TULSA – A big third inning and a dominant pitching performance pushed the Grove Ridgerunners to their third win in a row on Thursday with a 10-0 run-rule victory at East Central.
The Ridgerunners (21-10 overall, 10-2 in District 5A-3) clinched second place in the district with the win and secured a regional tournament at home in the playoffs.
Benny Steffenson went 2-for-3 on the day, driving in three runs and adding a stolen base. The senior centerfielder’s single in the top of the first drove in Kaden Livermore to give the Ridgerunners an early lead.
A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases to start the third inning. A pair of errors and Livermore’s sacrifice fly plated three runs. Jake Spychalski followed with an RBI single before Steffenson capped the scoring with a two-run double to make it 7-0.
Grove would add three more runs in the fifth with Livermore adding a double and Spychalski adding a run-scoring single.
On the other side of the coin the Grove pitching staff was equally dominant, with Gibson Russ and Spychalski combining for a no-hitter.
Russ needed just 56 pitches to get through the first four innings, allowing just a pair of walks and a hit batter while striking out four. Spychalski struck out the side on nine pitches to finish the game off in the fifth.
Steffenson, Spychalski, Livermore and Ty Phillips all finished the game with two hits apiece for Grove, who have won 10 of their last 12 overall.
