Oktaha plays for title today

By Kenton Brooks
Phoenix Sports Writer

May 11, 2008 11:01 pm

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SHAWNEE — A somewhat neutral observer to today’s Class 2A state championship baseball game said it will be a “real battle.”
The state’s top two teams in the final Okrankings.com poll clash when No. 2 Oktaha meets with No. 1 Silo at 2:30 p.m. at Shawnee High School’s Ed Skelton Field.
Sallisaw Central coach Kevin Rodden, who had his team eliminated 17-13 by Silo in the semifinals, said he expects a good game.
“Both are solid,” said the Muskogee native. “Even though we’re not in it, I’m coming back to watch the game. Oktaha’s playing well right now. I would like to see (Oktaha coach) Chris Burt win him (a state championship). He does a good job.”
Burt’s Tigers have done such a good job that they’ve won 24 straight games to bring a 30-1 record into the finals, their second appearance in the title game the last three seasons. The Tigers lost to Dale in the 2006 finals.
Fall baseball champion Silo is 27-3.
Oktaha advanced to today’s title game with a 9-2 semifinal win on Saturday over Dale, snapping the Pirates’ two-year reign as state champion. The Tigers also ended the 10-year run in which either Dale or Latta have won the 2A championship.
But Burt, who celebrated his 40th birthday in the semifinal win, isn’t putting up any kind of state championship trophy just yet.
“I’m glad to be there (in the finals) and we’re still playing, but Silo’s tough,” he said. “They’re swinging the bats well. They don’t make many mistakes. We’re going to have our hands full and we have to play well to win.”
Derrick Skinner, the Tigers’ leading hitter in the semifinals with three hits and two RBIs, agreed.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but I think we can pull it off,” the sophomore designated hitter said.
Derek Ellison and Cale Elam have been the winning pitchers in the Oktaha’s first two games. Senior Brandon Vogt and freshman Cameron Proctor, who also have ERAs under 2.00, can take the mound for the start.
“From what I’ve seen, they’re solid up and down their lineup,” Elam said about Silo. “It should be a good game.”
The game is being played tonight because rain early last week forced the rescheduling of the tournament with the first round on Friday and the semifinals on Saturday.