By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
EDMOND – McAlester gave Piedmont its best shot in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament on Thursday.
It wasn’t enough.
Piedmont pitcher Caleb Lunnon tossed a complete game with 10 strikeouts and Trey Migl launched a two-run home run in the first inning as the Wildcats outlasted the Buffaloes, 6-5, at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
Piedmont (31-8) led 3-0 after an inning, but had to rally from a 4-3 deficit with a three-run sixth to advance.
“We have handled adversity really well,” head coach Adam Skokowski said after his first win at the state tournament. “These guys don’t know how to quit.”
Trailing 4-3 and with momentum on McAlester’s side, Piedmont rallied. Cole Riggs, who had a pair of bunt singles in the game, brought home Dalton Hampton with an RBI-ground ball to tie the game.
Gabe Clyden followed with a fly ball to centerfield that was misplayed, allowing PHS to plate the go-ahead run. Weston Thomas provided an important insurance run with an RBI-single one batter later.
“It gave us some room for error,” Skokowski said of Thomas’ RBI.
From there, Piedmont’s ace took care of business. Lunnon came into the game with a 0.55 ERA and cruised through two innings with six strikeouts thanks to a power fastball.
He ran into trouble in the fourth, though. The Buffaloes loaded the bases with no outs and plated two runs before Lleyton Bass delivered a two-out, two-RBI single through the right side to give the McAlester (21-19) the lead.
Lunnon responded well after the Buffs’ rally. He worked scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth then stranded the tying run at second in the seventh after Gage Dollins’ RBI-double brought the Buffs within a run.
“He’s been through the fire. He was in the same spot last year,” Skokowski said. “He’s our dude and we knew he was going to get it done for us.”
Piedmont (31-8) will play Noble or Sapulpa in the state semifinals Friday morning at 11 at Edmond Santa Fe.
“We said just let us win one and we’ll see what happens,” Skokowski said. “We’ve got the one now and, hopefully, we have the confidence to go take care of the rest of it.”
