Although they might be the third biggest division across the state, this 4A field does not lack for excitement or big time talent across the board.  2022 saw the rivalry matchup between Tuttle and Blanchard with the Lions taking home the hardware and looking to repeat in 2023.  This field might be the most wide-open State Tournament against all the classes where you could make a legitimate argument for any of these teams winning three more games.  In order to advance in a single-elimination 8-team field, you have to have a bonafide Ace that can take over a game for you on the mound.  These teams are too talented for you to expect to slug your way to a Title, and everyone of these teams have at least one with some having multiple horses to toe the rubber to make a deep run.  When teams are this evenly matched across the board, it usually comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes, gives up the fewest free-bases, and comes up clutch with runners in scoring position.  Survive and advance is the name of the game this time of year, and these first round matchups will send even the casual baseball fan to the edge of their seats.

The 4A State Tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday the 11th at Edmond Memorial HS. 

Day 1 Schedule

11:00 am- Tuttle vs Fort Gibson

1:30 pm- Elk City vs Oologah-Talala

4:00 pm- Pryor vs Blanchard

6:30 pm- Cushing vs Lone Grove

Day 2 Schedule

11:00 am- Winner's bracket game one

1:30 pm- Winner's bracket game two

Championship Schedule

Saturday the 13th

5:00 pm- Bricktown Ballpark

*NOTE: We try to make sure and include everyone's commitment to the next level in the article.  It's very possible that we might be missing some so feel free to send a DM via social media so we can add the commitments to the article.

 

TUTTLE VS FORT GIBSON

TUTTLE TIGERS

OVERALL RECORD: 34-4

POWER 25 WINS: 5

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Tigers dominated their way to the 4A State Tournament by outsourcing Douglass 32-0 in their two Bi-District games and then made it a clean sweep in their regional outsourcing Harrah and Marlow 17-1 in their three games

FORT GIBSON TIGERS

OVERALL RECORD: 25-8

POWER 25 WINS: 1

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Fort Gibson dominated their way through their home regional beating Mannford in the opener 11-1 before taking out Lincoln Christian in back to back games outscoring them 21-3.

THE MATCHUP

The 4A State Tournament opens up with a bang at 11:00 am with what should be one of the more intriguing matchups on the mound across all levels.  We assume it will be 2023 RHP Alex Conover (Cowley commit) for Tuttle toeing the mound against 2023 LHP Weston Rouse (OSU commit) for Fort Gibson.  Both arms have proven to be dominant in the past with each doing it in their own way.  Conover has the traditional power arm stuff from the right side with a quick arm action that works the fastball in the upper 80’s to low 90’s paired with the sharp and late slider.  Rouse is able to rack up the strikeouts with more finesse by changing eye levels and pounding the zone in the upper 80’s with his large frame.  Tuttle’s strength comes from having athletic defenders in the middle of the diamond with Tuttle 2024 SS Braylon Brooks (OSU commit) and 2025 2B Brady McAdoo who has acclimated himself quickly back into the lineup from injury.  2023 C/OF Brady Shackelford (Murray State JC commit) has been a huge boost from behind the plate and 2026 Jackson Johnson has more than held his own in center along with 2025 OF Easton Green.  They also rely heavily on senior OF Ashton Bennight (Cowley commit) and Senior Carson Moore (Cowley) both as offensive threats and Moore making big jumps on the mound this spring.

Fort Gibson plays a really aggressive game especially when it comes to running the bases and forcing teams to make plays.  2023 INF’s Gannon Sherl (Eastern OK commit) and Cole Mahaney have been big run producers behind Rouse in the lineup and the emergence of 2026 INF Nik Tolbert has been huge for stretching the lineup.  This game might come down to who makes the first mistake as both teams have the quality pitching depth and defensive prowess to make this one of the tighter matchups of the first round in a long time.

ELK CITY VS OOLOGAH-TALALA

ELK CITY ELKS

OVERALL RECORD: 33-3

POWER 25 WINS: 4

HOW THEY GOT HERE

After cruising through two victories over Dickson in their Bi-Districts outscoring them 27-0, the Elks didn’t get too many favors from the district standings where they had to pick up two wins against Mount St. Mary and a tight one against a solid Chickasha club to advance to the State Tournament.

OOLOGAH-TALALA MUSTANGS

OVERALL RECORD: 24-12

POWER 25 WINS: 1

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Mustangs made quick work of Muldrow in the Bi-Districts winning 12-0 and 9-1 before picking up a win in their regional opener against Perkins-Tryon.  They would then drop a game to Sallisaw and worked their way back through the loser’s bracket defeating Verdigris and Sallisaw to punch their ticket to the 4A State Tournament.

THE MATCHUP

This one has a chance to get interesting depending on what matchups we get on the mound.  Elk City has one of the top arms left available in the state regardless of class in 2024 LHP Kash Mayfield (OSU commit) at their disposal and he has proven to be one of the toughest arms to beat in 2023.  But don’t count out the Mustangs as they have one of the hotter offenses heading into the postseason scoring double digit runs in 15 contests throughout the year including an average of 11.6 runs in their last three playoff games.  Elk City has been getting strong starts from 2024 Catch Geno and senior Cooper Church giving them options throughout the week.  Oologah will rely on the likes of senior AJ Streater who has carried the load on the mound for the Mustangs.  Both teams have dynamic offenses with the Elks relying on big power from 2023 INF Aiden Hopper and Mayfield, with guys like 2023 Kaden Holder, 2023 Kye Keyes, and Church who have done a good job of setting the table ahead of them.  Oologah looks to 2023 Adam Earnhardt and 2023 Joseph Griswold to get it started at the top of the lineup for guys like 2023 Teagin Nelson and 2024 C Chance Pair who have been picking up big hits throughout the postseason.  Elk City has been one of the most dominant teams across the state for the entire season doing it in all three phases with Oologah being one of the tougher/scrappier teams to make the field in 4A making this first round matchup very intriguing.

PRYOR VS BLANCHARD

PRYOR TIGERS

OVERALL RECORD: 28-11

POWER 25 WINS: 0

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Pryor finished on top of 4A-7 giving themselves the opportunity to host where they rattled off wins in their first two games before dropping their first chance to punch their ticket to the State Tournament in a 4-3 loss against Berryhill.  Pryor was able to hold on in the IF game winning 3-2 to complete the regional win.

BLANCHARD LIONS

OVERALL RECORD: 29-5

POWER 25 WINS: 2

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Blanchard finished their district 4A-2 slate with a 14-1 record earning themselves the opportunity to host their regional.  The Lions made easy work in their three wins to make the 4A field, outscoring Cache (2X) and Bethany 39-6 in those three games.

THE MATCHUP

Blanchard will be looking to defend their 2022 4A State title and have one of the stronger resumes across the board throughout 4A this season.  The Lions have options throughout the State Tournament on the mound as they have been getting quality outings from 2024 Kaden Felan, and 2025’s Gage Ellison and Jaxon Heard.  Offensively, they have a unique combo of barrel control guys sprinkled throughout the lineup and some bigger boppers in the middle that have shown the ability to drive in runs.  2025 CF Brayson Carter is one of the fastest players in the state at the top of the lineup and 2024 OF Aiden Kilgore offers big production out of the 2-hole.  2024 SS Carson Howe (Murray State JC commit), Heard, and 2025 1B Hudson Perriman play a large role in the run production in the middle and they have also been getting big hits lately out of 2025 INF Coric Pierce.  The Tigers from Pryor will most likely rely on their Ace in 2023 Si Collins (Coffeyville CC commit) to take the ball in game one.  Collins has been very steady as the Tiger’s number one throughout the year and gives them a chance against anyone in the state.  The strength of the Tigers comes from their experience in the lineup where they regularly start 7 seniors up and down the lineup.  2023 Aden Parker and 2023 Ty Conseen get the Tigers offense rolling at the top of the order as guys who know how to get on base and cause problems with their aggressive base running.  Collins and Senior Blake Raglin have been put in charge of offering up some physicality in the middle of the order and are relied upon to be the big run producers for the Tigers.  While Blanchard has been one of the favorites in 4A throughout most of the season, the Tigers are battle-tested and with their experienced roster should offer up a fun first round matchup.

CUSHING VS LONE GROVE

CUSHING TIGERS

OVERALL RECORD: 25-0

POWER 25 WINS: 0

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Coach Scalf has led Cushing to the only unblemished record across the entire state and cruised to an early 8-2 victory over Inola before getting into a battle with Poteau winning 2-1 in the winner’s bracket game before punching their ticket to the State Tournament with a 6-5 win in extras against Poteau again.

LONE GROVE LONGHORNS

OVERALL RECORD: 32-4

POWER 25 WINS: 3

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Longhorns have only dropped two games on Oklahoma soil in 2023 and continued their dominant play in their regional sweeping through without a problem outscoring their opponents 35-2 along the way.

THE MATCHUP

With a combined record of 57-4 it's hard to find many warts for either of these two teams.  The Tigers finished the year as the only team in the state to not drop a contest and largely dominated their competition along the way.  They can turn to multiple guys on the mound with 5 total guys logging 20+ innings on the year with the highest ERA among those 5 coming in at 2.5.  2024 Gage Lovin, 2023 Jake Horn, and 2025 Beau Roe each tallied starts in their regional and guys like 2023 Brody Berlowitz and and 2025 Stetson Ethridge both playing large parts on the staff throughout the year.  Offensively, they have scored double digit runs more than they have not in their 25 games and they are led by 2023 Riley Matheson (UCO commit) in the middle of the order and his team best .466 average.  Berlowitz and Ethridge provide the power with 5 homers a piece to go along with their great team speed that has allowed them to pick up 117 stolen bases at a 91% success rate.  The Longhorns enter the State Tournament on a 17 game winning streak that has seen them dominate both sides of the ball.  In those 17 games they have outscored their opponents 182 to 27 and in that stretch were able to take down a couple of teams in their respective state tournaments in Silo (2A), Elgin (5A), and Washington (3A).  They are led both on the mound by 2023 Kyle Miller (UCO commit), 2023 Jaxon Lee (Connors State JC commit) who threw a 6 inning perfect game in the regional semi-final, and 2024 Cale Sudderth and his .730 ERA.  This trio gives the Longhorns not only the options in who to start in the opener of the State Tournament but also the depth for a deep run.  Offensively, they have three guys currently hitting over .400 led by Miller, Sudderth, and 2023 Cale McLean.  What makes this matchup even more intriguing is the fact that the Longhorns have stolen a total of 112 bags on the year at the same 91% success rate as Cushing.  You could make the case that both teams have had the most dominating years against their competition than anyone else across the state and with their first round matchup will be a must-watch affair.

POST SEASON COVERAGE