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Photos by Sarah Phillips -
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Head Coach Terry Bennett couldn’t have asked for a better start to the beginning of district play, as Guthrie’s varsity baseballers thumped the Del City Eagles in the home-and-home series this Monday and Tuesday.
Guthrie traveled to Del City on Monday and continued their show of offensive power, racking up 10 hits and taking advantage of 5 Del City errors to finish off a 6-inning run rule of the Eagles, 16-3.
After a slow start, Guthrie’s bats started to wake up in the third, as junior infielder Andrew Nyte ripped a triple into right field, and later in the inning Luke Hubbard, already on a tear this season, sent a line drive past the centerfield for a double. The Jays combined those hits with a fielder’s choice and 4 walks from Eagles starter Mikale Standifer to put four runs on the board.
The Jays were fully off to the races in the 4th, notching 5 more runs against Del City reliever George Gouldsby, on singles from Cale Evans and Carson Wilder, three walks, an error, and a wild pitch.
Guthrie got an impressive outing from starter Luke Hubbard, who got the win by giving up only two hits and two runs while striking out 12 in his five innings on the bump. He set the tone by striking out the side in Del City’s first inning at the plate. Hubbard combined his stellar pitching with his ongoing prowess at the plate, going 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs and a run scored.
On Tuesday, Guthrie hosted the Eagles on the back half of the homeand- home opening series, and things didn’t get any better for Del City, as the Bluejays laid a 12-1 5-inning run rule on them.
Guthrie opened the scoring in their half of the first with two runs on two singles and two walks. However, they really opened things up after that, ripping out eight runs in the second and two more in the third.
Starter Zach Henry had a great game on the mound, with 6 strikeouts and only one hit and one walk in 4 innings. Senior third basemen Cale Evans was the games offensive star, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Senior catcher Carson Wilder had a good game behind the plate, throwing out Del City’s Dillion Simmons as he tried to steal second base in the 1st inning.
The Bluejays ran into their first true challenges this past Thursday and Friday, in non-district games against 2022 Class 5A state champion Duncan and at Ponca City respectively. After outscoring their opponents 56-14 in their first 4 games, Guthrie came away with two tight wins, winning only by one run against Duncan, and two runs against Ponca City.
Against the Demons, Guthrie started Willie Clymer on the mound, and he did reasonably well, giving up six hits and three runs in five innings, with six strikeouts. However, Duncan’s starter Preston Giles locked down the Bluejays, allowing only two hits and no runs while striking out five in his four innings of work.
Indeed, with Giles’ showing, Guthrie’s situation looked bleak. However, the Demons replaced Giles with Gage Ingram, who immediately struggled with two walks and two hit batters from the first five hitters he faced; his last HBP scored the Jays’ first run of the game. After this, an error by Duncan shortstop Chago Barhamallowedtwomore runs to score, and Luke Hubbard’s subsequent bunt single scored Carson Wilder and put the Jays in the lead. The combined efforts of Brent Ingle in the 6th and Luke Hubbard in the 7th closed out comeback Guthrie’s victory.
On Friday, Guthrie had to pull off another late win in a game that went into extra innings. The Bluejays started well, taking a quick lead with three runs in the top of the 1st inning. The battery of freshman Owen Wilder on the hill and his older brother, senior Carson Wilder, behind the plate had an excellent showing, with only four hits and three runs, none earned, against nine strikeouts and a single walk in six innings of work.
Ponca City tied up the game with scores in the fourth and fifth innings. Guthrie was hopeful to pull off another lastminute win after Cale Evans scored on Zach Henry’s triple with one out, but the Jays couldn’t get Henry home to pad the lead, with back-toback strikeouts by Luke Hubbard and Niko Pena. Ponca City tied it back up after Carson Wilder’s passed ball allowed them to score the tying run, pushing the game into extra innings.
Guthrie scored two in the top of the ninth on doubles by Carson Wilder and Luke Hubbard. Hubbard also earned the win on the mound for the Bluejays after replacing Owen Wilder in the 7th and giving up Guthrie is off this week for Spring Break, and they will face El Reno in a home-and-home next week. The Indians come to Guthrie on Monday, March 20, and the Jays return the favor on Tuesday, March 21.