It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations to all the teams that have made it back to the state tournament. Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups and hear from the coaches as they give their thoughts. The quarterfinals, semifinals and the state championship will be at Shawnee High School
#4 Okarche vs #5 Wright City
Thursday at 11:00am
Last Appearance: Okarche (First since 2015) Wright City (Second consecutive)
Okarche’s road to state
Okarche’s playoffs began with wins over Waukomis 15-0 and Garber 10-0 and 17-0, Defeated Barnsdall 13-3, Porum 17-0 and Pioneer-Pleasant Vale 1-0 to advance to the state tournament,
I think our road up to this point has been tough and challenging at times this spring. We have had our fair share of close ball games and have been fortunate to come out on the right side of most of those games. We’ve had the opportunity to go up against some really good clubs this spring which I feel has allowed this group to grow and prepare physically and mentally for the post season. The kids are hungry for success and I feel like we are battle tested and ready for what’s to come. We have a fantastic group of kids with a really good baseball mindset. This group has always had the same goal for themselves. Make the state tournament and go win a state championship. They understand that it won’t be easy but I really feel that they expect to be where they are now every year. The reaction was awesome last Friday. We had a fantastic turnout by the school, student body and the community. The environment that was set up for that game was awesome and the win was incredibly special said Okarche coach Ryan Beaman.
Wright City’s road to state
Wright City’s playoffs began with wins over Bennington 12-0 and 9-0, Defeated Porter Consolidated 10-0 and Laverne 5-1 and 9-1 to advance to the state tournament.
The road was tough, it always is in the spring with two way guys coming out of the gym and trying to get arms in shape early in the season. On top of that, We have had a lot of rainouts this spring so it was hard to find that consistent routine.
We played a tough schedule in the fall and spring to help prepare for the regional tournament, we knew we would face tough pitching. We are proud of the accomplishment and excited about the opportunity next week at the state tournament. It’s always special to qualify and have a chance to play for a championship said Wright City coach Kyle Butler.
#1 Tushka vs #9 Canute
Thursday at 1:30pm
Last Appearance: Tushka (12th consecutive since 2012) Canute (Fifth consecutive since 2019)
Tushka’s road to state
Tushka’s playoffs began with wins over Rock Creek 12-0 and 8-0, Defeated Hominy 12-4 and Shattuck 14-6 and 15-5 to advance to the state tournament.
Our road to the state tournament started this offseason with making a fundamental change to focus on attitudes, effort, and personal growth. We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete with the best teams on the biggest stage. We have been able to have so much success at Tushka because of the support from parents, school, and community. Also, I have been blessed to coach numerous outstanding players over that time period said Tushka coach Dax Simon.
Canute’s road to state
Canute’s playoffs began with wins Burns Flat-Dill City 11-3 and Seiling 11-0 and 12-3, Defeated Depew 5-4 and Caddo 10-0 and 7-6 to advance to the state tournament
It has been a very interesting road. I’m third coach at Canute in last 3 years. I came from a school I had been at 33 years. We have 4 Sophs that started as freshmen last year. We have 1 Sr and 1 Jr, both coming back from arm surgeries and missing previous year. We added 2 freshmen. We have taken old school(me) and new school( them) and made us “our school”. After 2-7 start in the Fall everybody started buying in and trusting each other. Weve continued to grow and put wins together along with a few hiccups. This team is eager, resilient, and ready to compete in the State Tournament said Canute coach Bobby Blackburn.
#3 Rattan vs #6 Amber-Pocasset
Thursday at 4:00pm
Last Appearance: Rattan (Fifth consecutive since 2019) Amber-Pocasset (Third consecutive since 2022)
Rattan’s road to state
Rattan’s playoff began with wins over Savanna 12-0 twice in districts, Defeated Cheyenne-Reydon 12-0 and Hydro-Eakly 7-0 and 6-0.
Regionals- played Hydro twice. Won 7-0 and 6-0. Beat Cheyenne 12-0. Pitchers only allowed 3 hits in 3 games. James Childers threw a no hitter vs Cheyenne. Keegan Robertson threw a 2 hitter vs Hydro. Logan smith threw a 1 hitter vs hydro. After winning the state championships in the spring of 23 and fall of 24, (back to back), we’re hoping to make it a three-peat in consecutive seasons. We have the guys to get it done and hope we can play well and get a few breaks to win another ring. I think we are the favorite but there are several tough teams that have a shot at winning it. Our guys know that now is the time to bring it all together and play with everything they have in order to win. It’s all about executing from here on out. I can’t remember how many seasons in a row it has been. I’m pretty sure that starting the spring of 2019, we haven’t missed a state tournament in the spring or fall. I think that we have been blessed to be able to play in the state tournament year after year. There isn’t ever a doubt with our boys that we won’t be there at the end. It is expected. The good Lord willing, we will bring home state championship number 16 to Rattan. But if not and it’s someone else’s time, we will be grateful for all our blessings and the run we’ve made said Rattan coach Michael Clay.
Amber-Pocasset’s road to state
Amber-Pocasset’s playoffs began with wins over Ninnekah 20-0 and Wellston 10-0 twice in districts, Defeated Apache 4-1 but fell to Sterling 4-0 but defeated Apache again 7-2 and defeated Sterling in back to back games 3-2 and 6-5 to advance to the state tournament.
I knew this regional would be tough but thought our pitching depth would give us an opportunity to win it. Anytime you make the state tournament it is a huge accomplishment even more so when an if game is involved. At this point we’re going to enjoy the moment until we have to face a strong Rattan club said Amber-Pocasset coach Cheyenne Graham.
#2 Dewar vs #7 Arapaho-Butler
Thursday at 6:30pm
Last Appearance: Dewar (Fourth consecutive since 2021) Arapaho-Butler (First since 2017)
Dewar’s road to state
Dewar’s playoffs began with wins over Canadian 17-0 and 15-0 in districts, Defeated Drumright 11-0 and Sentinel 17-4 and 14-7 to advance to the state tournament.
You know, We return a pretty good group from last year and our expectations are to try to make it back here to the state tournament. You know, our guys work really, really hard. It’s hard us being a football playing school with those guys that play fall baseball. You know it’s a big advantage, They get a bunch of games in the fall that we just don’t get and we love playing football, We love that we’re a football playing school but you know those guys definitely get an advantage so we have a lot of work to do to try and overcome that. So we put our guys through it early in the year especially and we have really intense practices, long practices you know, we just don’t hardly have any days off and we really get after it and so that hopefully puts us where we are prepared from a preparation standpoint. We had expectations to try and make it, Make it back and of course it’s always hard and we’re not taking anything for granted. You know anytime we can go to the state tournament, We are really excited about it and our guys put in the work to earn that spot this year and we’re so grateful that we can coach guys hard and have a great group of parents and great group of players and awesome staff that helps me out and just all together we’re just really excited to get back there and hopefully figure out a way to win a game said Dewar coach Josh Kilhoffer.
Arapaho-Butler’s road to state
Arapaho-Butler’s playoffs began with wins over Okeene 10-0 and Ringwood 14-0 and 16-0 in districts, Defeated Velma-Alma 17-0 and Ripley 4-2 and 4-3 to advance to the state tournament.
Our road to the State Tournament this spring has been a fun season. We have a young group and start 4 Freshman, 2 Sophomores, 2 Juniors and 1 Sr. We’ve played complementary baseball and each player has played their role well. This week will be fun. Our community does a great job of supporting all our teams and when we’ve made it to state in the past and in other sports they come out in full force to show their support. That always makes it fun for the players. We’re excited to go compete and see what happens. Our girls also made it to state in slow pitch so our school will be pretty fun this week said Arapaho-Butler coach Bryan Holt.
The OKPreps Rundown 