33rd Heart of Oklahoma

Purcell’s Dragons are hosting the 33rd annual Heart of Oklahoma baseball Tournament starting today (Thursday) and running through Friday.

The championship game is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday.

In addition to the Dragons, this year’s field includes Ada, Pauls Valley, Newcastle, Asher, Lexington, Bethel and Wayne.

The Dragons open the first round at 12:30 p.m. against Wayne.

A complete bracket can be found in this week’s Purcell Register.

“This will be a competitive tournament,” head coach Cole Sharp said. “There are good teams in it. Every game will be exciting and I’m looking forward to our tournament starting Thursday.”

Monday the Dragons run-ruled Holdenville in a district matchup, 13-3.

Creed Smith and Nate Willis both doubled in the contest. Willis knocked in one base runner with his two bagger while Smith picked up a pair of RBIs.

Jett Tyler went 1-3 and had two RBIs while Boston Knowles collected a trio of RBIs.

Titus Mason also had two RBIs in the game.

Zach Idlett tucked away the victory on the mound for the Dragons with Tucker Bloodworth in relief.

“Zach got a lot of ground balls,” Sharp said. “He threw well. Overall, we hit the ball well and did a good job of coming out and jumping on them early and then put them away.”

Purcell went 2-2 in last week’s Newcastle Wood Bat Tournament.

The Dragons rode the pitching arm of Willis to a 4-2 victory of the Mount St. Mary Rockets.

“It was Nate’s first start and he got the complete game win,” Sharp said.

“I thought Nate had command of the game all day,” the coach continued. “He worked fast and was attacking the strike zone, working ahead in the county.

“He did a great job and we played good defense overall and got after MSM all day. It was a good win for us,” Sharp confirmed.

Purcell backed that victory up with a 9-1 run-rule victory over Christian Heritage.

Willis and Idlett both went 2-3 in the game.

Knowles also had a two hit performance going 2-3 with an RBI. Idlett also had an RBI.

Tyler smacked a two-run double in the contest.

The Dragons out-hit CHA 11-4.

Aggressive base running by the Dragons netted 10 stolen bases including three by Willis and two by Creed Smith.

Mason, Drew Kimbrell, Tyler, Knowles and Hayden Harp all swiped a base in the game.

Parker Page picked up the victory on the mound with relief by Kimbrell.

“Both of them did a good job throwing strikes and attacking the zone,” Sharp said.

“I have been proud of Drew coming in in relief doing a good job in any situation of the game and throwing strikes.

“Hitting wise we did a good job in situational hitting all day,” he said.

It was Tyler’s clutch two out double that opened the flood gates for the Dragons.

Purcell dropped a pair of district games to Heritage Hall earlier in the week, 10-6 and 8-0.

It was Purcell first setbacks in league play this season.

Willis and Knowles both had two hits in the game.

“Nate continues to hit well for us,” Sharp said. “He finds a way to get on either by walking or getting hits.

“Boston had a good day as well,” Sharp said. “We played them tough. It was a one-run game into the fifth but we came up short.”

Sharp said if there was a ranking system, they would be No. 1.

“Overall, they were the best team and hitting team from top to bottom we have faced up to this point,” the coach said.

“They have been run-ruling people and we hung in there toe-to-toe. I was proud of how we competed. That’s going to be how it is when the playoffs roll around.”

Newcastle pinned a 11-3 loss on the Dragons in the first round of their tournament.

Idlett was saddled with the loss.

“Zach didn’t get much help behind him,” Sharp said. “We played a poor game in the field and made too many mistakes.

“You can’t do that against a team like Newcastle or they will make you pay. We have to learn and move on,” he said.

Logan Roberts had a tough draw getting his first pitching start against a 6A top 10 team.

Sharp said he liked what he saw out of his junior hurler.

“I thought Logan competed well on the mound against a star-studded lineup against the Holidays and Gundy who were playing.”

Purcell trailed only 5-4 in the fourth inning when the Pioneers stretched the lead the last two innings.

“They hit the ball really well,” Sharp said. “They are a top 10 team in 6A.”

Next Monday and Tuesday the Dragons have district games with Bethel on the schedule with Anadarko penciled in for April 21 and Senior Night.