Baylor Corbin propelled Owasso to a Class 6A baseball regional championship in a 4-3 victory over Bartlesville on Friday night.
Owasso (26-13) will begin defense of its state championship next Thursday at a site in the Tulsa area to be determined.
The Bruins, who stayed alive earlier Friday courtesy of Brenden Asher’s three-hitter in a 1-0 win over host Union, finished 23-15. Union finished 32-8.
Corbin, a senior catcher, came up clutch with his bat as he drove in three runs on a pair of two-out singles. Corbin missed most of the season with a broken hand and was just cleared to return to action last week.
“The ball wasn’t carrying much and we knew that when we came over here today,” said Corbin. “I just tried to hit the ball hard on the ground or drive something away and it worked out.”
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Owasso appeared to be in control after taking a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Grady Mercer got the rally started with a one-out walk. Mercer stole second base and after a strikeout, came home when Corbin singled to right field.
Bartlesville, however, scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to four walks and a dropped fly ball.
“We played great for five innings,” said Owasso head coach Larry Turner. “I felt like we put some pressure on ourselves and all of a sudden we were fighting for our lives.”
The Bruins applied more pressure in the bottom of the seventh. Zeb Henry, who also went the distance on the mound, singled to right field with one out, stole second base, and moved up to third on a fielder’s choice.
Reliever Braydon Sanford, however, was able to induce a flyout and preserve the hard-fought victory for Owasso.
“This is one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time,” said Turner. “I am so proud of these guys. We hit some potholes along the way but kept persevering. They’ve worked hard to get here.”
The Rams broke through with a pair of runs in the second inning. Luke Williams opened the frame with a base hit up the middle and was forced out at second base on a Branden Floyd fielder’s choice.
Mercer popped up, but Cooper Harrel followed with a double down the left field line that advanced Floyd to third. Corbin then roped a hit to left-center to plate both Floyd and Harrel.
Bartlesville got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Owasso answered with a single marker of its own in the top of the fifth.
Carter Miller led off the frame with an infield hit and moved up to second base on a Jackson Farrell sacrifice bunt. Henry got a strikeout but Bodie Amberson responded with an RBI single to center.
The Rams seemed to be in control when Corbin gave them their three-run lead in the sixth inning. The Bruins made things interesting, but in the end Owasso held on to secure a crack at another state championship.
“Owasso is known for being here,” said Corbin. “We worked really hard in the offseason and this was our goal.”
OWASSO 4, BARTLESVILLE 3
Owasso 020 011 0 — 4 8 3
Bartlesville 000 102 0 — 3 2 0
Williams, Auschwitz (6), Sanford (7) and Corbin. Henry and Eric Olenberger. W: Williams. L: Henry. S: Sanford.
