The Grove Ridgerunners stumbled twice in their final two regular season games on Monday, losing 17-7 to Coweta at Claremore and to Skiatook in their home finale 11-1.
With little to play for besides momentum, the Ridgerunners traveled to Claremore for an 11 a.m. start in a make up game against the Tigers, taking advantage of three Coweta errors to score four times in the second and grab the early lead.
But Coweta bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the third and seven more in the fourth to take a 12-4 lead.
Grove would close to 14-7 late in the game before a flurry of runs in the fifth and sixth innings by the Tigers ended the game by run rule.
Kody Stephenson and Benny Steffenson each had two hits for Grove, who managed 10 hits as a team. Steffenson drove in three runs, including a bases-loaded single that scored two in the second.
Returning home for a 4:30 game against Skiatook, the Ridgerunners had little success in the nightcap, as the Bulldogs scored three in the first and four in the third on their way to a five inning run rule win.
The Ridgerunners managed just three hits on Senior Night, with Gibson Russ and Jake Spychalski each hitting triples. Russ scored Grove’s only run on a groundout by Steffenson in the fifth.
Even with the pair of losses, the Ridgerunners finished in second place in District 5A-3 and will host a regional playoff tournament that begins on Thursday at 11 a.m., weather permitting.
Grove will open with Northwest Classen of Oklahoma City in the second game of the tournament. Pryor and Collinsville will open the tournament in the first game. First round winners will play at 3 p.m. while the losers will meet at 5 p.m. in an elimination game.
The tournament will continue on Friday.
