Jenks defeats Mustang in 6A championship
May 16—Jenks rallied back from a two-run deficit heading into the seventh inning to win the 6A state championship 9-6 over Mustang in extra innings on Saturday at David Allen Memorial Ballpark.
The Broncos held Jenks to just three hits through the first six innings, and led for the majority of the game after a five-run third inning.
Jenks trailed 6-4 heading into the final inning, when the Trojans would go on a 5-0 run to win their first state championship in 19 years.
"That was our whole mindset, keep battling and keep battling," Jenks head coach Justin Timmerman said. "Give credit to Mustang, they're a great team and did a great job."
A lead-off double from catcher Dylan Hammond and a single from Wyatt Sharrock got the Trojans offense moving in the right direction in the seventh.
Then Hammond cut the deficit to one after capitalizing on a wild pitch. First baseman Cash Adams would tie the game on the same at-bat with an RBI-single to center field.
The Broncos seemed poised to crush the Trojans' comeback hopes in the bottom of the seventh with a lead-off double by Braeden Jones, but Jenks' defense wouldn't let him get any further.
Hammond made a perfect throw from home plate to second base on an 0-1 count that picked off Jones before he could make it back to the bag.
"It was huge," Timmerman said of the play. "Dylan Hammond did a great job right there. Dylan Hammond's done a great job all year, he's one of the best catchers in the state. He hasn't gotten much publicity this year, but people don't like to run on him at all."
Jenks walked the next batter and Garrett Payne lined out to Adams, who made a heads-up play at first base to tag out the runner for the double play to extend the game.
In the eighth inning, the Trojans relied on their seniors, specifically Hammond and Brooks Fowler, to bring home the win.
Fowler drove an 0-2 count hard over the right field wall for a two-run homer, and then Hammond stepped up on the next at-bat and hit it to the same spot to extend the lead to three.
"Give credit to the seniors," Timmerman said. "We went senior-senior with back-to-back home runs and it shows the leadership that we have, and they're gonna be missed next year."
The Trojans needed to battle just to get into state.
They finished the regular season fifth in Class 6A-3, and fell in their second game of the regional tournament before winning three games over Enid and Edmond Memorial (twice) just to make it into the tournament.
With the win, Jenks earns its first state title since 2002, and fourth overall in program history.
"It's big for Jenks," Timmerman said. "It's an unbelievable academic institution and it's an unbelievable athletic institution, and 19 years is too long."
In the following game, Carl Albert won the 5A state championship over Bishop Kelley in a 13-3 run-rule victory. It's the Titans' sixth state championship in school history.
The Titans fell to Pryor in 11-0 in the last 5A state championship that was played in 2019.
Masri is sports editor for the Enid News & Eagle.
Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Tarik? Send an email to tmasri@enidnews.com.
