Black Diamonds striking it rich to begin season

The Sallisaw Black Diamonds have started the season 9-0, heading into Tuesday’s home opener against District 4A-8 foe Idabel.

By the way, Tuesday’s game was to mark the first contest the Black Diamonds will have played on the new turf.

So far this season, the Black Diamonds have outscored their opponents 93-24, with the most lopsided win being the district opener and season opener on March 3 as the Black Diamonds routed the Muldrow Bulldogs 17-0.

We’ll see how long this perfect streak to the 2025 baseball season will last. An undefeated regular season in baseball is mighty hard to come by. Good luck, Black Diamonds.

TOURNAMENT/FESTIVAL WEEK

There are four tournaments at the end of this week, with three of them happening locally.

The two-day Roland Wood Bat Tournament will be Thursday and Friday.

The Webbers Falls Tournament will be three days, beginning on Thursday.

The Webbers Falls Softball Festival will be a one-day event on Thursday.

The one tournament involving our local teams that will be out of the area will be the Tiger/Zebra Classic for the Sallisaw Black Diamonds, who will see action in both Claremore and Pryor.

All of these events’ schedules are in today’s edition.

WHAT’S ON TAP

Next week, there are three baseball tournaments and one softball tournament that will feature local teams.

The Muldrow Baseball Festival will be March 3-4, while the Sallisaw Black Diamonds will be in the Fort Gibson/ Hilldale Tournament in Muskogee County on March 3-5.

Also on March 3-5 will be the Dewar Tournament for the Gore Pirates.

The Riverside Conference Softball Tournament for Gore, Gans and Webbers Falls will be March 3-5 in Stigler.

SPRING SPORTS GUIDE PUBLISHING FRIDAY

The 2025 Spring Sports Guide, which will have the spring sports teams’ photographs, schedules and rosters, will publish in Friday’s edition.

I want to take this time to thank all the coaches and yearbook people who helped either set me up for our spring teams’ photograph days or helped take the team photographs and send them to me.

This is the seventh special sports section I deal with over a 12-month period, and the third of the three largest sports special sections with which I deal — along with the High School Football Preview in August and the High School Basketball Preview that comes out at the end of the first week of December.

Since the schedules for the diamonds from Friday on will be in the Spring Sports Guide, I’m only going to list Thursday’s high school baseball and slow-pitch softball schedules, not including this week’s tournament games.

WEEK 3 INDIVIDUAL HITTING HIGHLIGHTS

It was quite a Southeast Shootout for Sallisaw’s Dagan Grizzle as he hit two home runs and had six hits all total for the four-day, four-game event.

Muldrow’s Gabe Miller was 5-for-8 and Jace Prewett was 4-for-8 in their team’s two Spring Break Week games against Central and Siloam Springs, Ark.

In last week’s Ripley Tournament, Vian’s Draighton Fletcher went 6-for-17 (.353 average).

Gore’s Tate Brooksher and Gage Dame each went 2-for-4 in last Thursday night’s game against Dewey at Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULES

BASEBALL

Vian at Eufaula, 4:30 p.m.

SOFTBALL

Gans at Keota, 5:45 p.m.

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David Seeley is sports editor for Your TIMES. He can be reached by calling (918) 775-4433, Ext. 139.