Dale and North Rock Creek were rained out in the state slow pitch tournament Tuesday and were playing in a rescheduled one-day state meet on Wednesday at the Firelake complex south of Shawnee.
Dale drew Hobart in the first round of the Class 4A tournament and North Rock Creek had Heavener in the first round of the 5A tournament.
The two schools are neighbors, separated by only a 10-minute drive down Garrett’s Lake Road, but their programs couldn’t be more different.
Dale has been an elite team for years and has won the last four Class 4A slow pitch state championships. Under Hall of Fame coach Andy Powell, they have dominated slow pitch the way only a handful of teams have ever dominated a sport.
North Rock Creek, on the other hand, is making its first-ever appearance in the state tournament, but that’s not too bad, considering this is the Lady Cougars’ first-ever time in the softball playoffs.
If they beat Heavener and if Perkins beats Broken Bow in the first round, it would set up a father-son coaching matchup in the semifinals between NRC’s Chance Griffin and his dad, Perkins coach David Griffin.