North sweeps Memorial on pair of 1-run wins

Edmond North took their first steps to a baseball city championship Monday and Tuesday evening when they bested Edmond Memorial twice by a combined two runs each. After Carter Hines and Jackie Robinson reached with one-out in the bottom of the first, Janson Reeder placed a double into center off Memorial starting pitcher Noah Kang. The hit scored Hines and gave North a 1-0 lead that would eventually snowball into a 6-2 advantage late Tuesday evening. That lead ballooned after Hines scored again in the third from a single sent by Colby Entwistle. Then a Hines RBI on a full-count walk scored Gage Messner, and the score proceeded Messner getting an RBI himself when he hit an infield grounder that eventually scored North’s Tyler Stewart. Finally, Entwistle doubled with two-outs in the sixth, scoring Reeder and setting Noah Miller up for an RBI single five pitches later. Despite the offensive explosion, Memorial still almost ran it back. Cole Emmons singled on a ground ball to center field, scoring Jake Coleman for the Bulldogs’ first run of the evening. Then, a batter later, Trace Evans scored Emmons on an RBI-groundout after Emmons moved around the horn on a balk and wild pitch. The duet of Bulldog scores set up for some drama Tuesday night. Memorial threatened to split the series in their top of the seventh at-bat. Pinch-hitting Caden Ryan reached on a one-out single early in the frame, and Evans walked directly behind Ryan. Eventually, Coit Morton grounded into a fielder’s choice just before a Colton Loyd base-on-balls juiced the bases. Then, Carder Gutteridge placed one of his team-best three hits on the day — a line-drive shot to center — to move himself to third all while clearing the bases to bring Memorial within a single run. But, with the tying runner 90 feet away, a North combination of catcher Colby Entwistle and third baseman Gage Messner — along with Carson Pierce pitching — picked Gutteridge out at third to end Tuesday’s contest. Entwistle was a team-best 3-for-4 from the plate Tuesday with two RBIs and a double. Janson Reeder also had a multi-hit day with two hits — both doubles — a run, an RBI and a walk in the 6-5 win. Jackie Robinson (2-for-2) and Noah Miller (2-for-4, RBI) also matched the pair’s multiple hits in the win. For the second time in as many days, Memorial’s offense almost upset the 9-2-1 Huskies. Led be Gutteridge’s 3-for-4, three RBI day, Trace Evans (1-for-3, RBI, BB), Cole Emmons (1-for-2) and Caden Ryan (1-for-1) would make up the rest of Memorial’s six hits in the loss. Coit Morton and Colton Loyd each scored runs despite not registering a hit, after the pair turned a combined 0-for-6 day into two tallies on the scoreboard after they each scored after reaching base on walks. North outhit Memorial 11-6 in the win. Edmond North’s Jackie Robinson earned the win from the mound Tuesday. Pitching six innings in 97 tosses, Robinson gave up four hits, one earned run and struck out seven Memorial batters. North’s Carson Pierce earned the save. Memorial’s Noah Kang was credited with the loss despite striking out five Husky batters in five innings of work. It was the second time just a single run separated the Edlam rivals, after North won a 3-2 final on Monday at Edmond Memorial’s Bulldog Ballpark. The two Edmond schools traded a pair of two-run, first-inning at-bats, but a Janson Reeder home run in the top of the sixth shattered what quickly turned into a rubber match late Monday evening. Reeder went out of right field off Memorial’s Gunner Phillips. It was Phillips’s first seen batter of the day, and he retired the next three Husky batters in just 11 pitches. The strike reinforced an early Husky barrage to start Monday’s contest. Colby Entwistle walked in Carter Hines just before Robinson scored on another Memorial balk. It was the theme early, evidently, with Memorial’s Trace Evans and Coit Morton scoring two runs in the bottom of the first after an error was assessed to North’s starting pitcher Caleb Isaacs. Each respective leadoff batter led their teams from the plate on Monday, with North’s Karsten Menard finishing a team-best 2-for-3 from the plate. Memorial’s Trace Evans was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Carter Hines (1-for-3, BB), Reeder (1-for-2, HR), and Devin Dunford (1-for-3) rounded out North’s five hits on the day; Coit Morton (1-for-3) and Colton Loyd (1-for-2) joined Evans to split Memorial’s four hits across the first three Bulldog batters. Isaacs earned the series-opening win after pitching 5 2/3, giving up three hits and no earned runs, while also striking out six Bulldog batters. Phillips was assessed the loss after the Reeder home run. The series outcome lifts North to their 8th and 9th win — fifth consecutive and ninth win in 11 contests — while simultaneously dropping Memorial to six wins, seven losses on the year.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Edmond Memorial High School Athletics

NORTH SWEEPS MEMORIAL ON PAIR OF 1-RUN WINS

AARON ALBERTSON

Edmond Sun | 3/28/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Drew Harmon