Oak Grove wins fifth consecutive title, blanks Welsh in finals
Welsh pitcher Ethan Beard tags Oak Grove's Jenson Hurley after he tried to score on a passed ball in the bottom of the third inning of the Non-select Division IV state championship game on Wednesday at McMurry Park in Sulphur. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
SULPHUR – No. 2 Welsh had their chances Wednesday in the Non-select Division IV state championship game at McMurry Park but couldn't close the gap as No. 1 Oak Grove won 10-0 in six innings to win its fifth consecutive state championship.
It was Welsh's first state championship game appearance since 2018 and third in program history.
'I am super proud of this group,' Hayes said. 'The seniors have been through a lot.
'They made it to three straight quarterfinals, and it had never been done before. This is tied for the best season in school history, the runner-up. They have a lot to be proud of.'
Welsh (23-11) was coming off an emotional extra-inning win over No. 3 DeQuincy Tuesday night and got some base runners early. Nick Gillett and Grant Haydel hit back-to-back singles in the top of the second inning, and Ethan Beard and Dane Iguess opened the third inning with back-to-back hits. The Greyhounds were able to move the runners into scoring position, but failed to score each time. Welsh trailed just 3-0 at that point but couldn't get a runner past second in the final three innings.
'We competed against a very good Oak Grove team,' Hayes said. 'It didn't go our way.
'I feel like we hit the ball with them. The hits were six to seven. I think that we just ran out of some magic. Yesterday was a special game. We just ran out of juice today.'
Oak Grove's (18-12) Jackson Bradley was named the game MVP after pitching a complete game and driving in two runs on a double in the third inning.
Tanner Duff, who had the walk-off hit in the 12th inning to beat DeQuincy in the 2023 state championship game, opened the scoring with a towering solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the first inning. Gaige Neal hit a two-run double in the second inning, and the Tigers added three runs on errors in the fifth inning.
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