Oklahoma high school softball: Dale, Caddo and Stuart win Class 2A-B fastpitch titles
Class 2A: Dale 1, Pocola 0
Teague Muncy stepped up to the plate, feeling the weight of the Dale community resting squarely on her shoulders.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the seventh inning, the tension in Devon Park was palpable. Muncy faced two outs with the bases loaded, and both crowds were on the edge of their seats.
Despite the deafening atmosphere, Muncy confidently swung her bat. Her grounder to second base was misplayed, bringing in freshman Breeze Higdon to score the game-winning run.
The play resulted in Dale’s second consecutive Class 2A state title with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Pocola.
“The score of the game didn’t really even register for me, to be honest,” Muncy said. “I looked at Coach Powell, and my teammates knew I could do it. I tried to keep positive thoughts and just put the ball in play, and it worked.”
This rematch of last year’s 2A title game lived up to the excitement that had been building.
Dale had just one hit off Pocola pitcher and OU commit Allyssa Parker, who was electric striking out nine batters. On the other side, Dale pitcher Kinsley Hill matched her intensity with eight strikeouts.
Even with Parker’s dominance in the circle, a hit-by-pitch and a walk set the stage for Muncy’s pivotal moment. The events led Muncy to believe that a storybook ending was on the horizon.
“When I went to bat, it felt like the moment was perfect for sure,” Muncy said. “We had just had such a big inning, the middle and bottom of our lineup really stepped up that game. I was so proud of them, and the fact that we could get back to the top was huge.”
Most notably, Oklahoma’s sole unbeaten team was no longer.
The win snapped Pocola’s 34-game win streak. Meanwhile, Dale finished the season with 38 consecutive wins, achieving a program-record 42 victories and securing its seventh state championship.
It took grit, heart and uneasiness to overcome the early woes, but 18-year Dale head coach Andy Powell believes those elements were key to the victory.
“That’s one heck of a team over there,” Powell said. “Allyssa Parker is a generational pitching prospect and one of the best I’ve ever seen. We had to find a way. And by the time the last inning rolled around, our girls felt like they would win.”
“Dale is the most special place in Oklahoma for sports. There’s no one that can touch it. We only play a few sports, but the intensity to win, our work ethic and the people in the town know the sacrifice. It’s unbelievable. Dale’s a special place — don’t ever forget it.”
Class A: Caddo 10, Tushka 1
Jaycie Nichols turned toward the Caddo student section and unleashed a jubilant roar that echoed across the field.
Her emotion was warranted. The senior shortstop and Texas softball commit had just won her fourth state championship with Caddo.
As she held up the championship banner beside her teammates, Nichols couldn’t help but relive the first time she did as a freshman.
“After our first state championship, I was celebrating it like that would be our last time,” Nichols said following Caddo’s 10-1 win over Tushka.
“Then the next year, we kept on winning and winning and winning. Then we won state again. By that time, we were like, why not keep going to win another? We put in a lot of hard work to get to this point now.”
Nichols left her mark at Devon Park in her final high school fastpitch game.
She crushed a home run over the right-field wall in her very first at-bat of the afternoon. Fifteen minutes later, she hit an inside-the-park home run while bringing in two runners to score.
By the end of the day, Nichols finished an impressive 3 for 4 at the plate, tallying four RBIs and stealing two bases.
“When I woke up today, I just told myself to leave it all on the field,” Nichols said. “I wanted to go all out one last time and do it for my team. Softball is such a fun game — especially when you keep winning.”
Head coach Dustin McKay has been under the helm for all four state titles at Caddo.
The 2023 championship was bittersweet for McKay, as it was the final title he’d win while coaching his daughter — current OU softball freshman Kadey Lee McKay.
Under McKay, Caddo has won seven consecutive state championships in both fastpitch and slowpitch since 2021. After this latest triumph, he emphasizes the importance of cherishing the journey
“These last four years have just been amazing,” McKay said. “It gets more amazing every time you win one and more challenging every time you win one. But this all starts and ends with the girls. They get up every single morning, and they want to be better.
“We don’t accept anyone’s second best here at Caddo. We demand everyone’s best day in and day out, which shows what’s carried over in all our success.”
Class B: Stuart 6, Leedey 0
Keelie Treat dreamed of hoisting a state title after moving to Stuart ahead of her junior season.
The program was riding high after claiming its second Class B state championship in 2022. After spending most of her childhood in Chandler, her dad got a new job, which caused her to make new friends 90 miles south of her hometown.
Though the transition was initially tough, Treat reflects on it now without any regrets.
“Being part of this winning program has been awesome since Day 1,” Treat said after Stuart’s 6-0 state title win over Leedey. “We could’ve got comfortable early, but we didn’t. I’m just glad that we kept going today and kept our foot on their throat from the start.”
Treat dominated the circle, racking up 10 strikeouts and pitching a shutout.
Her performance was complemented by her contributions at the plate, where she recorded two hits and two RBIs. She even scored a run early in the first inning, following a three-run homer by senior Reagan Wade that sailed to center field.
Her stellar outing came less than 24 hours after she allowed just one hit in Stuart’s 6-0 semifinal victory over Lookeba-Sickles.
“I think that we all knew what we had to do and that we just needed to get it done,” Treat said. “We all had all the pieces that we needed to get it done. We just made sure to work together and listen to (head coach Jeff) Parnell.”
Parnell always believed in the heights his team could go.
Stuart had been rolling over the last few weeks. The team entered the state tournament on a five-game win streak, defeating teams by an average margin of over eight points.
Now that the championship is secured, Parnell is excited to celebrate the title with the community of Stuart.
“The community of Stuart is like no other that I tend to see,” Parnell. “If we’re losing, they’re there. If we’re winning, they’re there. And our fans showed up and were loud today. Luckily, we can sleep in tomorrow — but not until we celebrate this.”