The varsity baseball teams from Henryetta and Beggs closed out their regular-season schedule Monday with a county showdown at Golden Demon Park in Beggs.
The varsity baseball teams from Henryetta and Beggs closed out their regular-season schedule Monday with a county showdown at Golden Demon Park in Beggs.
The visiting Golden Knights held off a late rally by the host Golden Demons to walk away with a narrow 7-6 decision.
Both Okmulgee County diamond squads began postseason play on Wednesday with Beggs hosting Claremore Sequoyah and Henryetta traveling to Kingston for Bi-District tournament action.
If the Demons and Knights were able to get past their Bi-District foes on Wednesday, they would move into next week’s Class 3A regional tournament at a site determined by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association. Two losses in the Best-of-3 series would mean the end of the 2022 season for the county diamond squads.
In Monday’s county battle in Beggs, the visiting Knights opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the first.
The host Demons broke onto the scoreboard in the last of the third, pushing across two runs in the frame to cut the Henryetta lead to one, 3-2, after three innings of action.
After a scoreless fourth, Henryetta regained its 3-run lead, 5-2, with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.
The host Beggs squad plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to deadlock the score at 5-5, heading into the final inning of regulation.
The Knights pushed across two runs in the top of the seventh for a 7-5 margin, while the Demons were only able to manage one run their final at-bat to award the visitors from Henryetta the 7-6 decision.
Taylor Hamric earned the pitching win for the Knights, while Nate Melton was saddled with the pitching loss for the Demons. Austin Palmer worked the seventh for Henryetta to come away with the save.
Hamric, the fourth Henryetta pitcher of the contest, allowed three runs on two hits with one strikeout, one walk, and one hit batsman in one inning of relief.
Ethan Palmer worked the first two innings on the mound for the Knights, giving up two hits, while striking out five and hitting a batter in the scoreless outing.
Gage Osmond took over the pitching duties for Henryetta in the third and allowed two runs on no hits with two strikeouts and one walk in one inning of relief.
Connor Bullard entered from the bullpen at the start of the fourth and gave up one hit, while striking out three in two scoreless innings of relief.
After Hamric worked the sixth, Austin Palmer took over on the mound in the seventh, allowing one run on two hits with two walks in his relief appearance.
Melton worked two-thirds of an inning in relief, entering out of the bullpen with one out in the seventh. Melton gave up two runs on two hits with one walk in the relief appearance.
Dalton Hastings got the start for Beggs, working the first two innings, allowing three runs on one hit, striking out two and walking two.
Dakota Hudson entered out of the bullpen for the Demons at the start of the third inning and gave up two runs on three hits with six strikeouts, one walk, and one hit batsman in four and one-third innings of relief work.
The Knights were led offensively by the duo of Bullard (2 for 4, 2 singles, RBI) and Dalton Pemberton (2 for 4, single, double, RBI) with two hits apiece. Pemberton also reached on a defensive miscue in the contest.
The other Henryetta base hits on Monday came on a single by Skylar Greenhaw and a 2-run double by Hamric.
Other baserunners against Beggs were Greenhaw (walk), Osmond (dropped third strike), Ethan Palmer (walk, hit by pitch, fielder’s choice), Austin Palmer (walk), and Phillip Rice (walk, error).
Darieon Johnson was top offensive performer for the Demons, going 2 for 3 with a pair singles and a walk.
The other Beggs base hits in Monday’s county showdown came on singles by Hudson, Melton, and Braden Gable, double by Braylon Davis, and an RBI double by Duclos.
Other baserunners against Henryetta were Duclos (error), Gable (error), Davis (walk), Hastings (walk), Melton (walk, hit by pitch), and Logan Hicks (hit by pitch).
Davis drove in the lone run in the seventh for Beggs with an RBI groundout, while Wyatt Nai drove in a run in the sixth with an RBI sacrifice fly.
Henryetta 7, Beggs 6
Henryetta: 3 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0 - 2 7 - 6 - 3
Beggs: 0 - 0 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 3 - 1 6 - 7 - 2
WP: Taylor Hamric
LP: Nate Melton
SV: Austin Palmer
HR: None
