LeFlore County newsletter 5-4-2024 (2024)

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If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Psalms 139:11-12 NIV

Both LeFlore County soccer teams were eliminated in the Class 3A quarterfinals Friday night.

Heavener lost at Casady, 5-0, while Poteau was defeated at home by Community Christian, 2-0,

The Wolves end their season, 11-4. Casady, probably the best team in Class 3A, improves to 13-1 with its only loss coming to Class 4A Heritage Hall.

Poteau finishes with a 10-6 record. Community Christian advances with a 12-4 record.

CATOOSA—Heavener’s track team medaled in several events Friday on the first day of the Class 3A state track meet.

Steven Cruz broke the school record in the 3200 run and finished fifth with a time of 10:12.04. The winning time was 9:47-76.

The 4x800 relay team of Steven Cruz, Isaac Cook, Parker Brand and Seth Lynch finished fourth with a time of 8:27.21 as Sequoyah Tahlequah won the event with a time of 8:13.81.

Jeremi Casteel was third in the discus with a throw of 156-0, barely behind the winning throw of 159-4.

WISTER—Wister used three pitchers to combine on a one-hitter and the Wildcats finished strong with a 19-0 win over Walters in the championship game of the Class 2A regional here Friday.

The Wildcats, now 23-6 and ranked fourth, will play in the state tournament this week at a date, time and location determined by the OSSAA.

Jayden Byars went the first innings for Wister, allowing the one hit and no runs with five strikeouts and a walk. He was relieved by Dartyn Meeks, who pitched two innings without allowing a hit or run while striking out six and walking two. Kord Fenton pitched the final frame, also not allowing a hit or run while striking out two.

Walters, which finished 27-8, had stayed alive earlier with an 8-4 victory over Wilburton.

Wister punched out 22 hits and put the game away, scoring 10 runs in the top of the seventh.

Ty Slone led Wister by going 4-4 with a double and three RBI and a run, Torben Vocque doubled and was 3-6 with two RBI and two runs, Riley Crane was 3-5 with three runs and a RBI, Landon Donaho had a 3-4 outing with four RBI and three runs, Will Bryan doubled and was 2-6 with two runs and a RBI, Tucker Wooten went 2-5 with three runs, Byars had a 2-6 outing with three RBI and two runs, Meeks finished 2-4 with two runs and a RBI and Fenton doubled while going 1-4 with a RBI and a run.

Wister 19, Walters 0

WIS 2 0 3 2 1 1 10—19 22 0

WAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0—0 1 4

PANAMA—Dibble forced the “if” game of the Class 2A regional with a 12-10 win over Panama to give the Razorbacks their first loss in the tournament.

The two teams play again Saturday to advance to the 2A state tournament this week. Panama is 25-8 and ranked eighth. Dibble improves to 25-9 and is ranked ninth. Dibble won an earlier game Saturday, 10-4, over Tonkawa.

Trailing 4-3, Dibble scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead for good. Panama did score four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Razorbacks’ rally was snuffed out.

Sooners blank Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas — No. 22 Oklahoma started its three-game road series at Texas Tech with a 8-0 win in Lubbock.

OU starting left-handed pitcher Braden Davis was lights out in the series opener, throwing seven scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits with two walks to go with eight strikeouts.

Senior Will Carsten entered in relief and completed OU’s fourth shutout of the season, hurling two scoreless in the eighth and ninth with one strikeout.

The shutout marked the Sooners’ (27-17, 16-6) fourth of the season, the most since throwing five in 2019. Additionally, it was the first time Tech has been shut out in 2024 and the first time OU has blanked the Red Raiders since 2013.

On a windy night in Lubbock, the OU offense manufactured runs without the long ball, still registering three extra-base hits and 12 hits overall.

After a scoreless first, the Sooners jumped on top 2-0 at the top of the second, courtesy of junior catcher Scott Mudler. With two on and two outs, Mudler dropped a two-run double into right center.

Davis continued to pitch a gem, working two more scoreless innings in the third and fourth before the Sooner offense gave him more run support at the top of the fifth.

The Sooners pushed across four runs on three hits and three Red Raider errors in the fifth. The flurry started with Mudler’s second double of the night. After the two-bag knock, freshman Jaxon Willits reached on an error before junior John Spikerman chopped a ball into shallow right field to score one. The next at-bat, senior Bryce Madron reached on an error as Willits and Spikerman raced home. Two batters later, an RBI single from senior Michael Snyder made it 6-0, Sooners.

Spikerman added to the lead again in the sixth with an RBI single to left field after senior Kendall Pettis drew a walk and stole second. An inning later, Nicklaus ripped a run-scoring triple to right center to score junior Anthony Mackenzie who got on via walk.

Davis (W, 6-3) put the Red Raiders (30-18, 12-13) down in order in the bottom of the seventh before exiting with a final line of: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K.

It marked Davis’ fourth straight Friday night victory, moving him to 5-1 in Big 12 play.

At the plate, Spikerman and Nicklaus paced OU with 3-for-4 and 3-for-5 nights, respectively, with Spikerman and Mudler bringing in a pair.

The teams meet for Game 2 at 1 p.m. CT Saturday, a time change from the originally-scheduled 2 p.m. start due to forecasted weather in the Lubbock area.

The series can be seen via Big 12 NOW on ESPN+. All games can be heard locally in Oklahoma on SportsTalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM or nationwide on The Varsity app with OU’s Toby Rowland on the call.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma baseball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Baseball) and likeOklahoma Baseballon Facebook.

AUSTIN, Texas– Oklahoma State had its six-game win streak snapped Friday night as the 14^th-ranked Cowboys dropped a 7-5 contest to Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

With the loss, OSU fell to 31-15 overall and 14-8 in the Big 12, while the Longhorns moved to 29-18 and 14-8 in the league.

Zach Ehrhard, Carson Benge and Aidan Meola had two hits apiece for the Pokes, while Nolan Schubart both homered.

Tommy Molsky took the loss on the mound to fall to 6-2 as he allowed two runs on two hits while striking out three in relief of starter Sam Garcia.

Garcia worked five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and striking out three.

OSU took the game’s initial lead in the second. Meola led off the frame with an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Colin Brueggemann brought him home with an RBI double to right field.

But the Longhorns answered in the bottom of the inning, putting two runners on with one out on a single and a walk before Rylan Galvan singled to tie the score at 1-1.

The Pokes, who entered the game with 25 homers in their last five games, continued their long ball tear to regain the lead in the third. Schubart smashed his team-leading 15^th bomb, a two-run shot to straightaway center field, to make the score 3-1, and Meola followed with his seventh blast of the year to extend the advantage to three.

Once again, the Horns rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the frame as they plated three runs on four hits, including a two-out, two-RBI double by Kimble Schuessler.

The score remained deadlocked at 4-4 until the seventh. Lane Forsythe led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Donovan LaSalle. Up next, Ehrhard singled to put Cowboys on the corners with one out. That brought Benge to the plate, and he ripped an RBI double down the right field line to put OSU back on top.

The back-and-forth affair continued as UT once again answered, scoring twice in the bottom of the frame to take a 6-5 lead. After loading the bases with one out on a hit and two walks, the tying run came home on a hit by pitch. Up next, Schuessler delivered a sacrifice fly as Peyton Powell slid safely into the plate just ahead of the tag on Benge’s throw from right field.

UT added an insurance run in the eighth on a solo home run by Will Gasparino.

In the ninth, the Cowboys brought the tying run to the plate twice with one out after an Ehrhard walk and a Benge single, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the game.

The two teams return to action Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Hogs hammer Kentucky in opener

LEXINGTON, Kentucky. – Hagen Smith tallied 14 strikeouts, and Kendall Diggs drove in a team-leading four RBI as No. 2 Arkansas (40-7, 17-5 SEC) blasted No. 8 Kentucky (33-10, 16-6 SEC), 10-3, Friday night at Kentucky Proud Park.

With the series-opening win, the Razorbacks, now 17-5 through 22 games of league play, gained the outright SEC lead. Western Division leader Arkansas, which clinched its seventh consecutive 40-win season (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign), and Eastern Division leader Kentucky entered Friday night’s game tied atop the conference standings.

The Hogs will go for their seventh consecutive series win against the Wildcats in tomorrow’s rematch, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT Saturday, May 4, on SEC Network+. Arkansas, which has not lost a weekend series in Lexington since the 2011 season, is also seeking its fourth consecutive road series win against Kentucky.

Smith, who retired the first eight Wildcat batters he faced Friday night, was once again magnificent on the mound. The junior left-hander allowed just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out 14, as he recorded his team-leading 10th quality start and his ninth double-digit strikeout game, a single-season program record, of the year.

The Razorback ace, who earned the win to improve to a perfect 9-0, now boasts a jaw-dropping 1.36 ERA in 66.0 innings of work over 12 starts this season. Smith has allowed only 11 runs (10 earned) all year while striking out 125 opposing batters, which is tied for sixth most in a single season by an Arkansas pitcher.

After Kentucky opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, Arkansas would tie the ballgame in the fifth before posting a three-spot in the sixth and then breaking out for six runs in the seventh. Peyton Stovall, who finished 2-for-5 with a two-bagger and two RBI, ripped a game-tying ground-rule double to left in the fifth, evening the score at 1-1.

Diggs’ one-out double in the sixth brought home two runs as Arkansas jumped out to a 3-1 advantage, its first lead of the game. Pinch-hitter Ross Lovich delivered a two-out RBI double later in the frame to extend the Hogs’ lead to three.

Ahead 4-1, the Razorbacks never looked back. Arkansas went on to score all six of its runs in the seventh with two outs and open a commanding 10-1 lead, the team’s most runs in an SEC game this season. Diggs delivered another massive blow in the six-run inning, scoring a pair on his single to center to start the game-changing rally.

Diggs, who was one of three Razorbacks along with Stovall and Hudson White to log a multi-hit game, finished the night 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI. White, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the series-opening win.

In relief of Smith, right-handers Will McEntire (2.0 IP, 3 SO) and Dylan Carter (1.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 SO) worked the final three innings. McEntire struck out three in two scoreless frames to lower his season ERA to 3.33 in 46.0 innings over 22 games.

Junior right-hander Brady Tygart will start on the mound for the Razorbacks tomorrow at Kentucky Proud Park. With a series win or sweep this weekend, Arkansas can clinch its best 24-game SEC start in program history. The Hogs’ best 24-game SEC start in school history is 17-7, which they have achieved four times – 1999, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Cloudy skies with the chance of an occasional shower for Saturday in LeFlore County.

The high is forecast tobe 82 degrees with a low of 66.

Sunrise is 6:24 a.m. Sunset is 8:06 p.m.

Average temperatures for May 5 are a high of 79 and low of 52. Records for the date were a high of 86 in 1987. The record low was 34 in 1973.

Last year, on May 5, the high was 77 with a low of 66.

Friday’s high was 79 with a low of 52.

Calendar of events for Heavener and LeFlore County. If you are a non-profit, school or church, submit an event. This is a free service for non-profits and and churches so let us know if something is going on. CONTACT us.

Saturday

High school baseball: Dibble vs. Panama in Class 2A regional

Funeral service for Goldia Jo Milligan

Funeral service for Heath Miller

Sunday

Revival at Heavener’s First Baptist Church

Monday

LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.

State golf tournaments

Poteau City meetings 5:30

Tuesday

State golf tournaments

Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC

Wednesday

Poteau Rotary Club meets noon at EOMA

Thursday

High school baseball: TBA

Poteau Kiwanis Club meets noon

Heavener VFW bingo 6:30 p.m. Highway 59 North

Heavener sports banquet

Friday

6th annual LCYS golf tournament at Choctaw Country Club

1970

National Guard kills four students in Kent State shootings

On May 4, 1970, in Kent, Ohio, 28 National Guardsmen fire their weapons at a group of anti-war demonstrators on the Kent State University campus, killing four students, wounding eight and permanently paralyzing another. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the Vietnam War...readmore