Deer Creek No-Hits Bixby in Quarterfinals

The right fielder, back to the wall, made the catch that clinched more than just a win for his team.

The Deer Creek baseball team threw a combined no-hitter Thursday afternoon as it defeated Bixby 11-5 in the state quarterfinals at Edmond Memorial.

Deer Creek (35-3) got six no-hit innings from senior Keaton Ruthardt in his final appearance for the Antlers.

Bixby (28-13) scored with walks, errors, and fielder’s choices but failed to collect a base hit in its final game of the season.

Ruthardt allowed two unearned runs in his six innings of work. He walked six and struck out eight. He left after completing the sixth inning due to the pitch count rule. He had thrown 116 pitches to that point.

With four pitches to work with, Ruthardt could have faced one more hitter. Deer Creek coach Roland Baza said he gave Ruthardt the option to face the first batter of the seventh, but Ruthardt said he trusted the bull pen.

“We got a whole bunch of good arms coming out of our bull pen,” Ruthardt said. “I trust every single one of them. He went out there, he struggled a little bit, but we ultimately got the job done.”

Junior Cody Sorrells pitched the seventh. He allowed three runs, two of which were earned. He walked two and hit one batter, but a pair of fielder’s choices and the flyout to right field on the final pitch were enough to complete the no-hitter.

Sorrells said he did not feel much pressure when he entered the game.

“It was pretty huge (to finish the no-hitter),” Sorrells said. “With him being a senior, and it will probably be his last time pitching for Deer Creek, and it being a no-hitter, he had a great game. I just had to finish it out for him.”

Much of the scoring came in the second inning. Bixby took a 2-0 lead after consecutive errors and a wild pitch. The first error could have been an inning-ending double play if the ball had been caught cleanly.

The Antlers responded in a big way in the bottom of the inning. The Antlers scored five runs, though four were unearned. The Spartans committed three errors in the inning.

Sophomore Taylor Tomlin tied the game with a 2-RBI single. Senior Zandt Payne followed up with a 2-RBI single of his own, and senior Jack Hill brought home the fifth run with a double.

Deer Creek added three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Baza said he knew Ruthardt would work his way out of the second-inning jam.

“He just had a couple of early walks, and then a couple of errors behind him,” Baza said. “We still have a lot of faith in our defense. We pride ourselves in being a defense team… I liked the response in the second, scoring five after giving up the two. It gave our guys a breath that we needed there and the confidence that we needed to go the rest of the game.”

Deer Creek will face the winner between Mustang and Union Friday.