BASEBALL: Claremore pounds Will Rogers early in district rout
Claremore’s side was retired early in four of five innings, mostly because the Zebras were in such a hurry to let Will Rogers hit again. After all, they had already done more than enough damage. Claremore erupted for 11 runs in the first inning Monday and never let up, rolling to a 21-0 District 5A-3 road victory over the Ropers to improve to 8-4 overall and 5-0 in district play.
The Zebras piled up 14 hits and took full advantage of Will Rogers miscues, turning nearly every inning into a sprint. Xyler Reeder, batting ninth, led the hit parade by going 3-for-4, while Jax Van Valkenburg and John Tedesco each drove in 3 runs from the top of the order. Tyler Osgood added 2 hits, and the Zebras’ pitching trio of Reeder, Saxton Pickup and Osgood combined to hold the Ropers to 1 hit.
Reeder started on the mound and struck out 5 over 2 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk. Pickup followed with 2 scoreless innings, and Osgood closed it out with a scoreless fifth. The game was effectively over before Will Rogers had much of a chance to settle in.
Kellen Gaede started the first-inning avalanche with a leadoff triple to right. Tedesco then reached on an error that allowed Gaede to score, and after a wild pitch moved him to third, Van Valkenburg launched a 2-run homer to right for a 3-0 lead. The Zebras kept pouring it on.
Brayden Floyd reached on an error and later scored on Osgood’s RBI single. After Evan Jameson reached on another error, Pickup reached on a misplay that brought home both Osgood and Jameson to make it 6-0. Reeder then singled, Gaede walked and Tedesco lined a 2-run double to center to push the margin to 8-0.