Eisenhower junior Tre Harris fields a ball against Putnam City North in March. Harris scored two runs and stole two bases in Monday’s 8-0 win over city rival Lawton High at home on Monday. The Eagles open regional playoffs on District 5A-1 champion Duncan on Thursday followed by Woodward.
All it took was two innings.
Eisenhower took advantage of some Lawton High pitching woes, tallying all of its hits and runs in the second and fourth innings to hand the Wolverines an 8-0 loss in five innings at the Ike diamond on Monday night.
The win served as a positive ending to a disappointing regular season for the Eagles, finishing with a record of 11-24. LHS, on the other hand, fell to 7-25 on the season, having lost two-straight contests heading into the regional tournament later this week.
Ike coach Jay Vermillion, whose team entered the finale having lost nine of its last 10, said any win against a city rival makes the victory that much more meaningful.
“Any time you play an intercity rivalry, whether it’s Lawton or Lawton Mac, our kids are always excited and expected to go out and perform well,” Vermillion said. “Of course you want to play well against those guys, and it being the last regular season game, you like to see your guys perform well and get some confidence going into the playoffs.”
The Eagles went hitless in the first inning but were quick to strike in the second.
Bubba Paquin drew the leadoff walk, and Ryan Shows delivered the team’s first hit on the next at-bat with a single to left center field. Ismail Garcia followed that up with a bunt single to load the bases, and Paquin then scored on a passed ball.
Tre Harris earned a walk, and freshman Connor Collins brought him, Shows and Garcia home shortly after with a triple to left field, extending Ike’s lead to 4-0.
The Eagles weren’t done there, though, for Paquin helped tack on another run with a double to right field, scoring Collins.
Ike struck again in the fourth, finishing the Wolverines off for good.
Harris once again drew a leadoff walk when he was hit by a Kegan Cline-Kuni pitch, and he stole second and third bases before scoring his second run of the evening on a balk.
Alex Young then doubled down the left-field line before Paquin was walked, putting two more runners on base with only one out. The pair stole second and third during the next at-bat, and Spencer Brown brought Young home with a double to left field.
Although Paquin was tagged out at the plate during that sequence, Shows made up for with a double down the left-field line, scoring Brown to bring the score to 8-0.
The Eagles finished with seven hits, earning seven walks in the process.
LHS wasn’t as fortunate.
The tandem of Paquin and Brown kept the Wolverines off balance for a majority of the nondistrict contest, combining to throw a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts and only two walks. The Wolverines’ lone hit came in the fourth on a single to left center field from Kyler Jenderseck.
Vermillion said he was pleased with Paquin’s and Brown’s performance on the mound.
“That’s something we haven’t done a lot of this year,” Vermillion said. “That’s a lot of good confidence, and that’s good for us."
Ike now turns its attention to the Class 5A West Regional 1 tournament in Duncan. The Eagles face district rival Duncan (26-6) at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday before taking on Woodward (15-15) at 4 p.m.
Ike must win at least one game to keep its season alive, and Vermillion said it will be no easy task. The Demons swept the Eagles in an early April series by a combined score of 16-1.
“It’s a tough regional,” Vermillion said. “Duncan is really, really good, and Woodward isn’t bad, either. We’re going to have to play really well and try to take it one game at a time. Hopefully we can stick around another day. We feel like if we can get in anybody’s bullpen, we may not have the arms that everyone else has, but we have some depth, so if we can get into Day 2 or Day 3, we like our chances, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
LHS opens postseason play in 6A West Regional 2 against host Mustang (23-10) at 11 a.m. on Thursday, and depending on the result, will play later that afternoon against either Deer Creek (19-13) or Putnam City North (14-18).