WARR ACRES – It was at the Bryson Cael Memorial Festival at Putnam City a year ago that Bethany coach Brandon Ruiz believes was the turning point in a season where the Bronchos went deep in regional play.

A year later, Bethany (11-7-1) is on a roll, going 5-0 over the last week and has the most wins in Class 4A District 1 (7-1), giving the Bronchos the belief it can make some noise in the state tournament this time around.

Bethany run-ruled host Putnam City, 12-0, in four innings Friday (March 29).

The Broncho bats were going from the start as Bethany scored in all three innings they batted with six extra-base hits including an inside-the-park home run by junior Charlie Tolle.

Tolle went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs. He hit a ball that caromed off the base of the left field wall away from the defender allowing a sprint around the bases.

Sophomore Karter Thomas went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, four runs batted in and two doubles.

“(Karter)’s been working really, really hard at practice and in the cages. It just goes to show that if you work hard on your own and doing things when people aren’t looking good things happen and It happened for him today,” Ruiz said.

Senior Cade Ross added 2-for-2 day with three runs scored. Junior Josh Pierce, in the designated hitter spot, went 1-for-1 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI.

In all, Bethany churned out 11 hits and tagged Putnam City junior Connor Fast with 12 runs (eight of which were earned).

Lost in the offensive performance was a three-inning no-hit effort from lefthander Brock Cross. The junior struck out five and walked one to earn the win.

Big performances from down-the-rotation players like Cross is something Ruiz said will pay dividends.

“We got to have (Cross) moving forward, especially when we get into the postseason where you got to win 3,4, 5 games in a row,” Ruiz said.

For the Pirates, offensive struggles resurfaced about beating Del City, 9-2, earlier in the day. Junior catcher Lukas Poindexter managed Putnam City’s only hit, off Bethany reliever Christian Sigler. He also walked as well. The Pirates also committed three errors.

UP NEXT: The Bronchos open an important two-game series with second place McLoud (6-5, 6-1) Monday (April 1). The Redskins host the Bronchos at 5 p.m. Monday with returning the favor on Tuesday.

“They only got one loss in the district and we got one loss in the district, so it’s going to be a good matchup for us,” Ruiz said. “We’re just looking to take care of business.”

The Pirates (3-10, 2-4) start a two-game series with the team above them in Class 6A District 1, Deer Creek (7-10, 3-3) Monday (April 1) at home. First pitch is at 5 p.m.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	R	H	E
Putnam City	0	0	0	0	0	1	3
Bethany	4	5	3	X	12	11	1

PUTNAM CITY	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
Fast	2	0	0	0	0	1
Poindexter	1	0	1	0	1	0
Josh Potter	1	0	0	0	0	1
Andrews	2	0	0	0	0	0
Stewart	2	0	0	0	0	2
C Bennett	1	0	0	0	1	1
B Bennett	2	0	0	0	0	2
Jared Potter	1	0	0	0	0	1
Twillie	1	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	13	0	1	0	2	8

PUTNAM CITY	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Fast ( L )	3	11	12	8	0	1
TOTAL	3	11	12	8	0	1

BETHANY	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
Tolle	2	2	2	2	0	0
– Quanstrom	1	0	0	0	0	1
Ross	2	3	2	0	0	0
Pierce	1	2	1	1	0	0
– Williams	0	1	0	0	0	0
Sigler	2	1	0	2	0	0
Thomas	3	2	3	4	0	0
Gilliland	3	0	1	1	0	0
Moore	2	0	1	0	0	0
Reither	2	1	1	0	0	0
Cross	1	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	19	12	11	10	0	1

BETHANY	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Cross ( W )	3	0	0	0	1	5
Sigler	1	1	0	0	1	3
TOTAL	4	1	0	0	2	8