When the Skiatook Bulldogs hosted the Mannford Pirates on senior night, Landon Cornett’s grand slam in the third inning gave the Bulldogs the lead, and they never looked back en route to a 10-2 win.

In the top of the first, Mannford recorded two hits but the Bulldogs held strong and prevented the Pirates from scoring. Pitcher Garrett Watson threw a clutch strikeout for the final out with a man on second and third.

During Skiatook’s at-bat, Nick Rutledge took first base on a walk, and Cornett hit a grounder to short that was muffed and resulted in a single. Sadly, the Bulldogs failed to score and the first inning ended scoreless.

Watson looked sharp in the second, which he ended with another strikeout, and the Pirates failed to record a hit. However, the Bulldogs also failed to score, with two deep shots fielded by the Pirates.

The best defensive play of the third came when Watson threw a strikeout, and Rutledge, the catcher, made a perfect throw to second, where a base-stealing Pirate was tagged out. Mannford answered the double play with a deep double to left field, and a line-drive down the middle at the next at-bat earned Mannford the first two runs of the game.

Trailing 0-2, Skiatook responded in triumphant fashion. Watson walked, and Mason Johnson laid down a textbook bunt that advanced Watson to second while Johnson managed to reach first. The bases were loaded after Rutledge was hit by a pitch.

That’s when Landon Cornett uncorked a deep shop between center and right, clearing the fence for a grand slam. The stands came alive and the dugout met Cornett at home plate, celebrating the huge hit and 4-2 lead.

But the Bulldogs weren’t done. After a single, Jaden Turner hit a homerun for two more runs, and Skiatook managed to score another before the big inning came to a close, Skiatook leading 7-2.

Skiatook held onto the lead, adding three more late scores to capture a 10-2 victory.

After the game, the seniors were honored, and head coach Joe Faircloth had nothing but praise for his group.

“The seniors this year have really been big for our team,” Faircloth said. “The underclassmen really look up to these guys and want to play hard for them. It’s never too late to get something going, and I feel like the seniors will take us as far as we want to go. “

The Skiatook Journal would like to thank the seniors for the dedication to Bulldogs baseball and the work they’ve put in over the high school hears. Good luck as you move forward in life, seniors!
