Destiny Johnson and Sandite Freshmen major factor in first winning season in half decade

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Destiny Johnson

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Three freshman started and five saw action on the Charles Page High School ladies' basketball team this season and all were major players in pushing a turn-around program the final step into their first winning season in half a decade. 

The program pulled a complete 180 after a 2011 State Tournament-appearing team graduated several starters and won only a single game the following year. 2012-2013 wasn't much better, posting a 2-20 record.

Holly Kersgieter

In 2013, Dustin Morrow took over the program and the team went 10-14, a drastic improvement, but still a losing record. Last season the girls won the regular season but went 1-2 in the playoffs for a final record of 12-12. The eighth grade girls, however, went 28-0 for an undefeated Frontier Valley Conference Championship.

This season those girls were the difference makers, adding depth to a small but talented team that lost three players the year before. Jacie Taber, Holly Kersgieter, Destiny Johnson, Kimi Presnall, and Isabella Regalado combined for 40% of the team's points this season with Johnson coming in as the second-highest scoring player on the whole team.

Bella Regalado

"DJ" Johnson continued a new tradition of freshman excellence. For the last three years, at least one freshman has registered a 200+ point season. Sydney Pennington debuted with 376 in 2012-2013, Gloria Mutiri scored 200 last season, and Johnson finished with 212 this year. She was a major inside threat, shooting 46% on two-pointers and 67% on free throws for an average of 8 points and 3 rebounds per game. She doubled nine times, led her team in scoring four times, and set a personal-best of 15 points against Owasso. She was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Bishop Kelley Invitational.

Kimi Presnell

Jacie Taber and Kimi Presnall also made an impact on the State Runner-Up Softball team this fall, then scored 21 points each in their first year at varsity basketball. 

Isabella Regalado, daughter of Vic Regalado, the Republican nominee for Tulsa County Sheriff, scored 90 points, more than 3 PPG, and set a team-high career-high of 17 in an upset win over 5A No.4 ranked Shawnee in the championship game at the Bishop Kelley Invitational. She averaged 41% on two-pointers, 50% on free throws, and snatched about 2.5 rebounds per-game, and saw action in every game this season.

Jacie Taber

Holly Kersgieter came in fourth in team-scoring with 166 points and a career-high 14 against Shawnee. Playing in every game this season, and starting most of them, she averaged 6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 45% on two-pointers and 79% on free throws.

The depth of quality competitors allowed the Sandites to run a solid bench against their opponents and give the whole team more resting time during games. The young Sandite talent will only increase next year as the girls only graduate one starter, Cierra Scott, and inherit yet another incoming class of undefeated 8th grade girls.

Grand Slam Schuler seals Sandites' ticket to State

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It was a hell of a day for the Sand Springs Lady Sandite softball team.

After a 25-7 regular season and a 13-1 district record, it came down to Regionals for Charles Page High School and they got to host their own tournament at the Sandite Sporting Complex in Prattville. By all expectations, the only team that should have given the Sandites any trouble was Union, who had beaten them 5-2 early in the season.

It was a complete surprise when they found themselves with a 2-1 loss in the opening game to a team with a losing record. Claremore moved forward, while the top-seeded Sandites fell to the loser’s bracket. It would be an uphill climb from there. They narrowly fended off Ponca City 4-3, whom they had shut-out run-ruled twice earlier in the season. The Sandites had lost their swag.

It would take either a miracle, or more perseverance than most students will ever muster to overcome the odds stacked against them. The Lady Sandites threw the odds out the window.

After Union dealt Claremore a 6-2 loss the day before, the Lady Sandites had to replay the Lady Zebras to move forward. It was a slow start, but the Sandites found their feet in the top of the third.

Goose Salyers, the pitcher, hit a line drive double into the fence and was soon joined by Stella Millican who drew a walk. Sydney Pennington followed Salyers’s lead with a left field double to score Salyers, but Millican was put out on third by Loren Shockley. With two outs, Jessica Schuler stepped up to the plate and sent Pennington home on a single into right field for a 2-0 lead.

The next inning was even more impressive. Jessica Collins and Caley Thompson both hit singles and Kimi Presnell sacrificed herself to advance them to second and third. Then, Madelyn Blair stepped up with a 2RBI double and was eventually brought home on a single by Salyers.

In the final inning Schuler was hit by a pitch and was replaced on first base by courtesy-runner Carsidy Perdue. Kalli Mallory hit a double to advance Perdue to third, and she was eventually scored on a bunt single by Collins for a final score of 6-0.

The Lady Sandites got the win, but they still had a long road ahead of them. Union was undefeated in a double-elimination tournament, and the Sandites would have to beat them twice in a double-header to win the Regional.

Senior Stella Millican started off the scoring for the Sandites, bunting for a single, and was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Schuler. Next up was Collins with a left field double, batted in by Rachel Blair with a bunt single.

In the fifth inning Salyers and Millican were both put out and it came down to Pennington to get Sand Springs back on track. A left field single put her on base and Schuler followed her with a walk. Catcher Kalli Mallory brought home Pennington with a single and the Sandites won 3-0.

Salyers got the win on the mound against Union. 

It was do-or-die in game three. Jessica Shuler and Madelyn Blair elected to “do.”

Schuler and Mallory hit singles and Mallory was replaced by Thompson as a curtesy-runner. Presnell drew a walk to load the bases. With two outs and one strike, Madelyn Blair brought home everyone but herself on a 3RBI Triple into the centerfield fence. Salyers was next up with a double to score Blair and just like that, the Sandites had scored more runs in one inning than they did in the entire first game.

The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fifth when Pennington hit the first home run of the night over the left field fence. Collins was not far behind her with her own homerun to take things to 6-0.

Union threatened in the top of the sixth as Sammi Dutton hit a single and Lexi Dobson hit a double. After a brief timeout, the Sandites found their motivation and didn’t allow another base hit.

It was clear who the victor would be, but Schuler wanted to put a good measure on Union just to prove to anyone who might doubt that the Sandites are still not a team to mess with. Cameron Clemons hit a single, Salyers hit a single on a full count, and Millican was walked to load the bases. Pennington brought home Clemons on a single for a 7-0 lead and then it was Schuler’s time to shine with a 4RBI Grand Slam to win the game an inning early by run-rule.

Pennington got the start and win on the mound.

From the brink of elimination to the indisputable regional champions, the Lady Sandites improved to a 29-8 record and earned their ticket to the State Championship. This marks their thirteenth regional championship.

 Detailed write-ups on each game, including stats and photos, will be up this weekend. Thanks for reading and be sure to tell your friends and family about www.SanditePride.com!

 

*This article has been corrected to reflect Salyers as the pitcher in the first game against Union and Pennington as the pitcher in game 2.

**This article has been corrected to include a run by Carsidy Perdue in the 7th inning against Claremore for a final score of 6-0.

The Path to State, Part 2: Lady Sandite Softball beats Ponca City 4-3

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Lady Sandites stayed alive in round two of the Regional playoffs—barely. After a shocking upset by the Claremore Zebras, Sand Springs found themselves on the same tier as a team they had already shut out twice this season. The Ponca City Lady Cats wouldn’t make it a third time. Union had little problem shutting them out 5-0 in round one, but the Wildcats came out swinging in round two and barely gave up the game to Sand Springs 4-3, and it came down to the final inning.

Charles Page has had a lackluster last couple of games, and that streak continued over into this one. After trailing for three innings, they finally came from behind to win it in the bottom of the seventh.

It should never have been that close. In the fourth game of the season, Sand Springs shut out Ponca 10-0 at home. Last month, the Lady Sandites brought an even tougher game to the Wildcats’ home and brought back an 11-0 win. 21-0 over two games, and they won this one by one blessed run.

Goose Salyers got the win on the mound for Sand Springs, allowing only one earned run and twelve hits against five strikeouts and a .468 strike percentage. Ashlynn Mercer got the loss for Ponca, also allowing twelve hits with two earned runs against only two strike outs and a .325 strike percentage.

Ponca pulled off a better batting average, but one thing was clear. When Sandites swing, they swing for the fence. Ten of Ponca’s hits were singles, whereas nine of Sand Springs’s were doubles. Only two Sandites struck out, two hit sacrifices, and two were walked, so the home team ended up with a much better on-base percentage of .424 against the Wildcats’ .375.

Just like in the first game, it was clear who the better team was. Yet for some reason, the stats weren’t translating well to the field.

It didn’t start out looking as bleak as it ended. The Lady Sandites emerged to an early lead in the first inning as Sydney Pennington brought in Salyers on a double that hit the fence. Schuler was right behind her with a double of her own, but their momentum was broken up as Schuler’s ball collided with left fielder Kylie Hopkins’s face. After several minutes of lying on the ground, she left the field on her own feet, but was replaced for the duration of the game by Bailee Johnson.

It was an unfortunate incident for both teams, as it was enough to break up the Sandite momentum and leave both Pennington and Schuler stranded.

The game entered a dry spell and the score didn’t change until the bottom of the third when Kenzie Lyons hit a right field single and Camenda Osborne scored on it due to an error by catcher Kali Mallory.

Then, the cats took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on a run from the same player. Osborne hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a single by Karly Kothe before being batted in once again by Lyons.

By the seventh inning, things were dire and the Sandite offense was under serious pressure. Not only did they trail by two, but they were playing as the guests so they had to score enough runs to keep the Wildcats from winning it in the bottom of the inning.

Pennington came out swinging, hitting a leadoff double into the fence. Kali Mallory hit a groundball double and scored Pennington on an error by catcher Samantha Murry. Mallory was replaced by curtesy runner Cameron Clemons, and it was a great call. Caley Thompson entered the game for the first time that night and hit a single. With Stella Millican at bat, Clemons was quick on her feet, stealing home plate on a catcher’s error. All Millican had to do was hit a sacrifice groundball to score Thompson, who had just stolen second, and just like that the Sandites had the lead once again.

Salyers allowed only one hit in the bottom of the inning and the Sandites won 4-3.

The girls are going to need to find their mojo quickly if they’re going to pull off some Sandite magic tomorrow. It will be a long hard uphill road. The Union Redskins beat Claremore 6-2, meaning Sand Springs will have a rematch at noon.

If Sand Springs proves the first game against Claremore to be a fluke, they’ll still have to beat Union not just once, but twice. The tournament is double elimination, so for Sand Springs to win it’ll be a triple header with no time to rest between rounds. If Sand Springs wins, the first game against Union will be at 2 PM, and the second would be at 4 PM. Not to mention that the last time Sand Springs played Union was coincidentally at the Claremore Festival and was a 5-2 loss.

It’ll be a rough road to State, but these girls are 26-8 for a reason. They’ve outscored their opponents 239 to 92 this season and went 13-1 in district. If anybody can pull it off, the Sand Springs Lady Sandites can.

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