Outwork. Out-hustle. Outlast.

As 2021 began, that was the mantra adopted by the Heritage Hall baseball team. And that's exactly what they did this season – especially in the State Tournament.

Head Coach Jordan Semore relied on an experienced senior class – one that had star-power in consensus Top 10 MLB draft pick Jackson Jobe and TCU signee Gray Thomas, but also featured leadership and poise from USAO signee Colby Lewis, first baseman and pitcher Bowen Bridges, starting outfielder Ford Stephenson, and reserve catcher Caden Wells. Luke Portman and Cole Fielding fostered comradery and cohesion in the dugout, and a steadying force on the field when called on to enter the game. 

While the senior class imparted wisdom and built team culture, it was their supporting cast that stepped up and responded in the big moments on Championship Saturday.

The Chargers got on the board early, when junior third baseman Brigham Evans drove in Jobe on a single to left field in the first inning. In the second inning, The Hall added another run after Colby Lewis tripled, and Gray Thomas brought him in on a ground out to short.

As they did much of the day, the Cardinal responded in the top of the third, scoring a walked runner on a throwing error, to pull to within one run.

In the bottom half of the inning, Evans led off with a double, advanced on Bridges' fly out to centerfield, and scored on junior Tyler Offel's sacrifice fly. The Chargers entered the fourth inning with a 3-1 lead.

With Thomas struggling to find the strike zone in the fourth inning, Verdigris scored in a hurry. After hitting the leadoff batter with a pitch, Thomas got the first out, but surrendered back-to-back singles that scored one run. Freshman Carson Beam stepped on to the mound for the future Horned Frog. The Cardinals tied the score on a sacrifice bunt. The next three batters reached base after being hit by pitches, and another run crossed the plate to give Verdigris their first lead of the game.

Coach Semore turned to senior Bowen Bridges to take the mound, but a line-drive single on the first pitch extended the Cardinals' lead and after a called balk scored another run, the Chargers found themselves down 7-3 going to the bottom half of the fourth.

Lewis led off with a single, and freshman Julius Ejike-Charles entered the game as a courtesy runner. After a Gray Thomas groundout advanced the runner, Nick Keith walked, and sophomore slugger Austin Lemon doubled to bring Ejike-Charles home. Jobe stepped to the plate and hit a mammoth 400-plus foot shot over the left field wall in foul territory – and was promptly intentionally walked on the next pitch to load the bases.

Then things fell apart for the Verdigris pitchers. Evans drew a walk to score a run. Lemon scored on a passed ball and runners advanced. Jobe scored on a sacrifice fly by Bridges to knot the score again at 7-7.

Bridges found his zone and took command on the mound, striking out two of three Cardinal hitters in the top of the 5th.

On the second pitch of the bottom half, junior power hitter Gannon Allen provided the fireworks as he blasted a solo shot over the left field wall to retake the lead for Heritage Hall and fire up the dugout. After Lewis walked and Thomas singled, junior infielder Nick Keith finessed a bunt over the charging Verdigris third baseman and out of reach of the pitcher to load the bases once again. A new Verdigris pitcher, who had entered after Allen's homerun, hit Lemon with a pitch to score another run.

Riding the momentum, Jobe stepped into the batter's box and smashed a double off the top of the left field wall to bring home Thomas and Keith and give The Hall an 11-7 lead with no outs registered in the 5th. Another new Cardinals' pitcher walked Evans to reload the bases. After Bridges struck out, Tyler Offel drew an RBI walk to make it 12-7. The Verdigris pitcher settled in and used a solid curveball to retire two more Chargers on strikeouts.

Bridges dominated the top of the 6th, registering the first 1-2-3 inning for either team. The Chargers loaded the bases in the bottom half, but couldn't bring any runs home.

With three outs left in their season, the Cardinals dug in to make one last bid for their State title hopes and dreams. The leadoff hitter blasted a double to open the final frame. Bridges walked the next hitter, and surrendered a single to load the bases.

In a move almost as gutsy as saving Jobe for the semifinal game, Coach Semore turned to sophomore pitcher Braden Perkins to get the Chargers out of a serious jam. Verdigris scored on an error and the bases remained loaded, and pulled within 4. Perkins got the next batter to fly out to shallow left, preventing the runner on third from tagging up to score. Verdigris scored on the next two pitches when Perkins hit batters and the Cardinals were within two runs, with full bases, and only one out.

Perkins took a deep breath, collected himself, and stared in for the signal from Lewis. With the count even at 1-1, he got the batter to pop up into an infield fly rule.

One out away from a State Championship, every Charger in the stands – and even those tuning in to the broadcast at home – was on the edge of their seat. Perkins fired in the first pitch for a ball. The Cardinals hitter liked the second pitch, but did not connect as the count evened at 1-1. Perkins put everything behind it and hurled in another pitch, but missed the strike zone. Then, it happened.

The sophomore slinger threw a strike right down the middle, and Verdigris' Luke Zaferes got underneath it, skying the ball above the infield. Perkins immediately pointed up and second baseman Tyler Offel squeezed his glove on the final out, prompting the Charger dugout to storm the field for a celebratory dogpile while their coaches embraced and fist-pumped along the third base line. The Chargers outlasted the Cardinals, 12-10, to capture the 4th State Championship in program history.

It was a season for the ages as the Chargers finished with a 29-5 record that included a 13-game and 9-game win streak.

Jackson Jobe posted a phenomenal senior season that showed why he was so highly-recruited and has peaked the interest of practically every Major League Baseball team. At the plate, the senior hit a team-leading .469 with 13 doubles, 5 triples, 6 homers, and 37 RBI. He also stole 13 bases this season. On the mound, he was as dominant as a pitcher could possibly be, boasting a record-setting 0.14 ERA, a 9-0 win/loss record, walking ONLY 5 batters all season, and striking out 122 hitters (2nd only to Tyler Fixley '01 who had 123 in 1999). 

OSU-commit Austin Lemon was 2nd on the team in hitting, with a .432 average, 10 doubles, 2 triples, a home run, 24 RBI from the leadoff spot, and a team-leading 49 runs scored (4th best HH season) and 31 stolen bases (6th best HH season).

Gray Thomas also hit .400 on the season, blasting 7 doubles, a triple, 5 homers, and 27 RBI. While he didn't display the same kind of control on the mound, the senior finished with a stellar 1.94 ERA, a 2-0 record in 7 starts, and 38 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.

Colby Lewis was defensively one of the state's top catchers, and hit .257 with 4 doubles, a triple, 13 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. For his career, Lewis finished with 43 steals.

Bowen Bridges was consistently excellent on the mound for Coach Semore. In 40.2 innings pitched this season, the senior was 6-1 with a save, a 1.89 ERA, and baffled batters into 44 strikeouts with just 8 walks.

While Coach Semore loses three stellar pitchers to graduation next year, the cupboard isn't bare by any means. Brigham Evans continued to improve on the mound in 2021, finishing the season with a 5-1 record, 2.03 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in 38 innings thrown. Nick Keith pitched 19.1 innings, logging a 2-1 record and a save, with a 2.53 ERA and 15 strikeouts. Braden Perkins and Carson Beam showed signs of future stardom on the mound this year as well.

At the plate, Tyler Offel and Brigham Evans each had breakout seasons. Offel hit .355 with 8 doubles, a homer, 25 RBI, 25 runs, and 8 steals. Evans hit .356 with 8 doubles, a triple, a home run, 26 RBI, 25 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases. Gannon Allen was a great combination of power and speed, blasting 4 home runs and swiping 17 bases this season.

This year's Charger baseball team outworked, out-hustled, and outlasted all the competition.

Now it's time to out-celebrate everyone in Class 4A...onward!