It’s Fall State Tournament time and that means we have three brackets with the addition of a new classification. We don’t know about you, but when we see a bracket, we can’t resist the urge to predict how it will play out and fill it as such.

That is what we did as Newt Huntley and Brendan Dillon shows what they predict will happen and give their explanations behind them.

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Class 2A

What looked like a three-team race before the season began quickly turned into a two-team upper tier in 2A after Oktaha’s rough start.

I’ve got Oktaha beating Byng in the first round as my only upset, purely based on the upside I know this team still has and the postseason experience many leaders on the team gained in recent seasons.

In the end, although Dale is the hotter team coming into the tournament, I think they’ll need to burn more of their top arms to get to the championship, particularly if Tushka is their semifinal opponent. I’m a big believer in the philosophy that a deep pitching staff is the biggest sign of a state champion, and I like the Rebels’ depth over Dale’s based on what I’ve seen this season.

Midway through the season, I really thought this class was Silo’s to lose. They very well go on to win the State Tournament, but it is not a foregone conclusion like I thought it was.

Dale has played extremely well this season. They lost five times this Fall and the “worst” one was to AmPo. On top of that, since the beginning of September, they’ve given up 5 runs or more only 4 of the 17 games they’ve played. At this point, it is Dale that is playing the best baseball in 2A.

The only “upset” I have in the bracket is #5 Oktaha over #4 Byng. This hasn’t been the type of season we’ve come to expect from the Tigers, but if they can get a solid pitching performance and good defense, their lineup is good enough to beat anyone.

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Class A

I’m man enough to admit that I’m playing it safe in all three brackets, with upset predictions few and far between. In my defense, I was close to sending Okarche to the title game. In fact, if they were facing off with Wright City I would have.

With that said, Rattan has been unstoppable after their mid-season three-game losing streak. It’s very reminiscent of Silo’s run to begin the season, the only question now is can the Rams hold on for three more games.

Class A is easily the most competitive class this fall, and looks like the best chance at some unexpected teams making deep runs.

Whether it is the Fall or the Spring, there is a bracket where there are several upsets. As much parity as there has been in Class A this Fall, I’m predicting this is where we’ll see that.

Navajo has played extremely well coming down the stretch including a Preston Tournament championship with wins over Preston, a hot (at the time) Ripley squad, and Class B contender, Calumet. The Indians won 8 of 9 coming down the stretch.

AmPo is battle tested as they’ve played 14 games against state tournament teams across Class 2A-B, each class’ #1 team, and each team in the Class A bracket. Okarche has struggled a little coming down the stretch as they were shut out in three games since September 14.

Having said all that, Wright City and Rattan have played the most consistent in the class this season. I went with the Lumberjax over Rattan based on the fact that these teams are 1-1 against each other and it is Wright City’s turn to win.

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Class B

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it looks like we’re on a collision course for a Calumet vs Fort Cobb Broxton state championship in Class B.

Leedey comes into the tournament with a good storyline after being a fourth seed in their regional, however, I like Hammon to win that round-one matchup.

Ultimately, I’m in an “I’ll believe it when I see it” mode when it comes to anybody besides Fort Cobb Broxton taking home the Class B state championship, so I went with the Mustangs to win it all once again.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I really don’t see anyone other than Calumet and FCB in the finals. They’ve been the class of Class B the last 2 school years.

Stuart has had a really nice season as well and Hammon has had a quiet solid season out west. However, I just don’t either one of them getting the upset in the semis.

The title game could be another epic meeting between Calumet and FCB, but until someone dethrones the Mustangs, I have to go with Ft Cobb-Broxton.

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