As the high school baseball regular season continues to wind down and the weather continues to warm up…the Enid Plainsmen have warmed up significantly over the last few weeks. And last night at David Allen Memorial Ballpark, the Plainsmen put on a show in route to their 7th straight win, their 10th win in their last 11 games, and their 14th in the last 16. Because of this recent hot stretch, the Plainsmen control their own destiny on getting the #2 seed in the district and hosting a regional in early May.
Last night’s game didn’t start off in the most ideal way though for the Plainsmen as starting pitcher Bennett Percival gave up 1 run (it was unearned) on 2 hits in the top half of the 1st inning. However, the Plainsmen had their starter’s back as they went out in the bottom half of the 1st inning and put up 3 runs thanks to 3 hits and a Bartlesville error. And those runs were all Bennett would need as he took things into his own hands and went to work.
Throughout the rest of the night, Percival was masterful and not just on the mound. On the mound, Percival would allow just 1 more run (also unearned) on just 5 hits and finished the day pitching 6 1/3 innings allowing just 7 hits and 2 unearned runs. The crowd definitely appreciated that effort and gave him a standing ovation as Coach Gore came in to pull him from the mound in the 7th inning. At the plate, Bennett was also having himself a day. Coming off 2 hits in his last 2 plate appearances on Monday night, Percival got 2 hits in his first 2 plate appearances on Tuesday including cranking a 2 run homerun that hit the very top of the left field foul pole! Percival finished the day 2-for-4 at the plate with a HR and 3 RBIs.
On top of Percival’s excellent performance, Garrett Shull continued his tear of 6A baseball as he blasted a 2-run HR into left center field which gave the Plainsmen an 8-1 lead in the 5th inning. After Percival was pulled in the 7th, Karter Simon came in and got the final 2 outs to give the Plainsmen their 20th win of the season and 10th win in district.
As it stands, the Plainsmen sit at 20-7 on the year overall and 10-2 in district play. They sit in the #2 spot in the district just one game back of the top spot (Tulsa Union). More importantly, the Plainsmen are also 1 game up of Bixby with just 2 games left in the district schedule. For the Plainsmen to secure the #2 spot and host a regional, all the Plainsmen have to do is win 1 of the 2 games next week against Stillwater OR Bixby has to lose one of their games next week to Bartlesville. All in all, the Plainsmen control their own destiny. Win and the home regional is yours.
The Plainsmen will get ready for those district games with matchups against Norman and Berryhill this Friday and Saturday respectively. Friday’s matchup with Norman will be at 6PM at DAMB and Saturday’s matchup with Berryhill at 10AM also at DAMB. Both games can be heard on CTB Sports 1640/1390AM and enidlive.com.
