OSSAA 5A State Tournament Preview

The 5A field is set and has the potential to be one of our most exciting State Tournaments this year with the very evenly matched group of 8.  5A saw a resurgence this past year with multiple programs making big jumps in their level of play and not one team staking claim to the clear front runner.  The entirety of the tournament will take place at Jenks High School including the championship game on Saturday.  While they won't get to see themselves on the bigger stage as far as ballparks, this group of teams offers enough firepower and producers to make the casual baseball excited for the potential.  We jump into each team's path to the State Tournament, as well as looking at the first round matchups between the teams.

DAY ONE SCHEDULE

11:00 am- Piedmont vs Grove

1:30 pm- Noble vs Bishop Kelley

4:00 pm- Collinsville vs Carl Albert

6:30 pm- Sapulpa vs Elgin

DAY TWO SCHEDULE

11:00 am- Winner's bracket game one

1:30 pm- Winner's bracket game two

Championship Schedule

4:00 pm- Championship game at Jenks HS

PIEDMONT VS GROVE

PIEDMONT WILDCATS

OVERALL RECORD: 28-9

POWER 25 WINS: 1

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Piedmont finished off their district play with an impressive 13-1 record and earned the ability to host their regional last week.  The Wildcats offense came alive in their three games with a 16-6 win over Santa Fe South before sweeping Macarthur 9-3 and 11-1 to punch their ticket into this week’s field.

GROVE RIDGERUNNERS

OVERALL RECORD: 29-7

POWER 25 WINS: 0

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Ridgerunners earned their opportunity to host by finishing second in 5A-4 with a 10-2 record.  They made quick work of Durant in the opener winning 12-0 and survived a close call against Shawnee in the winner’s bracket game winning 7-6 before finishing the job in the regional final taking down Shawnee 13-7.

THE MATCHUP

This will be the first meeting between the two programs in 2023 with both teams putting together strong resumes in similar fashion.  Piedmont relies on a plethora of arms to get it done for them on the mound and have the experienced senior Jakeb Koop (NOC Tonkawa commit) as the most likely opening game starter.  They could also turn to senior lefthander Jackson Califano (Carl Albert State commit) or Noah Smith (Cisco JC commit) who turned in a strong start in their regional as well.  The Ridgerunners will likely turn to their number one all season long in senior  lefty James Wise (Coffeyville CC commit) who has been dominating his way through 5A this season.  They also rely pretty heavily on sophomore arm Jacob Gain and 2023 RHP Hayden Chandler (Carl Albert State commit) to log big innings for them both as starters and in relief.  Offensively the Wildcats have one of the more potent and physical lineups in 5A with both senior Logan Hill (Seminole State commit) and his younger brother 2026 Luke Hill manning the middle infield spots and both playing large roles in the offense.  The other brother combo that has impressed this year offensively in Noah Smith out of the cleanup spot and his younger brother 2023 Reid Smith getting it done in pressure spots.  They also rely heavily on the talented 2024 OF Weston Thomas who arguably has one of the higher ceilings across the class.  Grove counts on 2023 OF Hagen Hacker to set the table for 2023 INF Nick Brown, Gain, and senior backstop Dayton Keller.  Both teams have stretched out lineups with multiple guys that can beat you if you make a mistake.  Piedmont’s offense can be difficult to stop when they have it rolling, but Grove has the horses on the mound to make this a very intriguing first round matchup.

NOBLE VS BISHOP KELLEY

NOBLE BEARS

OVERALL RECORD: 27-10

POWER 25 WINS: 4

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Bears have one of the more impressive resumes in 5A this year with some nice wins against strong competition and parlayed that success into a hosting position last week.  They got off on the right track with a 20-3 win over Guymon before having to survive a tight one against Bishop McGuinness 3-2 in the winner’s bracket game.  They would then finish off McGuinness 14-3 to punch their ticket to the 5A State Tournament.

BISHOP KELLEY COMETS

OVERALL RECORD: 23-15

POWER 25 WINS: 3

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Comets took home the top spot in District 5A-3 this year earning the right to host last week in regional play.  They drew the 3-team regional format this year and took down Coweta in their first matchup 4-1.  They would then beat McAlester 7-3 before surviving a close one 3-2 against that same McAlester bunch to make it back to the 5A State Tournament.

THE MATCHUP

On paper we have the only two teams in the field this week with double digit losses going head to head with each other in round one.  Don’t let their records fool you as both teams have played very tough schedules throughout the year with Noble playing 7 games against 6A competition and the Comets playing a 5A high 11 games against teams in 6A.  Playing these types of schedules gives them an advantage come postseason time as they will not be seeing anything new for the first time all year.  The biggest storyline in this one is 2023 LHP Colin Fisher (Arkansas commit) against the scrappy Comets lineup.  Fisher has dominating stuff and has seen his draft stock rise in recent months as a potential pick in this upcoming draft thanks to his low 90’s stuff and power curveball that can miss bats in a hurry.  The Comets will try to counteract Fisher with tough and grinded out AB’s with some experienced hitters that have shown the ability to handle good pitching.  The Comets will turn to either 2023 RHP Kamden Thompson or 2023 RHP Grayson Smith (Seminole State commit) who have been giving the Comets quality starts all year or the talented 2025 RHP Ty Armor who has thrown well as of late.  Offensively the Bears look to make you uncomfortable starting with two barrel control guys at the top of the lineup with 2025 OF Bryson Carey and 2023 INF Kasen Anglin.  Those two work hard to get on base for the big boppers in the middle with Fisher having big time power from the left side followed by 2023 OF Devon Knight.  The Comets stretch their lineup deep with multiple guys that can beat you on any given day.  2024 SS Tanner McMurray has been key for the Comets all season long picking up big hits out of the middle of the order.  2023 UTL Jackson Archambeau (Eastern OK State commit) gets them started at the top of the order to set the table with the big bats in the middle with Grayson Smith and 2024 INF Reid Jones.  Assuming Fisher takes the mound for the Bears in round one, this game will come down to whether or not the Comets can scratch across a couple of runs by manufacturing some offense or will the power arm and proven lineup from the Bears be too much to handle.

COLLINSVILLE VS CARL ALBERT

COLLINSVILLE CARDINALS

OVERALL RECORD: 31-4

POWER 25 WINS: 0

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Coach Reeder and the Cardinals have largely dominated their way through their schedule, finishing with an unblemished record in district play earning them the right to host last week.  They lead off their regional with a 5-2 win over Will Rogers before having to plate a run in the bottom of the 9th for a walk off extra innings win 5-4 over Glenpool.  They would then make quick work of Edison in the regional final to punch their ticket back to the 5A State Tournament.

CARL ALBERT TITANS

OVERALL RECORD: 31-8

POWER 25 WINS: 4

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Titans have been atop the polls for our Power 25 as the highest ranked 5A squad for multiple weeks now thanks to a strong resume and talented roster.  By dropping game 2 of their series to Piedmont earlier in the season, that put them in second place in 5A-1 and an opportunity to host a regional.  In order to make it back to the State Tournament they would have to go through reigning 5A champs Duncan after beating Ardmore 17-1 in the opener.  They would take care of Duncan in the winner’s bracket game easily 11-1 before falling to them 14-5 to send it to an IF game.  The Titan’s offense carried them in the IF game putting up 19 runs to win 19-6 to send them to this week’s field.

THE MATCHUP

Both teams eclipsed the 30 win mark in the 2023 campaign and will be facing off against each other for the first time this year in round one.  The Titans put together a 25-3 record against 5A foes on the year with Collinsville working to a 17-1 mark against teams across 5A.  The Titans have some options on the mound to turn to but we would expect them to go with their Ace in 2024 RHP Kash Ferris (OSU commit).  Ferris has the type of stuff that can miss bats and work deep into games which can pay dividends when it comes to making a deeper run in the playoffs.  They also have the talented sinker/slider 2025 RHP Declan Murphy at their disposal as well as 2024 RHP Samuel Gonzalez who have each given them quality starts throughout the year.  The Cardinals have their trusted senior Seth Wright (Labette commit) who has been their workhorse all year pitching on Monday nights or could turn to 2024 RHP Tyler Davis (OU commit) who made the move over to Collinsville after pitching the Owasso Rams to a state championship in 2022.  Both teams have strong bullpens with the Titans being able to turn to 2023 Mason Trotter (Eastern OK commit) and 2024 arm Jackson Fixico.  The Cardinals like to use 2024 Madaxon Aunko out of the pen before turning it to their closer in 2023 RHP Cyrus Kornegay (Barton CC commit).  Offensively the Titans have a powerful lineup that features players that are capable of changing the game with one swing up and down the lineup.  After Ferris and Gonzalez get it started at the top, they turn to senior Brodie Hinson who has had a strong season in the middle ahead of their two big power bats in juniors Tanner Norman and Hutch Russell.  The Cardinals rely on junior outfielder Diego Rivera to get them going at the top of the order with proven hitters Aunko and Kornegay right behind him.  Junior catcher Colton Hollenbeck has had a strong year working out of the cleanup spot and sophomore Bentley Brown has added some run-production in the middle of the lineup.  Both teams have proven themselves throughout the year as knowing how to win games and with the type of arms and experienced bats that each has, should matchup as one of the closer games in the first round.

SAPULPA VS ELGIN

SAPULPA CHIEFTAINS

OVERALL RECORD: 28-9

POWER 25 WINS: 2

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Chieftains put together an impressive resume heading into the postseason with big wins against strong competition like their wins over Sand Springs and Enid earlier on in the year.  They finished in 2nd place via tiebreakers with Bishop Kelley allowing them to host their regional this past weekend.  They made quick work of Memorial in the opener winning 20-0 before taking down Midwest City in the winner’s bracket game 6-0.  They would then punch their ticket to the 5A State Tournament by downing Claremore 10-7.

ELGIN OWLS

OVERALL RECORD: 29-8

POWER 25 WINS: 2

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Owls captured the top spot in 5A-2 thanks to a 13-1 record in district play to earn their right to host last weekend.  They pounded Southeast in the opener 18-0 before taking down Altus 3-0 in the winner’s bracket game.  They would then take down a solid Guthrie team 5-1 to send themselves to this week’s field making it to the 5A State Tournament in just their second year since being bumped up from 4A.

THE MATCHUP

We finish off the day with a real fun one featuring two very evenly matched teams in the Chieftains and Owls.  Both teams have very similar resumes heading into the matchup and each tested themselves with a strong strength of schedule throughout the year.  On the mound, the Chieftains could turn to right handed senior Hayden Lance (SNU commit) who has had a great season working as the Ace for the Chieftains.  Lance has proven himself to work deep into games and rack up strikeouts in a hurry.  They could also turn to senior Joe Young, who is coming off a strong performance last week and having thrown a no hitter earlier in the year.  The Owls will most likely turn to senior right-hander Jake Thomas (Seminole State commit) who is coming off a complete game one hit shutout against Altus in the regional last week.  They also have the talented freshman Ritson Meyer that they could use in some capacity although he did just have a heavy workload on Sunday in the regional final.  Offensively, both teams sport scrappy lineups that like to make opposing pitchers work.  The Chieftains count on senior shortstop Garrett Richards to set the table for a surging 2025 OF Kason Ashton, the tough to put away junior Jack Blevins, and the big run-producer in the middle of the order 2024 Malachi Wilson.  The Chieftain hitters have shown themselves to have a strong approach at the plate and make themselves tough outs 1-9 in the order.  The Owls get started with senior INF Damien Callagy ahead of the impact bat freshman Ritson Meyer.  2024 James Vanderpool is charged with being a run-producer in the middle of the order followed by 2025 Tres Lorah and senior catcher Jake Thomas.  The Owls also have a bright future with them starting three freshmen in the everyday lineup with Meyer, Brody Morrison, and Mason Thornton who are all getting valuable experience in 2023.  Both teams have shown the ability to handle strong competition, and on paper, this might be the more evenly matched game in round one in the 5A State Tournament.