By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Wildcats punched their ticket to the 2019 Class 5A state tournament Saturday, knocking off Noble 2-1 at Putnam City High School.
Rain moved the final game of the regional tournament, but it didn’t phase Jared Gay. The junior found a way to work through trouble and allow just one run on seven hits over seven complete innings to help send the Cats to state for the third time in four years. He also finished with five strikeouts and no walks.
Noble struck first, scoring one run on three hits in the top of the third inning. However, Piedmont answered with one run in the bottom half to tie the game 1-1.
Gay got things going with a walk before reaching third on an error and a wild pitch. He later scored on an RBI single by senior Casey Cooper to knotch the score.
The Cats eventually took the lead with one run in the bottom of the fourth to all but seal the victory.
Senior Skyler Fenton got things going with a one-out single followed by a RBI double by senior Anthony Morejon to take the lead. It was the final hit of the game for the Cats, but possibly the most cruital of the season.
Fenton, Morejon and Cooper finished with the team’s only hits of the game. The team walked twice and struck out eight times. Junior Dylan Hampton and Gay drew the two free passes while senior Ben Abel reached on a hit-by-pitch. Senior Jack Chester also reached on one of two errors by Noble.
The Wildcats now turn their sights to the 2019 Class 5A state tournament this weekend in Tulsa.
Piedmont opens with a quarterfinals match up against Pryor at 1:30 p.m. at Broken Arrow High School today. With a win, the Cats would move on to face either Duncan or Coweta in the semifinals Friday at Broken Arrow at 1:30 p.m. The state championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 1:05 p.m. at OneOK Field in Tulsa.
