By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
Brandon Treece understands his team didn’t reach its ultimate goal of nabbing a spot in the Class 2A state tournament this spring, but he did see his squad take major strides.
“I thought we had things going for a while this season,” he said. “There was a two week stretch where we won a couple of games and reached the finals of the Hennessey tournament and I thought we were really clicking.
“It’s stretches like that where you can really see your team come together and show what they’re truly capable of.”
That stretch consisted of five straight wins. The Warriors knocked off Class 4A Hennessey before heading to Hennessey to defeat Class 3A Pioneer-Pleasant-Vale, Class 5A Kingfisher, Hennessey and Class A Dover to reach the finals of the tournament.
“I was really happy with how we were playing,” Treece said. “In the field we were making plays, were were really hitting the ball well and our pitchers just threw strikes. At that point I knew we had a chance to compete to get into a regional and maybe state.”
The Warriors got hot again late in the season, winning two of its final three games before the district tournament. They defeated Kingfisher and Dover before falling to Pioneer-Pleasant-Vale in the final game of the regular season. Okarche opened the district tournament with a win over Verden before falling to Binger-Oney and Glencoe in the final two games. Treece saw things his team could improve upon going into next year.
“We need to learn how to be more consistent and keeping our feet on the gas pedal,” he said. “It’s good to see and learn from that. Just because you beat someone doesn’t mean we can just show up the next time and expect to win.”
The Warriors graduate four seniors, including Sara Bomhoff, Katie Bomhoff, Kammie Benson and Faith Maberry.
“Sara was great as as a manager her first few seasons and then great as a senior her last year,” Treece said. “Katie was great as our pitcher and very consistent and a great leader. Kammie was great in the field for us as well as at the plate and Faith had a huge season. She got walked with the bases loaded twice which I don’t think I’ve ever seen.
“Overall it was a great and fun year for us. We’re going to miss the group of seniors that helped us take strides in building this program and helping us grow. It’s going to be exciting to see where we take it next year.”
