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Christian McClendon -
Hunter Lenochan -
Gunner Phillips -
Cole Adkins -
Weston Hicks
The visitors began celebrating before the ball was caught as the hosts’ dreams of a trip to the state tournament came to an end.
The Edmond Memorial baseball team fell 7-4 to Jenks Friday afternoon in the final game of the regional tournament in Edmond.
Memorial (26-10) had begun regional play 2-0 but could not find the needed third win in two tries against a strong Trojans team.
Jenks (30-10) lost to Memorial on Wednesday but bounced back with three-straight wins, including two against the Bulldogs, to reach the state tournament.
Memorial coach JP Holman said the Bulldogs played with relentless effort.
“You can’t fault the effort,” Holman said. “You can’t really fault anything that we did or didn’t do. (Jenks) executed everything they tried to do, from putting bunts in perfect spots, they executed pitches when they had to. They got two-out, two-strike hits. They were a really good baseball team. They played not only clean defense, they played plus defense. It’s really tough when your opponent is doing, really, everything right.”
Senior Christian McClendon led Memorial’s offense. He hit 3-4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Senior Hunter Lenochan and junior Owen Tracy also batted in runs for the Bulldogs.
No one for Jenks had more than one RBI with four of the Trojans’ runs being unearned.
Memorial tried to rally in the final two innings. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the sixth but left the bases loaded. Memorial got two baserunners in the seventh but could not get them home.
Lenochan started at shortstop but took the mound in the second inning with the Trojans up 5-1. He pitched four and a third innings, limiting Jenks to one earned run on three hits. He walked five and struck out three.
Holman said Lenochan is a tough player.
“He has been his whole career here,” Holman said. “He’s just got the mindset of he’s never beat. He’s just a competitor. He’s a guy that wants the ball. Whether we’re up 10, down 10, he doesn’t care. And really, his demeanor, you’d never know if we were up 10 or down 10. He’s just tough as nails and just competes.”
Jenks took the lead in the bottom of the first inning by taking advantage of defensive mistakes. The first five Trojans reached base, and Jenks scored four runs without a hit. Only one of the runs was earned.
Jenks added runs in the second, third and sixth to pad its lead.
Holman said he will remember his seniors as a group that helped the team throughout the pandemic.
“They’re a group of guys that’s just flexible, resilient,” Holman said. “They’re hard-working guys. They’re fun-loving guys. They do things the right way on and off the field. They’re the type of guys that you like to be around, the type of guys that you enjoy (coaching).”