By Scott Moore
The Norman Transcript
July 19, 2008 12:45 am
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There were times Norman North coach Brian Aylor stood near third base bent over with his hands on his knees. He was sick. Sick of watching his team blow another chance to win a tournament.
And he was really sick, fighting back flu-like symptoms. He was carrying a thermometer so he’d know exactly just how high his temperature was getting.
“I’m really not feeling well,” Aylor said.
The way his team played Friday didn’t help.
The Timberwolves needed just one win against Putnam City North in the American Legion Triple A Zone Tournament to advance to the Triple A state tournament at Choctaw next week. But mistakes and weak hitting did in the T-Wolves. The Panthers advanced with an 8-6 win at Tull Lake Park.
It was North’s second loss in a title game in less than week. Last Sunday, Edmond Santa Fe beat North for the Pure Prairie League Senior Division championship, also on the T-Wolves’ home field.
“We just didn’t play very well in any facet of the game,” Aylor said. “We got beat by a team that played a lot better than we did.”
Dating back to last spring, North hasn’t had a lot of success in championship games. The T-Wolves made an unexpected run at a Class 6A state tournament berth during the school season. They were in the driver’s seat at the Edmond Santa Fe regional, needing just one win to get to state, but Santa Fe beat North twice to eliminate the T-Wolves.
Then came the disappointment of losing in the PPL title game, then falling to P.C. North Friday in the Triple A Zone Tournament.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been in this situation before,” Aylor said. “There’s a lot of things we need to work on. We have the players to do it. Hopefully, now we see what we need to correct.”
The Timberwolves had four errors Friday and just eight hits, all singles. Putnam North led 4-0 after the first inning after five hits and one error.
North came back, actually taking the lead 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth. Brady Newville’s single to right drove home Nyko Symonds and Alec Stand to tie the game 4-4. Nate Gibbs then scored from third on a double steal to give North the lead.
But that was about it for the T-Wolves. Putnam North regained control in the sixth, when a walk and two errors allowed the first three batters to reach. The Panthers tied the game when third baseman Steven Moorman had trouble with a ground ball from Josh Givens, allowing Matt Akins to score. The Panthers took the lead for good when Ethan Elrod doubled to left, scoring two more runs to make it 7-5.
North trailed 8-6 going into the bottom of the ninth, and had Newville on second and Jordan Rose on first with one out, but Elrod struck out the final two batters to end the game.
North ended its summer season 25-7. By wins and losses, it was a successful summer, and North expected to have a good season. Still, not winning a trophy leaves a bad taste.
“Sure it’s a disappointment,” Aylor said. “We expect to win every game we play. We have guys that are so messed up mechanically at the plate. We have things we need to work on.”
There was a time when winning 25 games would have been cause for celebration at North. But for a program that has been to the state tournament twice in the last three years, nothing less than a title is acceptable.
“We have high expectations,” Aylor said. “I hope the guys are disappointed. We’re here to win. We’re here to teach these kids how to win. Anything other than that leaves us unsatisfied.”
Scott Moore
366-3535
sports@normantranscript.com
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