The 2018 Little League season came to a close for the Henryetta Roughnecks 10-Under baseball team last Thursday evening.

The Roughnecks, who are coached by Ryan Randleman, Dusty McElhannon, Dallas Johnson, J.R. Williams, and Ryan Morris, dropped back-to-back one-run decisions last week at the 2018 OK Kids Peewee regional tournament in Chandler.

The Henryetta diamond squad suffered an 11-10 setback to the eventual regional champion, the Sulphur Bulldogs, last Monday in the opening round, then had their dreams of an OK Kids state tournament berth end with a 5-4 loss to the Washington Chiefs in an elimination game at the double-elimination tournament.

The Roughnecks finish the 2018 season with a 42-8 record, which included a perfect 9-0 record in Henryetta League play. The Henryetta squad also went undefeated in Checotah League play, winning all 10 games.

In 50 games this year, the Roughnecks outscored their opponents 538-167 - an average run differential of 10.76-3.3 per game.

Prior to their final two postseason tournaments, the Henryetta squad outscored opponents 221-66, including four shutout wins.

The Roughnecks captured tournament championships in Checotah and Morris and were runner-up in the Broken Arrow Indian Springs and Bixby Bentley Park tournaments.

In the two postseason tournaments, the Roughnecks tallied 85 runs in a total of 10 games for an 8.5 run average, while giving up a total of 63 runs - an average of 6.3 runs per game.

Prior to last week's OK Kids regional tournament, the Roughnecks finished runner-up at the USSSA State Tournament in Bixby June 22-26.

At the USSSA State Tournament, the Henryetta squad dropped their opening-round game by a 9-8 margin to the OK Angels.

After the one-run loss to the Angels, the Roughnecks went on a 6-game win streak through the loser's bracket to move one win away from the USSSA state championship.

The win streak through the loser's bracket began with an 11-3 victory over the OK Sluggers, followed by a 12-4 thrashing of the Claremore Titans.

After their third loser's bracket game was pushed back one day due to rain, the Roughnecks continued their run through the elimination stage, sending the OK Angels home with an 8-0 victory.

Wins over the OK Dodgers (9-2) and OK Nationals (14-4), the Henryetta squad edged the Grove Ganders 8-7 to put themselves one win away from the state championship.

The Roughnecks met the Ganders once again, but suffered an 18-1 setback to their Grove opponent, settling for runner-up honors at the USSSA State Tournament.

The Roughnecks began tournament play April 12-15 by competing in a pair of tournaments in Checotah.

The Henryetta diamond squad swept the first tournament (April 12) in Checotah to come away with the championship trophy, defeating their three opponents by a combined margin of 47-2. After blanking the Checotah Royals 18-0 in the opening round, the Roughnecks knocked off the Checotah Thunder 17-1 to reach the tournament finals against the Checotah Pistols. The Roughnecks notched a 12-1 victory over the Pistols to take home the championship trophy.

In the second Checotah Tournament, the Roughnecks suffered an 8-0 defeat to the Poteau Nationals in Pool Play, then earned wins over the BBA Titans (8-1) and Heavener Wildcats (12-2) to reach the semifinals against the Muskogee Redhawks. The Henryetta squad had their dreams of a second-straight tournament championship derailed with a 3-2 loss to the Redhawks in extra innings.

The next tournament action for the Roughnecks was the Broken Arrow Indian Springs Tournament April 28 and 29. The Henryetta diamond squad defeated the OK Outlaws (10-8) and BA Tribe (10-4) in Pool Play then battled their two foes in tournament play, defeating the Outlaws 20-2 and the Tribe 13-3, respectively. The wins over the Outlaws and Tribe put the Roughnecks in the tournament finals against the OK Grizzlies, which the Henryetta squad fell by an 8-7 margin in extra innings to finish runner-up in the 2-day tournament.

The Roughnecks got back on the winning track in tournament play the following weekend (May 5-6) by sweeping the competition at the Morris Tournament, outscoring their four opponents by a combined margin of 53-3. The Roughnecks took their Pool Play games against the Beggs Rebels (15-1) and Beggs Plainsmen (13-0) by a combined 28-1 margin, then earned a spot in the tournament finals with a 16-0 rout of the Mannford Angels. The Henryetta squad completed their 4-game sweep with a 9-2 victory over the Okemah Hooligans in the tournament finals.

On May 19 and 20, the Roughnecks competed in the Bixby Bentley Park Tournament. The Henryetta squad defeated the Bixby Spartans 9-4 in their first Pool Play game, then notched a 9-6 victory over the Bartlesville Cardinals in their other Pool Play contest. The Roughnecks began tournament play with a 9-0 decision over the Owasso Outlaws, then edged past the OK Nationals 7-5 to reach the tournament championship game against WBO Armor. The Roughnecks found themselves on the short end of a 7-5 outcome in the title game, finishing runner-up at the 2-day tournament.

In between tournament play, the Henryetta squad competed in a total of 19 league games - 9 in the Henryetta League and 10 in the Checotah League.

In league play this year, the Roughnecks outscored their opponents by a combined 232-38 - an average run differential of 12.2-2 runs per game.

Below are the teams the Roughnecks defeated in league play this year.

Checotah League

• Stigler Stingers (9-2)

• Checotah Pistols (15-2, 18-0)

• Kinta Thunder (5-2, 8-0)

• Red Oak Eagles (9-6)

• Warner Eagles (18-1)

• Stigler Twisters (10-1)

• Stigler Panthers (7-1, 11-8)

Henryetta League

• Dewar Dragons (14-1, 18-2, 15-0)

• Henryetta MOJO (18-0, 18-1, 12-3,13-3)

• Weleetka Outlaws (4-2, 10-3)

Prior to the season beginning April 12 at the Checotah Pre-Season Tournament, the Roughnecks participated in three scrimmages, outscoring their opponents 43-2.