State Baseball: Class 2A

Championship Game

Dale bats, Anderson's arm give Pirates 18th baseball crown

SHAWNEE - Moments after his team defeated Silo 11-0 for the Class 2A championship on Saturday afternoon, Dale's Evan Anderson fell victim to the old "shaving cream to the face" prank as he was being interviewed by TV cameras.

That was about the only thing anybody got on Anderson all day at Ed Skelton field.
The junior struck out seven Rebels and allowed just two hits as Dale won its first spring title since 2007 in just six innings.

"I felt really confident coming out with this being my second time to start a championship game," said Anderson, who was also the winning pitcher on Dale's fall championship last October. "I knew we could get it done and we just went out and did it."

This Pirate squad added to Dale's already-crowded trophy case. It's the program's 10th spring crown to go along with eight fall titles.

"We expect to win it every year here," said Dale coach Jerry Sanford. "If you don't expect to do that at Dale, you better find a new place."

While Anderson was taking care of things on the mound - he didn't give up a walk and only one Rebel got as far as third base - his teammates came on strong to give him most of his run support in the final two innings.

Evan Anderson got a shaving cream pie to the face by teammates after his title game shutout.

Dale took a 2-0 lead after the first two innings as Landon Coon opened the game with a single and scored on an error in the first and Jace Wilkins drove in a run with his single in the second.

Both came up big for the Pirates at the plate as Coon was 2-for-2, reached base all four at-bats and scored three times. Wilkins finished 3-for-3 and also scored twice to match his 3-for-3 performance in Friday's semifinal win over Tushka.

Still, Lance House was able to keep the Pirate bats mostly quiet until the fifth inning. That's when Dale loaded the bases without an out and eventually turned it into a four-run inning capped by Taylor Smith two-RBI single.

The Pirates weren't done as they posted five more in the sixth inning, going through three different Rebel pitchers in the process.

Dale's Landon Coon and head coach Jerry Sanford

It included an RBI double by Coon, an RBI single by Asa Manship and was capped with a two-run single by Chase Byndas.

The Pirates had 10 hits in all.

Sanford wasn't happy with the Pirates' swinging in the quarterfinal win over Fairview on Thursday.

"We were hitting it hard and had nine hits, but we had too many fly-ball outs," he said. "With these bats and these balls, you're not going to hit too many out of the park."

The Pirates came back with 24 hits in their final two games.

"Yeah, I was much happier with the way we approached the plate," Sanford said, whose team also didn't have an error.

As for Anderson, it's two wins in two title games and against Silo, there was no doubt as he threw his fastball, change-up and curveball effectively.

"They were all working well," he said. "And this feels unreal."

Dale (28-6)   110  045  -  11  10  0
Silo (23-12)  000  000  -    0    2   3
Evan Anderson and Ethan Sellers. Lance House, Jarris Hamilton (5), Guthrie Clower (6), Kyle Tate (6) and Andrew Bolin. WP - Anderson. LP - House. 2B: Dale - Landon Coon, Jace Wilkins.

Semifinal Recaps

Dale 17, Tushka 5
A barrage of late runs put Dale in position to win its first spring title since 2007.

The top-ranked Pirates erupted for 12 runs in the final three innings to bolster them to a 17-5 win over Tushka in the Class 2A semifinals Saturday on a soggy Palmer Field at Dolese Park.

Dale will take either Silo or Wister, the two teams who have combined to win the last four titles since Dale was last crowned spring champion.

Tushka was game early and when Weston Manar took an Evan Anderson offering in the hip, he plated C.J. Gregory to tie the game at 5-5 after four innings.

That's when the Pirate bats woke up, erupting for eight runs in the top of the fifth. The Pirates hit three doubles in the inning, including one by Anderson and another by Hunter Pinkston that drove in two runs apiece. The inning eventually chased Tushka starter Scott Brinkley in favor of Josh Eaves.

However, Eaves entered at the wrong time because the Pirates bat stayed hot.

Anderson had been retired his first three trips to the plate, but that double was the first of three straight for the left-hander. He finished with three RBIs.

Ethan Sellers added a two-run single in the fifth inning and Tanner Nelson and Anderson had run-scoring hits in the top of the seventh.

Dale pounded out 14 hits in all. Jace Wilkins, who scored three times from the nine-hole, joined Anderson in getting three of those.

Anderson also picked up the win with four innings of relief after Taylor Smith pitched the first two innings. Landon Coon finished the game for the Pirates.

Tushka finished the game with six hits, led by Trevor Lytle's 2-for-4 showing with an RBI.

Dale will attempt to add to its illustrious history that already includes nine spring and eight fall championships.

Dale          014  081  3  -   17  14  3
Tushka      031  100  0  -    5    6   3
Taylor Smith, Evan Anderson (3), Landon Coon (6) and Ethan Sellers. Scott Brinkley, Josh Eaves (5) and Jody Moreland. WP - Anderson. LP - Brinkley. 3B: Dale - Asa Manship; Tushka - Brinkley. 2B: Dale - Anderson (3), Taylor Smith, Jace Wilkins.

Silo 7, Wister 5
A pitcher's duel evaporated when Silo exploded four six runs in the fourth inning and that proved to be enough to vault the Rebels into another state championship game.

Third-ranked Silo's eruption led to a 7-5 victory over second-ranked and defending champ Wister in their Class 2A semifinal showdown Friday night on a wet Palmer Field at Dolese Park.

Silo hadn't so much as collected a hit off Wister starter Cody Luman through the first three innings. All that changed when Leonard Sandler and Kyle Tate led off the fourth with consecutive singles.

That opened the gates. Tanner Hearon and Justin Hendricks drove in runs with singles of their own and the Rebels also took advantage of a Wister error, a wild pitch, passed ball and two walks to push four other runs across the plate.

Suddenly, the Wildcats were playing from behind and they responded by chipping away at their deficit.

They got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to three Silo errors and a pair of hits.

In the sixth, Logan Warren led off with a single and Colby Turnipseed followed with a double and both scored on Caleb Hill's double two batters later to pull the Wildcats within two runs.

They brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning as Dalton Brown led off with a single. However, Kendall Shives retired the next three Wildcats in order to preserve the win.

Wister had twice as many hits (8) and Silo (4). Turnipseed and Hill had two apiece for the Wildcats.

All of Silo's hits came in the fourth inning.

Guthrie Clower got the win for Silo. He also didn't give up a hit through three innings and was relieved by Shives in the fifth after surrendering three runs (none earned), four hits and striking out three.

Silo will be playing for its sixth spring title and fourth in five years. The Rebels won consecutive crowns from 2008 to 2010 before Wister claimed last year's title. Silo also owns three fall championships.

Silo          000  601  0  -  7 4 5
Wister      001  022  0  -  5 8 2
Guthrie Clower, Kendall Shives (5) and Andrew Bolin. Cody Luman, Clint Crane (5) and Crane, Luman (5). WP - Clower. LP - Luman. 2B: Wister - Colby Turnipseed.

Quarterfinal Recaps

Dale 7, Fairview 4
The top-ranked Pirates didn't exactly waltz into the semifinals, but still advanced with the three-run victory. Dale scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff homer by Landon Coon, an RBI triple by Evan Anderson and an RBI double by Asa Manship. Coon then led off the bottom of the fourth with another home to give the Pirates size unanswered runs. That's when Fairview came alive with three runs in the top of the fifth as Ross Smith and Michael Christopher had run-scoring base hits and Gavin Boyer his second sacrifice fly RBI of the game. The inning chased Dale starter Jace Wilkins, who struck out seen and gave up three hits in his 4 1/3 innings of work. Taylor Smith added and RBI sacrifice fly for Dale in the sixth and also worked 1 2/3 innings on the mound. Anderson closed out the game for the Pirates, striking out all three Yellowjackets he faced in the seventh.

Silo 6, Hennessey 5 (9 innings)
Freshman Jarris Hamilton's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Rebels the win in a game that saw chewed up nine innings, eight combined pitchers and saw 24 runners stranded. The Rebels, who blew a three-run lead in the seventh inning, had just escaped a top-half of the ninth that saw Hennessey load the bases with just one out. However, the Rebels' Kyle Tate got a force-out at home and followed that up by forcing Trevor Dowell to ground out to third to escape the inning without giving up a run. Dowell wasn't so fortunate in the bottom of the inning when an error, intentional walk and a hit batter set Hamilton to the plate with no outs. With the infield in, he slapped a single down the right-field line. Hennessey's ninth inning at the plate was a familiar story as the Eagles twice stranded three runners, left two on base in three other innings and 17 in all. One of the times they did come through, however, was in the seventh. A couple of bases-loaded groundouts saw the Eagles pull within 5-4. With the tying run at third and two down, Brady Baugh beat out an infield single to tie the game. Baugh and Steven Lott had two hits apiece for Hennessey. Lott and Brady Fipps also drove in runs for the Eagles. The Rebels managed just five hits total and had none for extra bases. They broke open a 2-2 game in the bottom of the sixth when Casey Love drove in a run with a single, Kris Taylor another with his sacrifice bunt and Love later scored on a passed ball. Tate picked up the win with his lone inning on the mound. Justin Hendricks started for the Rebels and went four-plus innings before turning it over to Hamilton, who lasted an inning-plus and then Kendall Shives pitched three.

Tushka 5, Ketchum 4
Tushka fell behind early, scored five unanswered runs and survived giving up an odd triple play to move into the semifinals. The Tigers fell behind 3-0 after just a half-inning as Ketchum saw Cody Johnson, Syd Fink and Brock Knoten get run-scoring hits. Tushka got two of them back in the bottom half of the inning and began to take control of the game. The flurry started with Scott Brinkley's RBI triple and then Josh Eaves pushed another run across the plate. The Tigers tied it on Zach Burns' RBI fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the fourth. They took the lead in the fifth on when C.J. Gregory and Taylor Mobbs opened the inning with back-to-back doubles. Mobbs' double pushed Gregory across and then he scored on Wyatt Daniel's single for the two-run lead. Five different Tigers scored and five got base hits. Ketchum pulled within a run when Hyatt Frost's sacrifice bunt pushed a run across in the sixth. Cory Bogle got a two-out single for the Warriors in the seventh, but the game ended when he was thrown out attempting to steal second. Gregory picked up the win as he gave up seven hits and struck out nine. After surrendering three runs in the first, he settled down to give up just one the rest of the way.

Wister 9, Oktaha 3
A five-run second-inning outburst by No. 2 Wister proved to be the big difference. The Wildcats got a two-run single from starting pitcher Colby Turnipseed as well as RBI singles off the bats of Clint Crane and Cody Luman to push their lead to 6-0. Turnipseed was 2-for-3 at the plate and also scored twice. From the mound, he gave up eight hits and struck out 11. Two of the runs he surrendered were earned. Darius Bartisovsky drove in two runs for the Tigers, including an RBI double in the third and then with a single in the seventh. For Wister, Logan Warren was 3-for-4 and scored twice. The Wildcats saw their lead shrink to 6-2, but Jon Watts broke the game open in the top of the seventh with a three-run double. He was one of four Wildcats to drive in at least one run.

article updated on 05/14/12 02:41