SPORTS WITH ROB MORRIS
Westmoore Celebrates State Slow Pitch Title Bottom of the seventh. The 6A slow pitch state championship game. Tied 22-22 with Choctaw. Westmoore senior Jade Strickland remembers exactly what she was thinking as she stood at the plate, bat cocked behind her head, waiting as the final pitch of the game left the Choctaw pitcher’s hand. “I saw the pitch coming in and realized that it was a good, even pitch,” said Strickland, “I decided pretty quickly, ‘Oh, I’m going to swing at this one.’” It was the bottom of the seventh inning and Strickland, the 9-hole hitter, was leading off the inning. She was simply hoping to get into scoring position so the top of the powerful Westmoore batting order could almost certainly bring her home.
Topfi’s confidence was well founded. The Jaguars had been on a near-record tear at the plate through the state tournament. They blasted Moore 25-10 in the quarterfinals and then blew out Broken Bow 20-2 to reach the state championship game. But according to Schwarz, the team’s offensive explosion actually began much earlier in the season. “You know, we started of 6-and-5 and ended up 23-and-6,” said Schwarze. “In the Big Cat classic we put up just four runs in one of our games and low scores all around and that’s just something that we’re not accustomed to at Westmoore.” So Schwarz had the team begin to focus a little less on defense and a lot more on offense. “We didn’t totally abandon defense, but we started hitting every single day,” said Schwarz. “Hit, hit, hit. Just working on our placement and hitting the ball hard.”
“After I hit the ball I was just rounding 1st base and trying to see if I could get a double,” said Strickland.
It also helped that Topfi returned to the team after nose surgery right around that point in time. She noticed the improvement in offense but says something else was going on as well.
That’s when a good hit turned into a magical moment for the Jags as the ball appeared to bounce off the Choctaw outfielder’s glove and over the fence. A long flyball had just become a home run.
“We started playing together better as a team,” said Topfi. “It helped that we all really like each other and get along so well, but now we were all working together and pulling for the same thing with all this energy.”
A walk-off home run. Westmoore had just won the state championship, their first since 2012. Head coach Steve Schwarz called it the perfect ending to an exciting game. “I knew that we just had to get Jade on base and then have Josie move her forward and have someone hit her in,” said Schwarz. “But Jade didn’t make us wait that long. She just stepped up in the 9-hole and got the job done.” Senior Josie Topfi was waiting in the on-deck circle for her turn at bat. She was confident that Westmoore was going to win. “I had no doubt that we could do it,” said Topfi. “Our entire lineup was hitting well. We had our 9 hitter out there and the top of the lineup coming up. We’d been getting base hits all game, scoring runs every inning.”
50 | MOORE MONTHLY | JUNE 2018
Strickland said the big turning point for the team’s confidence came at the Union tournament when they played Broken Bow, the number one team in the state. “We ended up losing to them 20-18,” said Strickland, “But what I remember is that was the point we really started to believe and focus more on coming together as a team. I think we just realized that we could play with anybody in the state at that point.” And so an epic run began that led the Jaguars to the 6A state title game and ended with a wild celebration at home plate as the hitter at the bottom of the batting order rounded third and headed home to greet her state championship teammates. “So many thoughts were running through my mind,” said Schwarz. “Seeing that big smile on Jade’s face as she came across the plate and all the girls jumping up and down.” As the team celebrated their state title, Schwarz was ticking off the moments that got them to the place where Strickland’s hit ended the game.
“Jade’s walk-off was the icing on the cake,” said Schwarz. “But so many other seniors played key roles as well. Josie hits a 3-run homer. They (Choctaw) walk Jeanelle to get to Ryan and Ryan hits a grand slam. And of course Bailey pitches a great game.” It’s kind of odd to say your pitcher threw a great game when the final score was 23-22, but Schwarz points out that such high scores aren’t unusual in slow pitch. “Choctaw really did hit the ball well,” said Schwarz, “But Bailey did such a great job of keeping them off-balance so they could never get consistent on their hitting.” The defense also played a key role with great catches and plays throughout the game. In the end, everyone agreed that this team was really something special. “Overall this season was one of the very best I’ve ever been a part of because of the bonds we created and the things we shared,” said Topfi. “It was a great senior year.” Strickland said, “It’s an incredible feeling because only one team wins that last game and is the state champion. I’m so proud to be a part of this team and how we came together.” “I think I’m happiest for the seniors,” said Schwarz. “They’re some of the best kids I’ve ever been around and they worked so hard for four long years, so that makes this extra special.”