BROKEN ARROW — Whether it was the hot bats or the stellar pitching performance, it seemed Claremore could do no wrong.
MacArthur struggled to keep either of those in check, and the Zebras used that to make quick work of the Highlanders in a 10-0 run-rule victory in five innings in the Class 5A quarterfinals at Broken Arrow High School on Thursday.
The outcome marked the second time this season Mac suffered a shutout loss, the first coming in a 7-0 defeat to Duncan on April 23.
“We just didn’t pitch well and made some mistakes,” Mac coach Rodney DeLong said. “More than anything, we just weren’t very sharp. Michelle (Artzberger) wasn’t sharp like he normally is. But give them credit, they swung the bat really well. We had chances offensively, we just didn’t get a hit when we had opportunities to score runs early and put a little pressure on them.”
Claremore got the bats going early, delivering a pair of singles to left field to go along with a walk to load the bases with only one out. However, Artzberger was able to work his way out of the dangerous situation with consecutive strikeouts to keep the Zebras scoreless in the first.
He wasn’t as fortunate in the second inning, though.
Koby Penny hit a single to left field, and after stealing second on a passed ball, Brooks Sherl brought him home with a double down the left-field line.
Noah Grimitt tacked two more runs to the lead shortly after with a single to deep left field, putting the Highlanders in a 3-0 hole.
Mac had a chance to trim the deficit in the third after Artzberger struck out three of four batters, but two strikeouts to open the bottom half was too much to overcome.
Trey Longacre and Artzberger both recorded singles to right field to get in scoring position, but a Zac DeLong fly out kept the duo from returning home.
“We just didn’t make enough things happen at the plate,” coach DeLong said. “If you don’t score any runs and you get only four hits, it’s pretty tough to beat good teams.”
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, that was the closest they would get to a comeback.
The Zebras extended their advantage even further in the fourth, starting with a triple down the left-field line from Garrett Wood. Artzberger then walked three-straight batters, giving Claremore a bases-loaded walk to bring the score to 4-0.
Ben Jones made Artzberger pay for loading the bases on the next at-bat, ripping a ball high to right center for a rare inside-the-park grand slam to make it 8-0 as several Mac outfielders scrambled to coral the loose ball.
“If we catch that ball, it’s 4-0 and the game doesn’t get out of hand on us,” coach DeLong said. “It just wasn’t our day; we didn’t play well enough. Sometimes you have to get some breaks, and we didn’t get any breaks today, for sure. We didn’t help ourselves, but that’s the way it goes. That’s baseball.”
Claremore added two additional runs in the fifth, finishing off an impressive 10-run, 10-hit day.
Despite suffering two-straight first-round exits from the state tournament, coach DeLong remains optimistic about the future of the program. Next year’s team returns the likes of ace pitcher Artzberger, shortstop Racer Felter, third baseman Zac DeLong, designated hitter Jack Smith and freshman Colby Flood.
However, DeLong said those players will have to take over games to help the Highlanders get over the first-round hump and reach the semifinals and possibly beyond.
“We’re going to have a really, really talented bunch next year,” coach DeLong said. “But we still have to play well when we get here. Your good players have to step up and play at a high level.
“This team is going to be loaded next year. There’s a lot to look forward to. This year’s team is really good, but next year’s team is going to be really, really good. We made huge strides from last year to this year. Although the outcome wasn’t as good as last year and we got beat, we’re still a lot better this year than we were last year.”