At a school without fall football, baseball excitement takes its place.
The baseball team could also take state this year.
The first game of the Class A state baseball tournament for fall will be 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 at Edmond Santa Fe High School against a team Okarche, ranked #3 in Class A, has already beaten this fall.
Okarche and Amber Pocasset, ranked #5, play at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The winner will face the winner of two teams that have already beaten Okarche once this year. Sterling, 21-6, ranked #9 and Rattan, 26-4, ranked #2, play the first game Thursday in Okarche’s bracket. The winner of that game plays Okarche at 1:30 p.m. Friday for a chance to advance and Saturday in the finals at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark at 2 p.m.
Go home early Warriors!
School will dismiss early Thursday in Okarche. The bell will ring at 2:15 p.m. so students, parents and staff have enough time to travel to the tournament.
Elementary buses will load at 2 p.m. followed by the high school and junior high buses at 2:15 p.m.
And should Okache win against Amber-Pocasset, there will be no school on Friday.
No school, no virtual either, according to an announcement from the superintendent.
If Okarche loses, there will be school Friday.
Meanwhile, those interested in the Oklahoma and Texas football game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. may want to make some other arrangements and make way for Okarche’s bid to take home a crown.
How they could win it
Their foes in the state tournament are mostly familiar ones from this fall.
The Warriors, with a record of 22-6 going into the state tournament, defeated Amber-Pocasset 3-0 on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Brett Carnott pitched and had 21 outs.
Amber-Pocasset stood 27-14 going into the tournament.
The Warriors have had solid pitching outings from Carnott and Easton Roby. Jett Mueggenborg, who helped the Warriors win a basketball title in spring, has been another strong force for the offense.
Sterling and Rattan will play at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
On Friday, Sept. 20, Okarche lost to Sterling 1-0. Easton Roby struck out 11 batters in the loss. Roby allowed just four hits, but one was an RBI for the lead.
Okarche lost to Rattan in a road game Friday, Aug. 23. That game was also a close one that the Warriors dropped 7-6 to Rattan.
Okarche lost on the final play of the game with Rattan. The game was tied at 6 runs apiece in the bottom of the seventh inning when a Ratan batter was struck by a pitch by Ethan Kirby. Easton Roby started the game on the mound.
How to get there
The state tournament for Class A fall baseball begins at Edmond Santa Fe High School, 1901 W 15th Street.
The cost of tickets are $10.
The Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S Mickey Mantle Drive in Oklahoma City. The championship game tickets are for general admission. Gates open at 11 a.m.
Other teams that have made the state Class A tournament are Wright City, 31-2 ranked #1; Hydro-Eakly, (18-10) ranked #11; Navajo, 22-9 ranked #10; and Wister, 20-8, ranked #4, according to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association rankings on Oct. 8.
Read the Okarche Warrior for tournament news and follow okarchewarrior.com for coverage.
