Sports

NORMAN- For the second time in four seasons, El Reno High School will play for the gold ball after defeating top-ranked Sapulpa 59-50 in the semifinals of the 2022 Class 5A girls State Basketball Championships.

El Reno was set to play McAlester for the title inside the University of Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. Saturday.

The trip to the finals is just the second in school history for El Reno's program, with the win over Sapulpa being the fifth overall on the state level in 12 trips. The Indians take a 24-4 season record into the finals.

OKLAHOMA CITY – After jumping out to a one-run lead, El Reno High School’s baseball team was unable to hold off a rally by Bishop McGuinness in the District 5A-1 opener for both schools.

The Irish scored three runs each in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to rally for a 6-1 win over the Indians. The loss dropped El Reno to 3-1 on the season.

Freshman Devin Shamblin gave the Indians the early lead with a solo home run in the top of the first inning. However, El Reno’s hits and base runners were sporadic over the final six frames.

El Reno High School’s boys squad, the defending Class 5A state champion, will be among the favorites for the team title again at the 2022 Oklahoma Football Coaches Association’s State Powerlifting Meet.

“We have got a good chance to go back-to-back. It won’t be as easy this year but we have put ourselves in good position to have a chance,” said El Reno coach Austin Fedderson.

El Reno High School sent four lifters to the 2022 Oklahoma Girls Powerlifting Coaches Association’s State Championships hosted in Dickson.

El Reno placed 11th in the Large School team race with 17 points. Claudia Garcia picked up four of those team points after placing seventh overall in the 150-pound weight class. She had a 625-pound total weight, highlighted by a 285-pound deadlift and a 230-pound squat, followed by a 110-pound bench press.

Edgar Garcia logged a hat-trick as El Reno High School’s boys soccer team posted its first victory of the 2022 season with a 5-1 decision over Western Heights.

The Indians moved to 1-1 on the season but will not be in action again until after spring break.

Matches with Woodward and Mount St. Mary were postponed due to state basketball.

El Reno outshot the Jets 13-7 and held a commanding 11-3 edge in shots on goal.

The Indians logged 60 possessions in the win compared to 40 for Western Heights, while scoring four goals in the second half.

Taking advantage of nearly 15 more minutes of possession time, El Reno High School’s girls soccer team dominated Western Heights en route to a 6-0 victory in its home opener.

The shutout win lifted El Reno to 2-0 on the season.

El Reno logged a total of 47:17 of possession time leading to 40 shots overall, with 23 of those being on frame.

Meanwhile, the Jets had only one shot on goal for the match.

Since opening the season with a home win, Union City High School’s slow-pitch softball team has posted a 5-3 record over the eight games since shutting out Dover.

The Tigers are 6-3 for the spring.

During the eight-game stretch, Union City logged wins over Geary (12-0), Alex (18-5), Fletcher (12-4), Hinton (16-3) and Fort Cobb-Broxton (7-0).

The losses were to Wayne (12-1), Newcastle (11-1) and Binger-Oney (14-1).

Union City’s offense over the eight games has been led by MacKinzie DeLong with five doubles, a home run and 16 hits total.

Union City High School’s baseball team snapped a two-game losing streak to open the 2022 spring season by beating Lomega 10-4 behind a four-hit pitching effort.

Tigers pitchers Aden Ellington and Tyler Norton threw three innings each, combining for a line of 11 strikeouts, five walks, four runs and four hits allowed. The pair had a .477 strike percentage as 62 of their 130 pitches found the zone.

Union City’s offense recorded six hits as Dalton Stout and Laven Ziere had two hits each. Ellington and Blake Ross added a single each.

NORMAN – A third-period blitz on both ends of the floor propelled El Reno High School into the semifinals of the Class 5A Girls State Basketball Championships for just the third time in school history Thursday.

El Reno, one of two Suburban Conference Schools to make the Elite Eight, defeated Grove 50-26 in the quarterfinals at Norman North to improve to 23-4 on the season.

The Indians were slated to play Sapulpa in the semifinals and now are the lone league team remaining in the championship hunt after Carl Albert's 49-37 quarterfinals loss to Tulsa Will Rogers.

MOORE – Senior Ashlyn Evans-Thompson uncorked a career-high 41 points as El Reno High School’s girls basketball team punched its ticket to this week’s Class 5A State Championships with a 60-47 win over Midwest City.

The victory over the Bombers came in the 5A West Area 1 championship game and extended El Reno’s current win streak to six games. The Indians, now 22-4 on the year, play Thursday in the state quarterfinals at Norman North against Grove. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.