Bartlesville Toyota Indians continue to grow; fall to oklahoma lookouts
Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians pitcher Lathe Griggs loses his cap after a pitch to an Oklahoma City Lookouts batter on Wednesday. The Indians dropped a doubleheader to the Lookouts.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Bartlesville Doenges Toyota assistant coach Chris Shaw and his dog Calloway walk across the infield during Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Lookouts. The Indians dropped a doubleheader.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
By Mike Tupa
(Note: KWON (1400-AM, 93.3-FM) provides live radio coverage of all Doenges Toyota Indians games. The games also can be viewed live online on KWON-TV.)
According to the old baseball maxim, today’s close losses lead to tomorrow’s sunrise of success.
Well, it’s not that old. I made it up about 60 seconds ago.
Nevertheless, I’ve seen too much of sports — including my own humble experiences on the battlefield of competitive athletics — to doubt its veracity.
It’s the process of learning from adversity that paves the road for future progress.
This is a big windup to say the following: Like the nimble-fingered seamstress said, the Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians are sew close.
Although their record is far from happy (7-14), they continue to battle and claw and set themselves up for victory. They’re almost there.
Following are details of some of their action from earlier this week.
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Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians third baseman Brett Eaves tries to tag out an Oklahoma City Lookout runner on Wednesday. The Indians dropped a doubleheader to the Lookouts.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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OKC LOOKOUTS 5, BARTLESVILLE INDIANS 2
Pitcher Zachariah Ray loomed large on the mound to give Bartlesville a chance Wednesday evening. He spun a shutout through the first three innings to allow the Indians to squeeze out to a 2-0 lead in the DBAT League college-aged game at Custer Stadium.
But the Lookouts strung together a three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth to grab the lead. It might have been worse for the Indians if not for a running catch in right field by Kael Siemers to shut down the rally.
Grant Clark and Zane Griggs turned in good relief pitching stints the final two-plus innings to keep the Indians within striking distance.
However the Indians’ bats didn’t do enough
However in the final six innings the Indians’ bats went mostly quiet.
Jaxon Zaun led off the top of the fourth with a single but ended up stranded at second after a steal. An inning later, Liam Buchanan drew a walk — but never got past second base.
The Indians grounded into a rally-killing doubleplay in the top of the sixth. They went down quietly in the seventh. The Lookouts, meanwhile, scored all five of their runs in their final three at-bats.
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OKC LOOKOUTS 13, BARTLESVILLE INDIANS 3
This result was an anomaly as the Lookouts broke the game open in the second inning, forcing the Indians to catch up in the first game of Wednesday’s twinbill.
Bartlesville got off to a happy start. In the top of the first, pitcher Justin Swart kept the Lookouts scoreless.
Eddie Rice and Sam Marcella both drove in a run in the bottom of the first — Marcella on a double that plated Brett Eaves — to power Bartlesville to a 2-0 lead.
The Lookouts took advantage of some free passes in the top of the second on their way to a seven-run eruption.
Bartlesville continued to make spurts of noise but string together an explosion.
Marcella ripped a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth — but the next batter hit into a fielder’s choice.
In the top of the fifth, the Lookouts’ sticks woke up again and led to six more runs for a 13-2 lead.
Brenden Asher smoked a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth to drive home Siemers — who had walked and advanced on Eaves’ base hit — for Bartlesville’s third run.
But that would be the Indians’ final hurrah and they lost by a 10-run run rule.
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An Oklahoma Lookout outfielder makes a catch against the Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians on Wednesday. The Indians dropped a doubleheader to the Lookouts.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
ETEAM 1, BARTLESVILLE INDIANS 0
Time bit Bartlesville in this one, the second game of a Tuesday doubleheader played in Stroud.
The umpires called the game after four innings due to darkness and a gathering storm.
Unfortunately, the Indians had the potential tying run on base in the bottom of the fourth but couldn’t bring him home.
ETEAM manufactured a run in the top of the first and managed to make it stand up despite a superb pitching performance by the Indians’ Zane Griggs.
Bartlesville’s offense mounted multiple threats — but each of them fizzled.
In the bottom of the first, Siemers put down an infield single and Rice earned a walk. But the inning ended on a fly-out.
Grant Clark collected a one-out walk in the bottom of the second, stole second base and went to third on Zane Stricklin’s two-out base hit. But the inning ended soon after.
Siemers walked in the bottom of the third to set the table but the Indians came away empty.
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ETEAM 10, BARTLESVILLE INDIANS 1
ETEAM surged to an early 4-0 lead to set the pace.
Eaves scored late in the game, with the bases loaded, to avoid the shutout.