The Okmulgee Bulldog varsity baseball team kicked off their 2023 season this past Monday at home against the Mounds Golden Eagles.
The Okmulgee Bulldog varsity baseball team kicked off their 2023 season this past Monday at home against the Mounds Golden Eagles.
The Bulldogs also welcomed the Drumright Tornadoes to historic Dan Morgan Field at Bateman Park on Tuesday for a 7-inning showdown.
Despite a valliant effort on its part, the Okmulgee diamond squad dropped both home contests to begin 2023 with an 0-2 record.
The Bulldogs fell to Mounds by a 6-2 margin in Monday’s seaon opener, then found themselves on the losing end of a 12-2 outcome Tuesday against Drumright.
The Okmulgee squad was scheduled to return to action Thursday at 5 p.m. against Mounds at the Darrell Fairchild Memorial Tournament in Depew. The annual tournament is scheduled to continue Friday and Saturday in Depew.
In Monday’s season opener against Mounds, the visitors plated a run in each of the first two innings for an early 2-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the second on a bases-loaded RBI walk by Ryder Hedges.
Mounds added a run in its half of the fourth, then tallied a pair of runs in the top of the fifth for a 5-1 margin.
The visitors tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh for a 6-1 advantage.
The host Okmulgee squad managed just one run in the last of the seventh - an RBI groundout by Braelin Hopkins-Lewis - to put the Bulldogs on the short end of a 6-2 outcome.
Alex Gilmour went the distance on the mound for Okmulgee in the season opener and was saddled with the pitching loss. Gilmour gave up six runs on seven hits with 10 strikeouts, four walks, and two hit batsmen in seven innings of work.
Kevin Washington was the offensive leader for the Bulldogs on Monday, finishing 2 for 3 at the plate with a pair of singles.
The other two base hits for Okmulgee in the opener came on singles by Daylan Callaway and Wesley Warren.
In Tuesday’s home meeting with Drumright, the visitors opened the scoring with four runs in the top of the first, then added three in the second and one in the third for an 8-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs broke up the shutout bid with two runs in the home half of the fifth on a 2-run single by Kevin Washington, cutting the deficit to six, 8-2, after five innings of action.
Drumright added a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh to hand the Okmulgee squad the 12-2 defeat.
Jordan Deere was the top hitter for the Bulldogs on Tuesday, going 2 for 2 with a pair of singles.
Besides Washington’s 2-run single in the fifth, the other three Okmulgee hits against Drumright came on singles by Alex Gilmour, Daylan Callaway, and Braelin Hopkins-Lewis.
Callaway got the start on the mound for the Bulldogs on Tuesday and was saddled with the pitching loss, allowing eight runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts, six walks, and four hit batters in five innings of work.
Brandon Simon worked the final two innings in relief, giving up four runs on five hits, striking out two and walking two.
--- Monday’s Game
Mounds 6, Okmulgee 2
Mounds: 1-1-0-1-2-0-1 6-7-0 Okmulgee:0-1-0-0-0-0-1 2-4-0 WP: Unknown LP: Alex Gilmour HR: None --- Tuesday’s Game
Drumright 12, Okmulgee 2 Drumright:4-3-1-0-0-1-3 12 - 16 - 0 Okmulgee: 0-0-0-0-2-0-0 2-6-1 WP: Gooch LP: Daylan Callaway HR: None
