The Gore Pirates baseball team finished as runners-up in the 2024 Riverside Conference Tournament, which took place Thursday at both Gore and Porum and Friday in Porum.
The Pirates lost 10-0 to host Porum in Friday’s championship game after beating Keota 13-0 and Webbers Falls 7-1 on Thursday at home.
The week started with an 11-8 loss at Red Oak on April 8, but their home game with Webbers Falls on April 9 was rained out.
In the tournament finals, the Pirates (10-12) were no-hit by Porum starting pitcher Isaiah Sallee, who struck out six batters in three innings.
James Brasuel (1-3) took the loss, despite fanning four batters in 2.1 innings.
In the opening-round game win against Keota, the combination of Dayton Smith and James Brasuel threw a one-hitter. Smith (3-4) went the first 2.2 innings with six strikeouts, then Brasuel got the final out of the game on a strikeout.
The Pirates put away the game early with an eight-run first inning.
For the contest, Brasuel had a single and four runs batted in, Cruz Ward and Waylon Gilley each singled with an RBI and Kyler Mc-Gee singled and scored twice for Gore.
In Gore’s semifinal victory over Webbers Falls, Gore starting pitcher Tate Brooksher (4-3) threw a two-hitter with 10 Ks.
The Pirates rallied from a 1-0 first-inning deficit with a three-run second inning and a four-run fifth inning.
For the game, Brooksher was 2-for-3, Hunter McGee was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three runs batted in, Brasuel was 2-for-3 with a run scored and Smith doubled and scored once for Gore.
In the loss to Red Oak, the Eagles broke a 1-all tie after an inning with single runs in the second and third innings, followed by a four-run fourth inning, to put them ahead 7-1 after four innings. The Pirates rallied with two runs in the fifth inning and four runs in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to tie the game at 7-all, only to see the Eagles score four runs in the sixth inning to make it 11-7 after six innings.
In defeat, Brooksher was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs, Keeton Rowe was 2-for-5 and Keiden Denton doubled with two RBIs for Gore.
Smith took the loss, getting a strikeout in a little more than an inning of work. Hunter McGee went the next 3.1 innings with four Ks, then Brooksher went the final 1.2 innings with four strikeouts.
After playing at Okay on Monday, the Pirates will begin postseason play in the Class A District Tournament at Porter Consolidated, which will begin today with a 2 p.m. game against Cave Springs and a 4 p.m. contest against host Porter Consolidated in a battle of Pirates. The district tournament will end Thursday. If Gore wins it, the Pirates will play in next week’s Class A Regional Tournament at a site and times to be determined later.
