Jackets rack up early 5-3 baseball record

Kingfisher closed out a two-day run at the Oklahoma City Festival last Friday with an 8-6 victory over Lighthouse Christian.

The win over the Missouri team improved the Jackets to 5-3 overall entering the Spring Break.

That includes a 4-0 record in District 4A-4 games.

The Jackets swept Tecumseh to open the season with an 11-2 win at home on March 2 and then 13-2 on the road the following day.

KHS also disposed of Harding Charter Prep 13-0 and 14-6 in a home sweep on March 9.

The Jackets needed just 3 innings for the initial win over Harding as Cooper Henley went all 3 frames on the mound.

He gave up just 1 hit while striking out 5.

KHS collected just 4 hits, but walked 10 times in the game.

Sloan Merrill got half of those hits and drove in 2 runs.

Henley, Carter Stephenson, Brody Boeckman and Brett Calamateo scored 2 runs apiece.

KHS saw a 7-0 lead shrink down to 9-6 entering the bottom of the fifth in the nightcap.

That’s when the Jackets plated 5 runs to end the game via run rule.

They got the runs with just 2 hits in the inning, one of them a two-run triple by Kaden Cline, who eventually scored on an error on the same play.

The game ended with Boeckman at the plate when Henley scored on a passed ball.

The Jackets walked 12 times and benefited from six Harding errors in the game.

The team managed 6 hits, as Collin Farrar, Jagger Braun, Cline, Henley, Calamateo and Luke Smithson had 1 each.

Farrar scored 4 times from his leadoff spot while Cline, Calamateo and Smithson each scored twice.

The Jackets used a committee of pitchers.

Cline got the start and went 2 2/3 of hitless work. He struck out 5 in grabbing the win.

Farrar pitched 2/3 of an inning and surrendered 2 runs, 1 of them earned, and walked 4.

He made way for Drew Snider, who was freshly cleared to return from a summer ACL injury.

A freshman like Farrar, Snider pitched an inning and surrendered 4 unearned runs as he walked 4 and struck out 3.

Braun contributed 2/3 inning of hitless work as he walked 2 and struck out 2.

KHS started the festival in Oklahoma City on Thursday with a 9-6 loss to Ellis County (Texas).

Against Lighthouse Christian, the Jackets were up 6-2 through 4 1/2 innings before giving up 3 runs.

They got some insurance in the top of the sixth (which proved to be the final inning) on Henley’s 2-run double.

An error led to another Lighthouse Christian run in the bottom of the sixth, but Cline was able to close out his complete-game effort.

He surrendered 7 hits and 4 earned runs while striking out 7 and walking 4.

Henley and Calamateo each went 2 for 3 and drove in 3 runs.

Calamateo picked up 2 of his with a double in the third inning to give the Jackets a 4-1 lead.

He made it 6-2 in the fifth with a single that scored Stephenson.

Farrar and Braun each had 2 hits and 2 runs scored for KHS.