Oakdale Takes Second Place in District 4A Baseball, Earns Regional Berth

By Terry Futrell

After a close 11-10 victory over Midway on Monday in Round 1 of the district tournament, the Oakdale Eagles lost 7-10 to top-seed Greenback on Tuesday. Falling into the losers’ bracket, the Eagles once again faced the Midway Greenwave on Wednesday.

The second meeting with Midway was a close battle with the score tied 6-6 as Oakdale came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Joseph Summers was at the plate with the count three balls and two strikes. Summers watched ball 4 fly by and drew a walk, scoring Timmy Holder for a 7-6 victory over the Greenwave.

Both Oakdale and Midway finished the game with six hits and eight strikeouts. Timmy Holder accounted for half the Eagles hits, batting 3 for 3 with a double and two singles.

Immediately after defeating Midway, Oakdale once again faced Greenback for the District 3A championship. The Eagles had no answer for the Cherokees’ offense and Greenback took the championship 13-3.

After Greenback took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Oakdale scored two runs in the top of the second when Tucker O’dell hit a long single to right field, scoring Nehemiah Cooney and Eloy Vera.

Greenback tied the score 1-1 in the bottom of the second, held the Eagles scoreless in the top of the third, then exploded with six runs in the bottom of the third to take an 8-2 lead.

The Cherokees added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning, increasing their lead to 9-2. Oakdale scored an additional run in the top of the fifth when Sydney Gregory reached base on an error, scoring Tucker O’dell from second base. Greenback responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to win the game 13-3 and the District 4A championship.

Oakdale travels to Coalfield on Monday to face the Yellow Jackets in the Region 2A semifinals. Greenback will host the Oneida Indians.