Phoenix staff report

BROKEN ARROW — Mitch Stevenson and the Muskogee Titans started their last World Series of the summer with a bang on Monday.

Playing in the National Baseball Congress 16-under series at Indian Springs Sports Complex in Broken Arrow, the Titans won three games on the opening day, beating the McKinney, Texas, Mavericks 2-1, the Oklahoma River Cats 9-4 and Butler County, Kan., Cubs 12-2.

Steven son had four hits — including two home runs and a triple — in the three games.

“I was really seeing the ball and got some good swings on good pitches,” he said. “I felt like I was locked in (at the plate) and let the ball fly.”

Stevenson slugged a fifth-inning solo home run in the win over McKinney, then blasted a two-run homer against as part of his three hits and three RBIs in the win over the River Cats and finished with a triple in helping the Titans beat Butler County. He also had a single.

“Mitch was unconscious,” Titans coach James Parnell said. “That triple was on a ground ball that went all the way to the fence.”

The Titans’ big inning of the day was a six-run fifth inning when they rallied from a 4-0 deficit against the River Cats.

Two-run doubles by Fort Gibson’s Andrew Arnold and Sallisaw’s Matt Oberste keyed the Titans’ comeback. Sallisaw’s Trey Wiley was the winning pitcher. He also had two doubles and two RBIs in the second game.

In the first game, Arnold struck out 10 batters and gave up just two hits. Cam’Ron Summers added an RBI single in the game.

In the finale, Ada’s Brenden Barr doubled twice and drove in two runs, while James Parnell and Jordan Peacock each had two hits and scored a run. Summers was the winning pitcher as the Titans scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Titans, one of eight teams in the series, return to action at noon today against an opponent to be named.