Dragons second in HOOT

Purcell finished as tournament runners-up in the 33rd annual Heart of Oklahoma baseball tournament last weekend.

After opening the three-day event with a 8-0 shutout victory over Wayne, Purcell knocked off Lexington in the semifinals 8-0.

But some costly errors in the field in the finals against Newcastle cost the Dragons in a 5-1 loss.

Parker Page went the distance on the hill for the Dragons and took the loss.

“I thought Parker pitched his best game of the year even though we lost,” head coach Cole Sharp said. “We had a couple of critical mistakes in the field that they scored three runs off of.

“It should have been a 2-1 game. Parker did a great job against a top 10 4A team.”

Sharp said the Dragons couldn’t get their bats in gear and Newcastle took advantage of the fielding errors.

“They made us pay,” the coach said. “You can’t do that against a good team like Newcastle.”

Newcastle limited the Dragons to only three hits.

In the first round Purcell’s offense was clicking when they out-hit Wayne 7-1.

“We hit the ball really well with four home runs,” Sharp said.

Creed Smith went yard twice on the Bulldogs. Hayden Harp parked one and Nate Willis had an in-the-park four bagger.

Willis was 2-3 with two RBIs while Creed Smith was 2-3 with two runs batted in.

“Overall, we played well and did a good job of competing and getting after them all day,” Sharp said.

Logan Roberts snagged the pitching victory.

“Logan pitched really well all day attacking the strike zone early and often,” the coach said.

Willis got the pitching start against Lexington and got the victory.

“Nate threw strikes. He works fast and has a good pace on the mound. He did a good job giving us a chance to win.”

Sharp praised the hitting of Harp.

“Hayden has been doing a good job for us in the four hole hitting the ball hard and moving runners over and knocking them in.”

Harp was 2-3 in that game. Willis, Page and Cole Smedley also had two hits in the game.

“We came out and took care of business,” Sharp confirmed.

Creed Smith and Boston Knowles both doubled in the victory.

The Dragons snared another key district victory April 12 in a 17-1 run-rule victory over Holdenville.

Creed went 3-3, including a double and a triple, in that game with four RBIs. Zach Idlett matched the four RBI mark in a 2-4 outing at the plated.

Willis and Boston Knowles both had two hits in the game.

The Dragons out-hit Holdenville 15-5.

Drew Kimbrell was in the zone on the mound and tucked away the win.

“Drew pitched really well and controlled the strike zone all day. We jumped on them early and took care of business and put them away,” the coach said.

Monday at Bethel Purcell came up short in a 6-5 district contest.

“This series is for second in the district,” Sharp said. “We had our chances but came up short. We hit the ball hard but it was right at them. They did a good job of pitching and playing good defense.”

Knowles was the only batter with multiple hits. He was 2-3 with two RBIs.

Tucker Bloodworth, Page, Willis, Idlett, Smith and Harp all had hits in the loss.

That put the pressure on the Dragons heading into the Tuesday game at home against the Wildcats.

That forced Purcell to have to win by two or more runs to finish second in the district.

Purcell took a 16-9 record into the second Bethel game.