The Ridgerunners put the game away with eight runs in the top of the fifth inning, run-ruling the Rangers for the second straight day.

Ty Phillips got the win on the mound for Grove, pitching five innings and allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five.

The Ridgerunners continued their streak of scoring in every inning against the Rangers with a run in each of the first two innings and four more in the third for a 6-0 lead.

Grove then sent 12 men to the plate in the fifth to put the game away.

Phillips had two RBIs at the plate, with Brent Hall and Austin Butler also knocking in a pair of runs each. Cole Sharp went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in.

Grove 10, Hale 0 (Monday)

Scoring in every inning, the Grove Ridgerunners overcame the Hale Rangers and a soggy field to move to 2-0 on the season with a 10-0 run-rule victory on Monday in their District 5A-3 opener.

The game was delayed over two hours and nearly was not played at all after City of Grove workers left a valve to the sprinkler system open all weekend, leaving standing water throughout the infield.

GHS baseball coaches and booster club members spent over eight hours and hundreds of dollars getting the field dry enough for Monday’s game, which was nearly cancelled despite their best efforts.

The contest, originally scheduled to begin at 3:30, finally began at 5:30, with Grove starting pitcher Jake Spychalski striking out two of the first three batters he faced in the top of the first.

Spychalski would pitch all five innings for the Ridgerunners (2-0 overall, 1-0 in 5A-3), striking out five while allowing two walks and an infield single in the second inning. The Rangers (1-3, 0-2) did not get a runner past second base.

Offensively, the Ridgerunners wasted no time taking the lead, with Spychalski driving in the first run of the day with a sacrifice fly. Ty Phillips followed with a single and later scored on an error to make it 2-0.

Grove would add two more in the second before putting the game out of reach with four in the third, getting two RBIs from Scottie Spicer, another from Spychalski, as well as from Brent Hall and Cole Sharp to build an 8-0 lead.

Cordale Barton tripled and scored in the fourth inning and Spicer ended the game by leading off the bottom of the fifth with an inside-the-park home run.

As of press time Thursday, Grove was scheduled to open the Sperry Tournament against Fort Gibson and Dewey on Thursday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. The tournament will continue through Saturday.