North Rock Creek, Washington capture slowpitch titles
The Oklahoma high school slowpitch softball state championships wrapped up Monday night at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Here’s what happened.
Class 5A: North Rock Creek 15, Perkins-Tryon 0 (3 innings)
Chance Griffin and his dad, David, had a feeling they might face each other in a state title game at some point.
Chance is the head coach at North Rock Creek, while David leads PerkinsTryon. Both schools have solid programs, and the Griffins felt like it was just a matter of time before it happened.
The moment arrived Monday night after the father-son duo led their teams to victories in the Class 5A quarterfinals and semifinals. The teams met with everything on the line, but the game didn’t last too long.
North Rock Creek beat PerkinsTryon 15-0 in three innings as it earned its first team state championship in any sport.
“I’m building a house, so me and my wife and three kids are currently living with him, so it’s even funnier,” Chance Griffin said. “All year long, I talked about how special it would be. This was the fourth time actually that we’ve made it to the state tournament in the same class, and we have not played each other. To make it in the state championship playing each other there, it’s just unbelievable really.”
North Rock Creek, which is in Shawnee, was held scoreless in the first inning but exploded for seven runs in the second frame and eight in the third.
Katie Larson and Haley Hacker each had two hits and three RBIs, while Morgan Campbell and Raynee Bass both drove in two runs.
Caty Baack allowed just two hits in the circle.
“The jitters were definitely there in the first inning by us and them,” Chance Griffin said. “We made some diving catches that took the wind out of them, and we had some really quality at-bats late that ultimately won us the game.”
Class 4A: Washington 17, Dale 7 (6 innings)
Class 4A has a new slowpitch state champion.
Washington made a statement as it went on to beat Dale 17-7 in six innings, ending an impressive streak in the process.
Dale had won a slowpitch state title in every year since 2016, except for the 2020 season that was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Washington dominated and used a 10-run third inning to build a comfortable lead before cruising to the run-rule win.
“Until somebody beat Dale in this game, they were still the best team,” Washington coach Tylor Lampkin said. “Even though we were ranked No. 1, we felt like they were still the best team in the class until somebody proved it. We had a pretty good mindset of trying to come in and make our own mark on history.”
Ellie Allison led Washington at the plate. The junior went 4 for 4 with two homers and drove in five runs.
Tinley Lucas had three RBIs and also went 4 for 4, while Ellie Loveless, Emjay Lucas and Halle Andrews each drove in two runs.
“There was something special in the air,” Washington senior Mattie Richardson said. “Who really gets to play on Mondays at a state tournament? Play all three games on the No. 1 field everyone wants to play on? The mood was right.”
Alexis Gay pitched all six innings for Washington. Kinsley Hill tossed the first four frames for Dale before Chayse Caram entered in relief.