Buffs battle in first day of regional tournament
May 1—The action is heating up in postseason play.
McAlester battled against Collinsville Wednesday in its second game of Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class 5A regional tournament play, where the Buffs fell 11-1.
The Cardinals struck first in the bottom of the first inning, scoring five runs to take the lead. But the McAlester defense responded, holding strong to keep Collinsville scoreless the next few innings.
Although the Cardinals added a run in the fourth, the Buffs answered in the top of the next inning as a ball put into play by Brayden Phillips gave Ayden Shumway the chance to fly across home plate for the score.
But Collinsville hit right back in the bottom frame, sealing away the win.
Next up for the Buffs, they'll face the winner between Tulsa Memorial and Grove Thursday for a chance to bounce back into the regional final.
MCALESTER 4, GROVE 1
The Buffs got going early, and didn't relent.
McAlester faced off against Grove Wednesday in the opening round of the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class 5A regional tournament, where the Buffs won 4-1 to advance to the semifinal round
The Buffs got on the board first, as Caden Lesnau reached safely off a balk. Braden Phillips followed with a line drive to left for a triple, and used advantage of an error to score and put McAlester up by three after the first inning.
Later in the third inning, Spencer Stinchcomb sent a high-arcing ball into right field for an RBI, extending the Buffalo lead to four.
Defense took hold of the game, with both teams keeping their opponents scoreless until the top of the seventh inning — when Grove scored on a single. But as the runner attempted to take second base, the Buffs threw him out at the bag before Jaxon Lauerman struck out the final batter to seal away the win.
Stinchcomb and Phillips led the way at the plate, going 2-3 with an RBI each, while Lauerman got the win on the mound with four strikeouts.
Here is the complete bracket for the OSSAA Class 5A baseball regional featuring McAlester:
COLLINSVILLE REGIONAL
WEDNESDAY AT MCALESTER
G1: Collinsville 19, Tulsa Memorial 1
G2: McAlester 4, Grove 1
G3: Collinsville 11, McAlester 1
G4: Grove 12, Tulsa Memorial 0
THURSDAY AT COLLINSVILLE
G5: Grove vs. McAlester, 3 p.m.
G6: Winner G3 vs. Winner G5, 5:30 p.m. (If undefeated, winner to State)
FRIDAY
G7: If necessary, noon (Winner to State)
