Published: May 07, 2008 12:55 am            

Enid aims for first-round win against Yukon

Feisty left-hander John Dillingham will be on the mound when No. 5 Enid faces No. 4 Yukon at 4 p.m. today in the first round of the Class 6A state tournament at Legion Field in Claremore.

Dillingham (6-1, 2.52 ERA) has helped the Plainsmen (27-10) reach three state tournaments. Enid has a 108-43 record during his career.

“This is John’s team,’’ said Enid coach Scott Baugh. “We’re going to turn him loose and let him go.

“Right now he’s our best, and at this time of year you go with your very best. He gives us the best chance to win. We have a lot of confidence in Tobin (Mateychick) and Seth (Sturgeon), but John is such a competitor ...’’

Dillingham’s competitiveness was seen after he was hit by a pitch in the face in the bottom of the first in Enid’s 14-4 win over Muskogee in the regional finals.

Dillingham, after pitching the two previous days, went the distance in a bulldog performance. The incident fired up his teammates.

“Without a doubt, that brought us closer together,’’ Baugh said. “The whole ballclub rallied around that.’’

Baugh said he would use Mateychick (6-3, 2.51 ERA) and Sturgeon (7-1, 1.48 ERA) in relief, if necessary, to beat Yukon (29-7).

“We’re not even thinking about the second game,’’ Baugh said. “Our first concern is Yukon. We’ll worry about the rest after that.’’

The Enid-Yukon winner plays the winner of the 1:30 p.m. game between No. 1 Owasso (31-3) and No. 14 Midwest City (21-13) at 4 p.m. Thursday. The losers play in an elimination game at 6:30 tonight.

The Plainsmen beat Yukon 4-3 in the Gladys Winters Tournament last month in eight innings. Mateychick threw a one-hitter.

“That doesn’t mean anything at all,’’ Baugh said. “They know they can play with us and we know we can play with them.’’

Yukon coach Kevin James agrees.

“It works both ways,’’ he said. “We know what they got and they know what we have.’’

James said he was undecided about his starting pitcher. Baugh expects the Millers to throw fireballer Chad James, who did not pitch in the first meeting.

“He’s their best, and at this time of year you throw your best,’’ Baugh said.

Chad James was on a recruiting trip when the two teams scrimmaged in February.

“We played as tough a schedule as anyone in the state,’’ Baugh said. “We feel confident we can go in there and have a good game against a good ballclub.’’

Actually, Enid has tended to do better against hard throwers like James.

“They do better against somebody who can throw it up there with some velocity,’’ Baugh said.

“We’re good hitters. I don’t think he’s going to blow it by all of us. He may throw it past some of the guys, but after we have gone through the lineup, we’ll get adjusted to him and put some pressure on him.’’

The Plainsmen are batting .344 as a team. Nick Rountree leads the team with a .427 average, followed by Dillingham (.393), Zach Gonzalez (.382), Seth Floyd (.348) Alex Wilson (.337), Dylan Nave (.330), Sturgeon (.319), Brett Kenaga (.315), Cody Passmore (.307) and Mateychick (.273)

Yukon beat Westmoore 7-6 in its regional final. Coach James said the Millers’ strength is a solid batting order.

“It’s not about who we play, it’s about how we play,’’ James said.

Owasso beat Sapulpa 9-0 in its regional final.

The Rams, coached by ex-Phillips University star Larry Turner, won their first 23 games before falling to Broken Arrow 8-3 on April 15.

Owasso has three solid starters in Ryan Prickett (5-0), Austin Kirk (6-0) and Brian Flynn (7-1).

James Stanfield has hit 10 homers for Owasso, followed by Jarrod Huneryager (seven) and Kirk (four).

Midwest City beat Putnam City 12-11 in its regional final. Bombers ace Daniel Meeley has signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma.

Baugh said the Plainsmen enter the tournament with more confidence than they did in 2005 or 2006. Dillingham and Rountree have started in three state tournaments.

“I think they will be very disappointed if they go 0-2,’’ Baugh said. “Their focus is to do well in the state tournament, not just to go in and play in it.’’

The Plainsmen have not lost back-to-back games this season.

EHS had to overcome injuries to Rountree (hamstring), Wilson (infected leg) and Gonzalez (broken hand) this season.

“We fought through a lot,’’ Baugh said. “It’s been a very satisfying year without a doubt.

“The seniors have been unbelievable leaders.’’