BETHANY – Bethany won a key district series on home run from Charlie Tolle and a complete game effort from Josh Pierce. The Bronchos beat Harrah, 3-1, Tuesday (March 26).
Bethany (8-7-1, 7-1 in Class 4A District 1) was tied, 1-1, with the Panthers in the bottom of the fifth inning when junior Brock Cross singled to center field with one out.
Tolle, a fellow junior, took a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall, giving the Bronchos the lead for good.
Bethany coach Brandon Ruiz noticed that Tolle led the team in “quality at-bats” so he moved Tolle up the leadoff spot from the third spot “so he can be the spark plug.”
“We needed a big hit from someone and he was the guy,” Ruiz said via text.
The Bronchos got another big performance on the mound from junior Josh Pierce.
“He’s been a consistent force on the mound this whole season,” Ruiz said.
Pierce threw a complete game, striking out 12 and scattering three hits.
Pierce’s only blemish came in the first inning when Harrah starting pitcher Joey McLaughlin homered to left. Pierce retired nine of Harrah’s next ten batters.
At the plate, Pierce went 2-for-3. Tolle and Cross each went 1-for-3. Senior Cade Ross went 1-for-2. Ross doubled in the third and scored after two Harrah errors, tying the game at 1-1.
With the two-game series sweep, Bethany has separated itself from Blanchard and Harrah (8-5, 5-3) in the district standings. The Bronchos only trail first-place McLoud (6-3, 6-0).
UP NEXT: The Bronchos will play in the Bryson Cael Memorial Tournament at Putnam City beginning Thursday (March 28). The Bronchos will play Class 5A Del City at 12 p.m. and the OKC Broncos at 2:15 p.m. On Friday, the Bronchos meet host Putnam City at 4:30 p.m.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Harrah | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Bethany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 3 | 5 | 1 |
L – McLaughlin
| HARRAH | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
| Costilla | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Whitmore | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McLaughlin | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Brown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Thompson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Flint | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Owens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| King | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Knight | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
HBP: Brown
SB: Sellars
| HARRAH | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| McLaughlin ( L ) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| BETHANY | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
| Tolle | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ross | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pierce | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Berry | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sigler | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Taber | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Moore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Cross | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 23 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
HR: Tolle
HBP: Thomas
E: Tolle
| BETHANY | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Pierce ( W ) | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| TOTAL | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
HBP: Pierce
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