The Banner Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — Early season tests put the Duncan baseball team in a 1-3 hole, but the bats have come alive the past two games.
Duncan scored 19 runs over the first three innings to run-rule Northwest Classen 19-1 Friday afternoon in Oklahoma City. The Demons were led at the plate by Tyler Wilkins who was 3-for-3 with two home runs and a triple with four RBIs. Jackson Stone picked up the win giving up just one run on two hits in three innings.
“Jackson pitched very good [Friday afternoon],” Duncan coach Darren Briggs said. “It was his first start because he came over late from basketball, so we gave him a few starts in JV games to let him get some innings in before pitching on varsity. It was kind of like a pitcher coming back from rehab going through a few minor league starts before getting called back up to the majors and he pitched a solid three innings.”
Duncan scored three runs in the first inning to take the early lead, but Northwest Classen answered with a run in the bottom of the first.
The Demons had a big second inning with 11 runs and put up five more in the third. Kale Thaxton had three hits to go along with Wilkins’ three hits.
“We barreled up a lot of pitches and that’s what we want to do when we’re in the box,” said Briggs. “It’s not a matter of getting hits, but making solid contact. After that we can’t control where the ball goes. Having said that, a lot of our hits were quality hits to the gaps and wouldn’t have been caught by anyone, no matter who we were playing.”
The momentum comes at a good time for the Demons who will travel to Fairhope, Ala., where they will participate in the Oklahoma-Alabama Challenge. Duncan will be one of six representatives from the state of Oklahoma and will play four games in four days this week. Duncan opens with a game at 4 p.m. Monday and will play at 1 p.m. Tuesday. The Demons close the tournament with 6:30 p.m. games on Wednesday and Thursday. All times are Eastern.
Briggs said he will take a look at his pitching staff to determine who he will send out to the mound each day. He said that Thomas Edwards will likely get the nod Monday because Edwards can turn around and pitch on two days rest and throw again on Thursday. Tyler Gay will likely start Tuesday and Stone will pitch Wednesday.
“We’ll have to look at our fourth starter, but I try to get my No. 1 and No. 2 guys as many starts as possible,” Briggs said. “I haven’t looked that far in advance, but we’ll probably go with Thomas on Monday and then determine everything else based on how he performs.
“We have no idea what this will bring us as far as competition. Deer Creek’s head coach [Ron Moore] told me that it was a very competitive tournament and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
