Tigers fall one run shy in championship game, despite plenty of heart and hustle

By Jayson Knight, [email protected]

Photos by Charlene Sanders

The Tuttle Tigers didn’t walk away with the gold trophy on Saturday, but they walked off the diamond at Bricktown Ballpark with something perhaps even more meaningful: earned pride, undeniable respect, and a legacy of relentless effort.

For the fifth time in recent years, the Tigers made a deep run to the OSSAA Class 4A State Baseball Tournament championship game. And for the third time, they faced a familiar foe in Blanchard, a neighbor and long-standing rival.

Tuttle’s journey to the finals was marked by decisive victories: a 12–2 win over Chickasha in the quarterfinals and a 12–5 triumph against Newcastle in the semifinals.

In the championship game, the Tigers battled fiercely.

Blanchard’s offense started strong, and the Tigers found themselves in a 5-0 deficit early. By the end of the sixth inning, the Tigers had tied the game at 8 runs apiece. However, the Tigers ultimately fell to Blanchard with a final score of 9–8.

Coach Breck Draper reflected on the team’s performance, saying, “I’m not excited we lost the state championship, but I’ll also say this: I’m not disappointed one bit in the effort we showed and the fight we had all weekend and Saturday.”

The final game, like so many throughout the Tigers’ season, was full of intensity, emotion, and high-leverage moments.

Senior Easton Green rose to the occasion with six RBIs, leading by example and stepping up in critical situations.

“Easton just refused to lose. He picked people up and really put the team on his back at times,” Draper said.

On the mound, senior Hogan Streber made strong pitches and limited hard contact, but some balls simply found space, a reminder of how fickle the game can be when played at the highest level. Draper noted that some of those hits would’ve been routine outs on their home field at Tuttle, where the gaps aren’t quite as big.

Still, the Tigers battled to the final out.

“They never quit. They played as hard as they could every moment of that game,” Draper said.

This year’s state tournament was stacked with familiar names—five of the eight teams hailed from within a short radius of Tuttle. Blanchard, Newcastle, and Tuttle have consistently proven in recent years that the Tri-City area is an emerging powerhouse in Oklahoma high school baseball.

“Everything about this area is blue collar,” Draper said. “You look at Tuttle, Blanchard, Newcastle, but even beyond that in Washington, Marlow, Duncan. Noble was in the state tournament. There were five teams from our little southwest corner of the state playing for a title this weekend.”

He credits the region’s work ethic, community support, and deep roots in agriculture and hard work for producing competitive teams year after year.

“I don’t know if it’s the water, the cornbread the mamas are feeding them, or the Angus beef from the farmers,” he joked, “but whatever it is, it’s working. There’s a lot of really good baseball coaches down here, and the kids trust them. The level of baseball being played within a 20-minute radius is really high.”

Though this season didn’t end with a championship ring, the 2025 Tigers wrote their own chapter of resilience, unity, and growth. And for Draper, that’s what matters most.

“As a coaching staff, we’re really, really proud of the guys,” he said. “They went hard. And when we failed, we failed going hard. That’s all we ever ask of them.”