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Just 24 hours after his error allowed the game-winning run, Marcos Sallee took matters into his own hands to deliver a resounding response.
Sallee went 3-for-3 with a bases-clearing triple and three runs scored Tuesday night to lead Claremore past McAlester 15-1 at Legendary Legion Field at Murray-Pixley Park. The emphatic five-inning victory not only avenged Monday’s narrow 1-0 loss but kept the Zebras firmly in the District 5A-4 title hunt.
“Hitting that triple, getting the team going and getting the team excited really turned things around,” Sallee said. “Everybody had a tough hitting day yesterday, but I was hitting the ball really well today.”
Sallee’s redemption tour began in the first with a single and continued in the second, when he laced a three-run triple to center to ignite a five-run outburst. He added another hit in the fourth and reached base four times overall.
Claremore (20-7, 8-2 district) broke the game open in the third, plating nine runs behind a flurry of walks, errors and clutch base hits.
Kellen Gaede hit into a fielder’s choice that scored two runs following a Buffaloes (14-10, 6-4) error, then Dan Harrington and Connor Rowe each drew bases-loaded walks. Tyson Grimett ripped a two-run single, and Tyler Osgood added an RBI knock before a balk made it 15-0, ensuring the team would end its four-game losing streak in emphatic fashion.
“We aired out the elephant in the room — that’s high school baseball,” Claremore coach Jonathan Gelnar said. “Every team I’ve ever been a part of — be it a state-tournament team or the state-championship team at Owasso — you always go through a streak like this, and you’re like, ‘When is this ever going to end?’ Even yesterday, we hit the ball hard and probably out-barreled them, but they got hits when they needed to. We keep talking about just clearing it and moving on to the next thing, and that’s what we did.”
The scoring started in the first when Sallee singled, advanced on an error and eventually scored on a passed ball.
In the second, Grimett was hit by a pitch and later scored on Sallee’s bases-clearing triple. Jax Van Valkenburg followed with an RBI double, and Harrington drove him in with a single to cap the five-run frame.
“We’ve been in a little bit of a hitting slump, but today everybody was hitting the ball,” Sallee said. “Everybody looked good, everybody felt great — it was a great day.”
Grimett drove in a game-high five runs, including a two-run single in the third. The Zebras drew seven walks and stole four bases.
Gaede picked up the win on the mound, allowing just one run and one hit in five innings while striking out five. McAlester’s lone run came on an RBI double by Cole Leybas in the fourth inning.
“It’s a good feeling when you know you have a great defense behind you, and it gives you a lot of confidence on the mound,” Gaede said. “Shoutout to my defense — that’s the reason we win games right there. I was ready to go today. Yesterday didn’t go our way, but today’s a new day, and I felt confident. I knew my guys had my back the entire game, and I knew we’d go out there and put up a big number on the scoreboard. Today before the game, we had a talk about how we’re in a little bit of a slump, but something good is about to happen, and we’re going to break out of it.
“We executed on offense today, and the defense made a lot of good plays.”
Claremore will face Shawnee at 7 p.m. Thursday in the McAlester East-West Shootout.
Continue reading...
Sallee went 3-for-3 with a bases-clearing triple and three runs scored Tuesday night to lead Claremore past McAlester 15-1 at Legendary Legion Field at Murray-Pixley Park. The emphatic five-inning victory not only avenged Monday’s narrow 1-0 loss but kept the Zebras firmly in the District 5A-4 title hunt.
“Hitting that triple, getting the team going and getting the team excited really turned things around,” Sallee said. “Everybody had a tough hitting day yesterday, but I was hitting the ball really well today.”
Sallee’s redemption tour began in the first with a single and continued in the second, when he laced a three-run triple to center to ignite a five-run outburst. He added another hit in the fourth and reached base four times overall.
Claremore (20-7, 8-2 district) broke the game open in the third, plating nine runs behind a flurry of walks, errors and clutch base hits.
Kellen Gaede hit into a fielder’s choice that scored two runs following a Buffaloes (14-10, 6-4) error, then Dan Harrington and Connor Rowe each drew bases-loaded walks. Tyson Grimett ripped a two-run single, and Tyler Osgood added an RBI knock before a balk made it 15-0, ensuring the team would end its four-game losing streak in emphatic fashion.
“We aired out the elephant in the room — that’s high school baseball,” Claremore coach Jonathan Gelnar said. “Every team I’ve ever been a part of — be it a state-tournament team or the state-championship team at Owasso — you always go through a streak like this, and you’re like, ‘When is this ever going to end?’ Even yesterday, we hit the ball hard and probably out-barreled them, but they got hits when they needed to. We keep talking about just clearing it and moving on to the next thing, and that’s what we did.”
The scoring started in the first when Sallee singled, advanced on an error and eventually scored on a passed ball.
In the second, Grimett was hit by a pitch and later scored on Sallee’s bases-clearing triple. Jax Van Valkenburg followed with an RBI double, and Harrington drove him in with a single to cap the five-run frame.
“We’ve been in a little bit of a hitting slump, but today everybody was hitting the ball,” Sallee said. “Everybody looked good, everybody felt great — it was a great day.”
Grimett drove in a game-high five runs, including a two-run single in the third. The Zebras drew seven walks and stole four bases.
Gaede picked up the win on the mound, allowing just one run and one hit in five innings while striking out five. McAlester’s lone run came on an RBI double by Cole Leybas in the fourth inning.
“It’s a good feeling when you know you have a great defense behind you, and it gives you a lot of confidence on the mound,” Gaede said. “Shoutout to my defense — that’s the reason we win games right there. I was ready to go today. Yesterday didn’t go our way, but today’s a new day, and I felt confident. I knew my guys had my back the entire game, and I knew we’d go out there and put up a big number on the scoreboard. Today before the game, we had a talk about how we’re in a little bit of a slump, but something good is about to happen, and we’re going to break out of it.
“We executed on offense today, and the defense made a lot of good plays.”
Claremore will face Shawnee at 7 p.m. Thursday in the McAlester East-West Shootout.
Continue reading...
