been a problem for Oktaha over the past two years. In fact, the Tigers have advanced to three of the past four title tilts in that time frame.
Claiming the top prize has been a different story though. That is until a magical Saturday.
The second-ranked Tigers exorcised both their recent state tournament demons to capture their first-ever state championship with a dramatic 7-3 win over Silo at Dolese Park.
With only two outs remaining in their season and trailing 3-2, however, it appeared as if the Tigers might be destined to take home yet another runner-up trophy (along with the 2008 spring and fall runner-up hardware).
Cale Elam had other ideas.
The senior team leader stepped to the plate and squelched the anticipated Silo celebration by roping a 1-0 fastball over the rightfield wall for a drama-filled solo home run to tie the contest.
Four batters later, Oktaha had a commanding lead against the stunned Rebels when Dalton Perry smacked a three-run shot over the leftfield wall.
Elam, who is headed for Wichita State next fall, felt pretty good about his team's chances at that point and finished off Silo with a scoreless seventh for the complete game pitching win. In total the senior catalyst hurled 11 innings in two days, but may have saved his best for last with a game-ending strikeout to set off the wild celebration.
"I had not been having good at bats all day, but I knew he (Silo pitcher Logan Oller) was going to throw me a fastball and I was sitting on it," Elam said. "
I got all the guys up in the dugout before that inning and told them we had to do something right there. This was meant to be for us and it was our time. We've been here so many times before to let this chance slip away.
"This is also for all those guys before us at Oktaha that made it up her but could never get over the hump. It's 10 times better than I thought it would be."
Silo looked like it might have it won in the bottom of the sixth, breaking a 2-2 deadlock when Preston Dye notched his third RBI of the game on a single that plated Shawn Hendricks, who had single with one away before advancing on a wild pitch.
After a strikeout by Oller opened the seventh, Elam stepped up and came through with the biggest hit of his career. It was the Tigers' second come from behind win in less than 36 hours of the tournament.
"We just kept plugging away," Oktaha head coach Chris Burt said afterward. "That was a big seventh inning for us and Cale just gutted it out on the mound for us. I knew he might be getting a little tired with 11 innings in that short a span, but we had confidence that he would finish it.
"I felt good about our chance after Cale's home run because you could tell all the momentum was on our side. I just wanted to win it there and not have to go extra innings. We've been here so many times, so it's nice to finally win one."
It was a back and forth struggle early in the contest as Oktaha opened with a first inning tally on a RBI single from Derrick Skinner. Dye countered wtih a two-run homer in the second to stake Silo to a 2-1 advantage.
That's how it remained until the fifth when Shane Leach belted a solo home run.
Elam and Oller each finished with 10 strikeouts in a classic pitchers duel.
Semifinals
Oktaha 8, Dale 2
Dale has been the Oktaha state tournament nemesis several times over the last few years. Not Saturday. And not with Daniel Hayes stealing the show.
The Oktaha standout was sensational on the mound and at the plate in sparking the Tigers back to the state finals in search of their first state title. Hayes wasted little time in setting the tone for the game, following a Shane Leach RBI single in the top of the first with a two-run homer that staked the Tigers to a 3-0 lead, which would prove to be enough.
Oktaha's Shane Leach
Before Hayes could get settled in on the mound, Dale answered with two quick runs in the bottom of the frame, cashing in a leadoff walk and Tanner Goodwin's double to right. That, however, proved to be the only runs the Pirates would muster against Hayes, who went the distance while scattering five hits to go with six strikeouts, many of which came at opportune moments.
Oktaha tacked on two more tallies in the second with singles from Drake Lumpkin, Cameron Proctor and Leach before Hayes got back in on the act in the fifth, smacking a double before stealing third and scoring on a hit from Derrick Skinner. The Tigers completely put it out of reach one inning later with a huge two-out rally as Cameron Proctor and Cale Elam roped back-to-back doubles and Leach chipped in his team-leading third hit of the game with a single to score another run.
Landon Coon notched a pair of hits to pace a youth-laden Dale squad.
Silo 18, Fletcher 4
Top-ranked Silo's offense proved to be way too much for Fletcher Saturday afternoon at Dolese Park as the Rebels rolled back into the Class A state finals with a romp over the Wildcats.
Silo Rebels
The Rebels pounded out 17 hits in the five-inning affair, scoring nine runs in the opening stanza and never looked back. Shawn Hendricks had a two-run double, Kale Palmer chipped in a two-run single and Keach Ballard notched two hits in the early explosion.
Silo pitchers had some early control issues before settling in. Kas Sanders' two-run homer and RBI single in the first two innings helped Fletcher cut the deficit to 9-4. That's as close as it would get, however, as the Rebels added six more runs in the third when Oller and Jacob Carter each blasted three-run homers. Hendricks chipped in a two-run blast and Trevor Bowen had a solo home run in the fifth to finish off the scoring. Logan Oller ended with three hits while Ballard, Kenton Stanley, Hendricks and B.W. Savage tossed in two apiece.
After the early wildness, Stanley came on in relief and virtually slammed the door on the Fletcher chances, yielding just one hit in more than four innings of relief.
First Round
Oktaha 7, Sterling 3
Second-ranked Oktaha managed just two hit against Sterling ace Mitchell Brittain through five innings. The sixth was a completely different story though as senior Cale Elam led off with a double to ignite a flurry of four consecutive hits as the Tigers scored six runs to erase a 3-1 deficit. Derrick Skinner's double was the key blow that gave Oktaha the lead for good. That was more than enough for Elam, who slammed the door with three strikeouts in the seventh to end it. The Wichita State signee fired four frames of relief to pick up the victory. All Sterling's runs came in the fourth as they cashed in hits from Brittain, Ryan Ainsworth, Dillon White and Timmy Hatt to push across three runs for the lead.
Fletcher 10, Latta 5
After a very shaky start, fourth-ranked Fletcher settled down to rally from a 3-1 deficit and advance to the semifinals. The Wildcats took the lead for good in the fourth, pushing across five runs on six singles and a walk. Billy Love meanwhile had stabilized things on the mound for Fletcher, yielding only two runs over the final five stanzas. Latta took the early advantage thanks to three straight walks sandwiched between singles from Wacey Henderson and Reed Johnson. Four Latta hurlers couldn't hold off the red-hot Fletcher bats, which notched 14 hits in the contest. Dakota McKaskel was the ringleader, finishing four for five, including a double. Josh Canfield, Jeremy Nieto, Taylor Smith, Garen Gray and Love ended with two hits apiece.
Silo 10, Okarche 0
Silo showed exactly why it's been ranked in the top spot all season, exploding to the five inning run-rule triumph. Rebel hurler Shawn Hendricks worked out of some early control problems, including a bases loaded and nobody out jam in the first, to record the complete game victory, allowing just three hits while striking out eight. The top of the Silo lineup did the brunt of the damage as Logan Oller, Keach Ballard, Trevor Bowen and Jacob Carter combined to go 7-for-10 with seven runs scored and seven RBI. Ballard, Bowen and Carter ended with two hits each. Tyler Miller, Sam Grellner and Miles Heald had the lone hits for Okarche.
Dale 6, Soper 4
Perennial power Dale erased an early 2-0 Soper lead to derail the Class A spring champs' hopes of a 2009 repeat. After single tallies by the Red Bears in the second and third innings, the sixth-ranked Pirates knotted it with a Dalton Streber single in the bottom of the third and claimed the lead for good one frame later with a RBI double off the bat of Ethan Sellers. Landon Coon tacked on a two-run homer in the fifth that gave Dale all the breathing room it would need. Zane Nelms' double and following error made it 5-4 Dale in the sixth before reliever Tanner Goodwin slammed the door and Dale finished the scoring with a run in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring single from Tanner Coon.
Friday at Dolese Park
Oktaha 7, Sterling 3
Fletcher 10, Latta 5
Silo 10, Okarche 0
Dale 6, Soper 4
Saturday at Dolese Park
Oktaha 8, Dale 2
Silo 18, Fletcher 4
Oktaha 7, Silo 3 (championship)
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