CCS, Noble look to keep seasons alive at state tournament
May 9—The site of the first round of the 3A state playoffs will carry a little more meaning for Community Christian seniors Asher Jennings and Drew Bradley.
The pair have both committed to play at Oklahoma Christian University next season. Dobson Field, home of the Eagles, will host the first two rounds of the state tournament with the championship game at Shawnee High School on Saturday.
Jennings and Bradley have led a high-powered CCS offense to five straight postseason wins, averaging 9.8 runs per game.
Still, for the Royals to move on to the state semifinals they'll have to make it past a Salina team that was the No. 1 overall seed in the area tournament.
Community Christian and Salina will play the first game of the tournament with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. at Mountain Lion Stadium.
The Wildcats haven't lost this postseason and went a perfect 19-0 against 3A teams this season. They beat a Westmoore team that's in the 6A state tournament as well as Jenks.
Last season they made it to the semifinals before running into eventual state champion Washington.
This CCS team hasn't made it to this stage before and has been working to defy odds all season.
The Royals were bounced out of the regional tournament after three games last season. They won 18 of their first 24 games before a stretch of three losses in four games to tough competition late in the season.
Three of those four games were against teams they could face in the state tournament.
The winner of Thursday's game will play 11 a.m. Friday at Dobson Field against Perry or Heritage Hall.
Noble looking to take next step — The Bears have been to six 5A state tournaments over the past 11 years and in each of the last four seasons.
Still, the last time they advanced out of the first round was 2013. They've got another tough draw this season being matched up with a strong Tahlequah squad in the quarterfinals.
The Tigers played in one of the toughest districts in 5A and only lost one of their 14 games. Sapulpa and Coweta went 0-4 combined against the Tigers during the regular season and are two of the eight teams still remaining.
Noble will be looking to snap the Tigers' seven-game winning streak on Thursday in a 4 p.m. first pitch at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
The winner of that game will play either Coweta or Duncan in the semifinals on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Tarik Masri is the sports editor for The Transcript covering OU athletics and area sports. You can reach him by emailing tarik@normantranscript.com
