Last night on a beautiful night for baseball at David Allan Memorial Ballpark in Enid, the pitching matchup between Enid’s Jake Kennedy and Bixby’s Cooper Moore was equally as beautiful!
The 17-4 Bixby Spartans made the long trek to Enid to take on the 14-7 Enid Plainsmen in a massive 6A District 4 matchup. Bixby came into the night in a tie for 1st place in the district with Tulsa Union while the Plainsmen came in tied for 2nd just 1 game back. Looking at the standings and schedules for the season, it feels like it could be a 4 horse race for the top 2 spots in the district. It sets up for a very exciting final 3 weeks of the season and the excitement started in Enid last night.
Both teams threw out their ace as the Plainsmen sent Jake Kennedy to the mound while Bixby sent the Kansas commit Cooper Moore to counter. Early on, you could tell both guys had things working. Kennedy struck out the last 2 batters of the 1st and Moore was able to wiggle out of a little 2-out trouble where he gave up 2 singles but got out of the 1st holding the Plainsmen scoreless. Kennedy then struck out 2 more batters in the 2nd inning and the Plainsmen were able to pick up the only run of the ballgame in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to a Brock Slater walk and stolen base and 2 Cooper Moore wild pitches. That run was all Kennedy would need.
Kennedy gave up his only hit of the game in the 3rd inning to Bixby’s Brian Justice (after striking out the lead off hitter) but Kennedy would strike out the next 2 batters to strike out the side which put him at 7 Ks through 3 innings of work. Then, the pitching duel was on.
Moore and Kennedy went back and fourth putting up zeros on the scoreboard. Kennedy struck out the side in the 4th inning to put his strikeout total at 10. Cooper Moore was doing the best he could to keep up as he struck out 6 Plainsmen batters through 4 innings and would finish the game with 9. But the night belonged to Jake. In the 5th inning, Kennedy would walk the lead off batter but a baserunning blunder retired that batter and Kennedy was able to get the next 2 outs via the flyout. 1 more strikeout in the 6th inning put the total at 11 and the stage was set for the Plainsmen ace to slam the door in the 7th.
Having pitched just 81 pitches through 6 innings, there was more than enough in the tank for Kennedy as he went out and struck out Bixby’s 2-3-4 hitters on just 11 pitches (4 pitches, 4 pitches, and 3 pitches). After the final pitch, a burst of emotion came from Kennedy as the team flowed from the dugout to congratulate their ace and start the handshake line.
After it was all said and done, Kennedy finished the 7 inning shut out allowing just 1 hit, striking out 14 Spartan batters, and doing it all in just 92 pitches (by my count). It was truly one of the greatest pitching performances that I have ever seen and helped give the Plainsmen one of the biggest wins of the season. The Plainsmen move into a tie with Bixby for 2nd place in the district at 7-2 (Union won last night to go to 8-1 for the top spot). The Plainsmen can move into sole possession of 2nd place tonight with a win at Bixby as the Plainsmen and the Spartans will face off once again with a first pitch scheduled for 6PM. You can listen to the game on CTB Sports 1640/1390AM, the CTB Sports App, and enidlive.com.
I’ve put together some highlights from last night’s masterpiece and have posted them below. Enjoy!
