OKLAHOMA CITY - Execution was the name of the game for Silo baseball last weekend and the Rebels executed with near precision to their 20th state championship, toppling long-time rival Dale, 8-3, in the Class 2A title tilt at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
The top-ranked Rebels finished the season with a 29-4 record and the first state title at the school for head coach Eddie Jeffcoat, who actually toppled his former club in the championship game.
Silo reached the finals in ultraimpressive fashion, run-ruling Latta by a 13-0 count in round one before throttling recent nemesis Oktaha, 10-0, in the state semifinals.
“Obviously anytime you win one it’s special,” Jeffcoat stated. “The first one here at a place like Silo is special. And then it being against Dale in the finals to top it off.
“It was an amazing three days for us with execution both offensively and defensively. Almost everybody we had pitched in one way or another. They did what we talked about beforehand and played their roles doing what we asked of them. It was a huge deal for us that we were able to outexecute our opponent in all three contests and pitch it extremely well.”
That pitching was mostly made up of the senior trio of Gabe Hernandez, Braden Hill and Landon Langley with one pitch in relief from sophomore Nolan Northcott. That group allowed just three runs, only two of which were earned, while scattering 15 hits to arguably the three biggest Silo rivals over the past decade. Most importantly, however, they combined to only walk four in 19 innings.
Free passes on the other side were the story of the 13-0 opening round victory as Silo cashed in 10 walks and a pair of hit batters to steadily pull away from the Panthers.
They loaded the bases in the second stanza on a Sam Mendenall double and two free passes before Zane Sander cleared them all with a grand slam over the leftfield wall.
The Rebels added to the lead with a pair in the fourth on a two-run single from Bryce Vandenburg. Northcott then came off the bench with an RBI single in the fifth and run-scoring double in the sixth as Silo cashed in three more walks and two Latta errors to put it away.
Hernandez worked three and one-third scoreless innings for the victory, allowing one hit and striking out three. Hill scattered three hits in two and one-third quick frames of relief.
Hill then got the ball to start the Oktaha semifinal and dazzled with his curveball on the way to a fourhit complete game shutout. He fanned six along the way.
The Rebels offense got rolling early with three runs and scored at least once in every stanza to keep the pressure on the Tigers throughout while totaling 14 hits.
Sander accounted for three of the hits, which included a double. Cannon Atwood added two hits and drove in two while Northcott pitched in two hits as well, including a triple. Jeret House tallied a pair of hits with one RBI and Aiden McCarty came through with a pinch hit two-run double to walk it off in the sixth.
Silo’s offense continued to apply pressure in the finale, scoring five runs right out of the gate. Three of those came in the first inning spurred by a Vandenburg single and Atwood’s two-run hit. Vanderburg notched another two-out hit that plated a pair in the second frame as Sander and Jory Allen came around following singles.
The Rebels capitalized on four free passes and two balks, getting only one hit on a McCarty en route to three runs that pushed the advantage to a commanding 8-1.
That was all Langley needed as the senior righthander scattered seven hits in seven innings while adding four strikeouts.
“All three seniors threw really well,” Jeffcoat said. “Gabe was solid the first day. Braden threw in relief and then had a complete game shutout. Landon stepped up and did really well for us in the finals.
“In July we started out in three-a-days and from that point until the end it was amazing to see how much we got better, and everyone accepted their role and rolled with it. As a team everyone came together, and it was really a fun group to coach. We had a little hiccup toward the end of the regular season, but after that we got all the offensive things we tried to do going. We bunted well and hit it well in key situations and just executed so well.”
