Edmond Memorial fires baseball coach

EDMOND — Following a nearly two-hour executive session, members of the Edmond school board voted Monday to fire Memorial baseball coach James Garrison after only one season. The longtime Tulsa Union assistant coach was hired in July 2016 and led the Bulldogs to a 14-19 record one season after winning the Class 6A state championship.

The move came as a surprise to Garrison and to four fathers of players who made public pleas to save his job. It came only weeks after the board voted to rehire Garrison as a physical education teacher. On Tuesday, he wasn’t sure of his future.

“I’m still trying to take in what happened last night,” he said.

“I have had a few coaches in the area and back in the Tulsa area offer me jobs. I will have to sit

down with my wife and weigh my options.”

Each parent was given four minutes to speak. David Evans, Brad Rice, Brett

Coleman and Lance Gutteridge spoke fervently in favor of Garrison.

Gutterridge called Garrison a “great coach,” and said he had never heard anything improper from Garrison during the games he attended. And he said his son was excused from a game on Good Friday because of his religious beliefs.

“Coach Garrison told my son his faith was more important,” he said.

Evans told the board the action was taken against the coach because of an anonymous letter written to administrators. He wanted more information on the offenses Garrison might have committed but was told it was a personnel matter and couldn’t be discussed publicly. Evans accused the board of “hiding behind the policy.”

District athletic director Mike Nunley, who last year called Garrison “an impressive man,” directed all comments to district spokeswoman Susan Parks Schlepp. Edmond Memorial principal Anthony Rose also had no comment.

Southmoore’s Sherrill wins state’s Gatorade softball award

Southmoore star Sydney

Sherrill was named the Gatorade Oklahoma Softball Player of the Year this week.

The 5-foot-8 senior third baseman led the Sabercats to the Class 6A state championship during the fall fastpitch season. Sherrill compiled a .611 batting average with 65 runs scored and 23 stolen bases, along with 20 runs batted in as the Saber Cats’ leadoff hitter.

A member of the USA Softball Junior National Team, she was The Oklahoman’s All-City Fastpitch Player of the Year.

Sherrill has volunteered with Special Olympics, an elementary school literacy outreach initiative and tornado relief efforts.

“Sydney Sherrill is one of the best softball players in the country, let alone the state of Oklahoma,” Norman North coach Trey

Palacol said. “She can change the game at the plate, on the base paths and in the field.”

Sherrill has maintained a 3.77 GPA in the classroom. She has signed to play at Florida State in the fall.

OSSAA approves pitchcount rule adjustments

High school baseball pitchers will no longer be able to face a new batter if they have reached 120 pitches, an effort to help maintain safety for arms.

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association board of directors approved some tweaks to the pitch-count rule during Tuesday’s board meeting.

Under the changes, a pitcher remains allowed to open an inning if he has less than 120 pitches — the maximum number allowed — but he cannot face a new batter if that total is reached.

The OSSAA also added a designated pitch counter for all OSSAA playoff games. It also clarified the penalty for a coach who breaks the pitch-count rule with a one-game suspension.

Also, a suspended game that is played the following day resets the pitch count rule for each pitcher.

OSSAA increases officials’ pay

The OSSAA is looking for ways to retain and draw in more officials for contests. It took one step with a pay increase for basketball officials and mileage increase for all officials for the first time since 2011.

Basketball officials — the majority of OSSAA officials — will now receive $5 more per playoff game until the state tournament, which will increase by $10.

Officials for all events will also receive 35 cents per mile traveled, a 10-cent increase.

“We feel like we’ve got to look for ways to improve their numbers,” OSSAA executive director David Jackson told the board.