OKLAHOMA CITY – Shaye Rowe wasn’t exactly sure if the game was over or not.
The senior outfielder crushed a pitch deep to left field and started her trot toward first base at USA Hall of Fame Stadium.
She thought she might have got enough, but as the ball sailed over the fence to seal Mustang’s third state championship in the last four years, she was still questioning if the moment was real.
“I was in shock,” Rowe said. “For a couple of seconds, it was kind of like ‘oh did it go over?’ so I was still sprinting. But when I saw my teammates get ready to attack me, I was like ‘wow, it did go over. I can’t believe I did it.’”
Her three-run homer put the finishing touch on a 14-3 run rule win over the Southmoore Sabercats in the Class 6A State Championship Game on OGE Energy Field.
Rowe, who also throws discus for the MHS track and field team, decided to play slow pitch for the first time this year – a decision that paid off with a highlight reel ending and a state title ring.
Shaye Rowe (Sr.) hits the game-winning home run to seal Mustang’s 14-3 victory over Southmoore in the Class 6A State Championship Game on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Ron Lane / Lane Images)
“All of that hard work finally paid off,” she said. “I’m extremely happy that I decided to play one more time and finish strong. I’m thankful for that opportunity.”
The Broncos (37-3) and Sabercats (27-6) met for a second straight year with 6A gold on the line, however, this year’s matchup was much different than last year’s 17-15 battle.
After falling behind 2-1 in the third inning, Mustang’s bats exploded, scoring 13 runs in three innings while Southmoore scored just twice. Rowe’s homer ended the game after just five frames.
Altogether the Broncos racked up 16 hits, including five home runs. Rowe, Lexy Kierstead (So.), Arionna McElroy (Sr.), Eden Anderson (Sr.), and Rylann Beeson (So.) all cleared the fence. Kierstead and Anderson each emptied the pads with grand slams.
“I don’t even know how to feel right now,” said Anderson, who has been a mainstay for the Broncos at third base. She went 1-for-3 with the four RBI from her grand slam.
“I feel like I’m in a dream. I don’t know what to feel – I’m sad, but I’m happy and overwhelmed with emotion. I feel like I need to cry, but I can’t. I can’t explain it.”
Eden Anderson (Sr.) drives a pitch out of the ballpark during Mustang’s 14-3 state championship game win over Southmoore on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Anderson hit a grand slam, finishing with four RBI in her final game. (Photo by Ron Lane / Lane Images)
The Sabercats led twice, but a solo shot by McElroy in the second inning tied the game and Kierstead’s grand slam in the third gave Mustang the lead.
Rylee Hannon (Sr.), Rowe, and Kenzie Sessions (Sr.) all singled to load the bases ahead of McElroy, who also decided to play slow pitch for the first time this year.
Southmoore scored one run in the top of the fourth inning, however the Broncos tacked on five in the bottom half of the frame.
Beeson led off the inning with a solo home run to center field, followed by singles from Emerson Pegram (Sr.), Hannon, and Kierstead. Anderson drove them all home with a bomb to left field, extending the team’s lead to 10-3.
Pegram, who also drove home a run with a single to right field before Rowe’s game-ending homer in the fifth, delivered a solid outing from the circle, allowing just three runs on seven hits with no walks.
She, like her senior teammates, earned her third state title ring in eight state tournament trips between slow pitch and fast pitch.
“A lot of people don’t get the chance to show up to state even once,” Pegram said. “Going all eight times and winning three is something nobody can ever take away from us. I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to be out here, especially with the people I accomplished this with.”
Pegram credited Sessions with a momentum-shifting play in the middle of the game.
The senior centerfielder tracked a hard-hit ball off the bat of Southmoore’s Ryen Bullock to the warning track, reached out to feel the fence, leapt, lifted her glove, and robbed a clear home run away from Bullock in the top of the fourth inning.
Kenzie Sessions (Sr.) robs a home run away from Southmoore’s Ryen Bullock during Mustang’s 14-3 state championship game win over the Sabercats on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Ron Lane / Lane Images)
It was a play worthy of SportsCenter’s Top 10.
“Funny story,” Sessions said after the game. “Every day I have envisioned myself robbing a home run. I always try to jump and work on timing it up in practice. That was the first time I’ve ever had a chance to do something like that and I really can’t even explain how it felt.”
Mustang coach Lacy Darity described the feeling of winning back-to-back state titles as pure “jubilation.”
“I’m just in awe and so proud,” Darity said. “Especially for Shaye (Rowe). She’s a kid that has put in a lot of work. For her to walk it off in that moment, that’s something I’ll never forget and hopefully one she never forgets.”
Darity was also excited to send the team’s seniors out on a high note.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” she said. “What they’ve meant to the program the last four years, it’s so special. Every year we say the seniors set the bar, but last year we didn’t have any seniors, so it was these girls as juniors setting a high bar.
Lexy Kierstead (So.) jogs off the field after helping retire the Southmoore Sabercats during Mustang’s 14-3 state championship game win on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Kierstead went 2-cor-3 at the plate with a grand slam. (Photo by Ron Lane / Lane Images)
“Onna and Shaye coming out and being a part of this kind of pushed us to another level. So, for this group to go out on top is amazing. I’m so happy for them and love them so much.”
Mustang continues to establish itself as one of the top programs in the state. Anderson says it feels like MHS is the softball capitol of Oklahoma.
“It does,” she said. “We are dominant.”
Darity is a little more reserved in her praise but is proud of her teams’ accomplishments over the last four years.
“I mean I think we’re continuing to do special things,” she said. “It started with those freshmen four years ago being a part of the first state championship and a part of last year’s as well.
“For us to come out here and do this and go back-to-back and win three out of four, it just says a lot about where our program is and where we’re headed.”
