Wister romps foes for CASC Tournament title
Wister’s baseball team used its offense to power its way to the championship in the Carl Albert State College Tournament. The Wildcats outscored their foes 51-11 in their four tourney games.
“The guys in the middle of our lineup stepped up. We had some guys at the bottom, like Will Bryan, really swinging well,” Wister head coach Ryan Tucker said, adding that the missing piece is pitching.
Wister (5-1) beat Red Oak 11-3 in the championship game on Saturday at CASC’s Mark Pollard Field.
“We didn’t play very good early, but we played well late,” Tucker said. “I don’t know what kind of spot we’re in right now, but we’re playing OK.”
Red Oak led 3-0 before Wister took hold with a four-run bottom of the third inning, keyed by back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Tucker Wooten and Landon Thornburg. The Wildcats ran away with a six-run fourth, sparked by a run-scoring single by Thornburg.
Thornburg was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. He struck out eight batters while allowing three hits and four walks in the fiveinning game.
Riley Crane went 3-for4. Jayden Byars went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. C.J. Halford walked three times.
Red Oak’s Asher Kauk was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
In the semifinal, Halford hit a three-run home run as Wister beat Howe 11-3. Wister led 5-0 by the second inning and had a five-run fourth.
Wooten went 3-for-4. Thornburg was 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Bryan went 3-for-3 with an RBI.
Buffalo Valley (4-2) beat Howe 9-0 in the thirdplace game as Jace Hunter pitched a five-inning twohitter with 11 strikeouts.
Hunter, Steven Morris and Zane Hayes each had two hits and two RBIs. Howe’s Braden Blake threw six strikeouts.