Bombers down Pirates twice; head to Stillwater

Midwest City had a chance to get its revenge on Norman North in the finals of the Lawton Tournament last weekend, but fell short with runners in scoring position.

At one point, the Bombers led 4-1, but fielding errors proved costly.

“We had four or five errors,” Bomber head coach Jay Vermillion said.

Eventually, Norman North took a 6-4 lead, but the Bombers weren’t through. Midwest City knotted the score 6-6 before Norman North took the lead with a single run in the top of the seventh.

Again, the Bombers put together a potential game-winning situation with runners on base. One hit and the Bombers would have gotten their revenge from an earlier tournament loss to Norman North. However, Norman North pitching stifled the Midwest City bats as the Timberwolves held on for a narrow 7-6 victory.

“We just have to get over that hump,” Vermillion said.

Still, Midwest City has won 13 of its last 16 games and is ranked No. 16 in Class 6A, according to OKrankings.com. Three of the team’s last four losses have been decided by one run, Vermillion said.

“Part of the problem is we’re leaving too many runners on base,” he said.

Three Bomber players – Joel Davis, Zach Brannon and Greg Bruno – were named to the all-tournament team. Davis was the losing pitcher in Midwest City’s earlier 3-2 loss to Norman North. In that game, Davis limited the Timberwolves to five hits while the Bombers collected only four safeties.

The Bombers reached the finals with two wins over Putnam City and another victory over Cache.

Sweeping PC

After the frustrating tournament finals loss, Midwest City rebounded with consecutive 9-2 and 7-1 losses over the Putnam City Pirates.

On Monday, Bomber pitcher Matt Reynolds tossed a complete game while allowing only two hits in the 9-2 win.

“He did a good job of throwing strikes and not walking anyone,” Vermillion said.

In that game, Brannon and Bruno each collected a double and triple to lead the Bomber hitters.

A day later, Jagger Hargo tossed six innings while allowing only two hits in the 7-1 victory.

“He just overpowered them,” Vermillion said.

Reliever Tony Purcell finished the game and earned the save as the Bombers improved their overall record to 13-8. Again, Brannon was hot at the plate going 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Heading into this week’s Stillwater tournament, Brannon was the team’s leading hitter with a .508 average.

Bruno is hitting at a .420 clip while Davis is at .415 and Damien Orr is hitting .389.

Harjo is the team’s leading pitcher with a 1.56 earned run average. He has pitched in seven games, faced 112 batters and struck out 31.

Upcoming games

Midwest City was scheduled to play Mustang and Tulsa Union in the Stillwater tournament Wednesday, but results of those games were not available at press time. The Bombers also will play Enid and a Kansas team during Friday’s tourney action.

The Bombers return home to host Edmond Santa Fe Monday in a 6:30 p.m. game. The two square off again Tuesday at Edmond Santa Fe in another 6:30 p.m. tilt.

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Midwest City’s pitching staff is led by a trio of hurlers including Joel Davis, Greg Bruno and Jagger Harjo. Harjo has notched the team’s lowest earned run average at 1.56 with Davis leading in strikeouts with 33. The Bombers will play in the Stillwater Tournament Friday and then return home Monday for a game against Edmond Santa Fe. (File Photo)