By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sending them out in style.
Southwest Covenant closed the home portion of their season and sent their seniors out with a bang, routing Community Christian Schools 18-6 in a Cross Metro Christian Conference game at Palmer Field at the Northwest Optimist Club ball park in Dolese Park.
The Patriots improved to 8-11 overall. The team plays today in the Binger-Oney Tournament and winds up the season Monday with the Cross Metro Christian final. SWCS will travel to Okarche in the class A District 31 Tournament. Hydro-Eakley is the third team in the tournament. The district tournament is set April 18-20.
SWCS celebrated their seven seniors before the game and then turned a nine-run third inning into a 13-3 lead, putting the game out of reach. SWCS ended the game in the fifth inning on the run rule.
Leading 13-5 in the bottom of the fourth, the Patriots used a pair of CCS errors and a sacrifice fly from Trevor Kelly to push five runs across the plate. P.J. Riggs had walked and Brandon Lepke singled. Riggs scored on a throwing error to open a 14-5 lead. Lepke scored on a wild pitch to make it 15-5.
Logan Shields and Will Haas singled and Andrew Hickman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Shawn hit a ground ball that was booted and scored a pair of runs. Kelly’s sac fly made it 18-5.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the Patriots answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Haas had singled and Hickman was hit by a pitch before Jesse Deason’s single drove in a run and made it 2-1. Sacrifice flies from Kelly and Christian Brown drove in runs to open a 3-2 lead.
With the game tied in the second, the Patriots used a sacrifice bunt from Shields after Riggs had reached on an error, to take a 4-3 lead.
The Patriots broke the game open with nine runs in the bottom of the third inning to open a 13-3 lead. Deason started the scoring rally with an RBI single after Cole Shaw had singled and stole second. Kelly drove in the second run with a single and with the bases loaded, Lepke and Haas both singled to plate runs and Hickman reached on an error that sent two more runners home and opened a 10-3 lead.
Shawn and Deason had run scoring hits and an error sent in the ninth run of the inning.
Haas led the hitting going 3-for-3. Deason was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Shaw was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.
