Doenges Toyota Indians surge into championship game in Arkansas
Bartlesville Doenges Toyota’s Grant Clark unleashes a pitch during last season. The Indians came up short in the championship game of the 2025 Mickey Huskey Lockeroom Twin Lakes Classic (Ark.) last Sunday. They are home Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 5:45 p.m.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
June 18,2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Just call it the GDBB Factor.
Guts, desire, battle and belief.
The Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians boast more than abundance of all those elements — plus an unfathomable reservoir of competitive energy.
They proved it again Sunday during the final day of the 2025 Mickey Huskey Lockeroom Twin Lakes Classic (Ark.) for American Legion Baseball.
First the Indians snapped back from an opening pool game loss to win their next two games and qualify for the semifinals. Once there, the Indians found a way to knock off host Mountain Home (Ark.) Lockeroom, 8-7, in the semifinals and advanced to the championship game.
Although it came up short in the final — being edged by Jefferson City (Mo.), 5-2 — Bartlesville still proved itself a worthy challenger on the highest level.
At the same time the Indians (7-10) — who are 6-5 in their last 10 games after a 1-5 start — took a humongous step in the right direction.
They outscored their five opponents in the Mountain Home tourney, 23-20. In their previous 12 games the Indians had been outscored, 112-52.
Bartlesville — which is coached by John Pannell — will look to continue its surge upward with a road trip Tuesday and a home doubleheader Wednesday at 5:45 p.m.
Following are details from Sunday’s semifinals in Mountain Home:
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Bartlesville Doenges Toyota’s Bryce Luelf looks to bunt during a last season game. The Indians came up short in the championship game of the 2025 Mickey Huskey Lockeroom Twin Lakes Classic (Ark.) last Sunday. They are home Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 5:45 p.m.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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INDIANS 8, MOUNTAIN HOME LOCKEROOM 7
Just a week earlier, Mountain Home had flattened the Indians, 19-4.
The storyline of Sunday’s rematch took a dramatic reversal.
Drama is the key word.
The Indians nearly squandered a four-run lead but held on by the tip of their cuticles thanks to a clutch pitching stretch by Grant Clark and pressure-proof defense by Liam Buchanan, Brett Eaves and Brenden Asher.
Bartlesville balanced itself on the ragged edge of stress for most of the game — including rallying from behind.
In the top of the first Jaxon Zaun drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Kael Siemers’ single to put the Indians ahead, 1-0.
Indians’ starting pitcher Sam Marcella overcame a leadoff double to shut down Mountain Home in the bottom of the first.
But an inning later the home team knotted the score, 1-1. Meanwhile the Indians’ offense had cooled off for a few innings, allowing Mountain Home to inch into the lead, 3-1, in the third inning.
It would have been worse had Marcella not thrown a runner out at home.
Finding themselves on the edge of being eliminated, the Indians’ offense came alive — with the help of Mountain Home’s errant pitching — in the top of the fourth.
It began with Asher and Eaves poking back-to-back singles. Mountain Home then gave up four-straight free passes — walks to Eddie Rice, Hunter Shea and Clark and a hit batsman (Buchanan). Three runs were forced home during that skein to push the Indians ahead, 4-3.
With the bases still loaded, Zaun reached on an error that plated two more runs. Two batters later Asher unloaded a single to drive in Buchanan and increase Bartlesville’s lead to 7-3.
But Mountain Home clawed back in the sixth inning to tie the score, 7-7. The Arkansas squad threatened to do more damage but Clark hurled a strikeout for the third out to leave the bases loaded.
The Indians just needed one more offensive push. Eaves led off the top of the seventh with a double, advanced to third and scored on Shea’s two-bagger to squeeze the Indians back ahead, 8-7.
That’s where the score stood when Mountain Home came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Clark plunked the first batter with a pitch to put the tying run on base.
But then he bore down. The next batter popped up to Shea in right field. Buchanan then tracked down a fly ball in left field. On the final play, Eaves had to corral a grueling grounder and whip the ball to Asher at first to retire the runner for the final out.
Just like that the Indians were going to the championship.
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JEFFERSON CITY 5, INDIANS 2
Playing 17 games in 20 days had taken a toll on the Indians’ pitching and stamina overall.
They still fought like lions for the final bone.
Jefferson City jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning; the Indians got back one of those runs when Zaun singled home Rice in the top of the second. However, the Indians left the tying run stranded at third in the inning.
But in the third inning, the Indians pulled even, 2-2, although they again left ducks waddling on the pond.
Jefferson City went on a hitting spree in the bottom of the fourth and — with the aid of a Bartlesville error — scored three runs to grab a 5-2 lead.
That score held up to the end; Eli Winters turned in a huge relief pitching showing the final two innings for Bartlesville.
INDIANS SEASON SCORES
L A Kansas Curve 9, Indians 2
L H Kansas Curve 7, Indians 0
L H Dallas-Fort Worth Ravages 12, Indians 3
L H Dallas-Fort Worth Ravages 12, Indians 6
W H Indians 5, Tulsa Sandlot 4
L H Tulsa Sandlot 22, Indians 12
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BRANSON TOURNEY
W A Indians 4, Kickapoo 0
W A Indians 12, Clever 4
W A Indians 5, OKC Evolution 3 (9 inn.)
L A Forsyth 11, Indians 4
L A Willard 9, Indians 5
L A Mountain Home 19, Indians 4
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MOUNTAIN HOME TOURNEY
L A Pontotoc (Miss.) 3, Indians 2
W A Indians 6, Mountain Home (Ark) MacLeod 4
W A Indians 13, Bakersfield (Mo.) 1
W A Indians 8, Mountain Home (Ark.) Lockeroom 7
L A Jefferson City (Mo.) 5, Indians 2