BHS ROUNDUP: Girls soccer, tennis and slowpitch softball seize key wins
Bartlesville High School’s Karmandy Marscheck (16) pitches against Bixby on March 11, 2025. The Lady Bruins and Bixby split the twin bill in Bartlesville.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Bartlesville High School’s Kanin Romesburg (6) catches a pop fly during action against Broken Arrow at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium on March 11, 2025. The Bruins fell, 6-0.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
March 12, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Following is a roundup of recent Bartlesville High School sports action.
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SLOWPITCH SOFTBALL
Talk about your topsy-turvy evening.
For part of their doubleheader Tuesday at home, the Bartlesville Lady Bruins found themselves way, way down.
During the other half of the battle they took off like a rocket launch.
The Lady Bruins improved to 2-2.
Following are more details of Tuesday’s games.
BARTLESVILLE 13, BIXBY 12: Wowie, zowie!
The Lady Bruins battered the ball for 22 hits — including six extra base hits.
Swinging some of the loudest sticks were: Campbell (2B, HR, 1B, 3 RBI), Alden (HR 3 RBI), Kenzie Denny (2B, 3 1Bs, 3 RBI), Maddie Czaja (3 1Bs), Daniels (2B, 1B, 1 RBI), Marcheck (2B, 1B), Robbins (2 1Bs, 1 RBI) and Lola Redington (2 1Bs).
Alden also hurled the complete-game character-check for the win while Madie Nachbor handled catching duties.
Gruenwald blasted another homer for Bixby.
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BIXBY 14, BARTLESVILLE 2: Of course this was not the happy portion of the volatile twinbill. Bixby burst to a 7-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back until it wrapped up the run-rule win.
H. Gruenwald crushed two homers and drove in five runs for Bixby, followed by L. Latham with a homer and four RBI.
Bartlesville pitching also gave up 12 walks.
The Lady Bruin offense squeezed out just two hits — but both were big-time belts, with Isabell Daniels and Jazmine Campbell each ripping a solo homer. Savannah Alden and Chloe Robbins added a single apiece.
Alden and Karmandy Marsheck each endured a rough day in the pitching circle for Bartlesville while S. Barbee hurled the complete game for Bixby.
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Bartlesville High School’s Cooper Swaim (5) collides with a Broken Arrow baserunner during action at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium on March 11, 2025. The Bruins fell, 6-0.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BASEBALL
Bartlesville made it closer on Tuesday but still fell to Broken Arrow for the second-straight day.
Broken Arrow won on Monday on its homefield, 9-0. The teams renewed their acquaintance Tuesday, this time at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium. Broken Arrow won, 6-0, to clinch the district sweep.
Next up, Bartlesville (3-4), plays host Thursday to Holland Hall and then segues into traveling mode for its spring break playing trip to the Gulf Coast Classic in Alabama.
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GIRLS SOCCER
Sometimes it requires only one strike of lightning to create a perfect storm.
That’s how it happened Tuesday night for the Lady Bruins (1-1) in their 1-0 victory at Ponca City. Brooke Baker delivered the electrifying goal shot that made the difference.
Midfielder Ava Carter assisted.
Both teams ran into each other’s defensive stone walls to balance the match.
“It’s always a pretty tough game against Ponca City," said Lady Bruin head coach Spencer White.
Veteran keeper Lily Weimer hung up a “Closed” sign in front of the Bartlesville goal mouth. She relied on her sinewy, leather-tough defensive line to repel Ponca City attacks with feisty intent.
Making her first start in the back end was freshman Taylor Bradford.
“She wasn’t expecting to start this game,” said White. “She crushed it.”
Presli Cox and Chloe Shahan also drew the praise of their coach for their work on the defensive side.
In addition to defense, the Lady Bruins’ ability to dominate ball possession decided the game.
“For the conditions we played in we did really well,” said White. “We did a good job finding a lot of space.”
Despite the youth and varsity inexperience the Lady Bruins have competed as a cohesive unit in their first two matches, losing in a penalty kick shootout to Hilldale and beating Ponca City.
“I’d say they are playing with each other,” White said about the team’s chemistry.”
Usually when teams come together under these circumstances they struggle learning to adjust to each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
But this group of Lady Bruins has so far “done a great job of being able to adapt to one another,” White said.
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BOYS SOCCER
The Bruins gave a lionhearted effort but fell by one goal on Tuesday, 3-2, at Ponca City.
Bartlesville fell to 0-3.
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TENNIS
The Lady Bruin team made history by winning the Ponca City tourney for the first time.
Powering to first place were: Abby Shelley (No. 1 singles), Bella Gustafson and Julia McKissick (No. 1 doubles) and Claire Auschwitz and Ava Kate Craig (No. 2 singles).
Ava Kelly battled to second place in No. 2 doubles.
The Bruin boys’ squad finished fifth, led by No. 1 singles player Owen May (fourth) and No. 2 singles player Johnny Colmenero (fourth).
Both boys’ doubles teams finished seventh — Carson Covington and Bash White (No. 1 doubles) and Ashley Lindsay-Brothers and Mark Shaw (No. 2 doubles).
Bartlesville tennis coach Bryan Reese said this tournament was especially meaningful because it included three of the state’s top programs in Edmond Memorial, Edmond North and Jenks.