Mannford finds its footing with first wins of the season
MANNFORD — For a team that had spent the opening stretch of the season striving for a breakthrough, last week’s two successes were a deep exhale.
After starting 0-5, the Mannford Pirates gave their season something it had been missing — traction.
It began in Inola, on March 17, where Mannford leaned on pitching, patience, and just enough timely offense to secure a 3-2 victory that carried far more weight than the score might suggest, it was their first win of the season — now they knew they it could be done.
Cooper Ausbern set the tone early and never really let go of it. Working five and a third innings without allowing a hit, he navigated foot traffic with five walks and five strikeouts, trusting his defense and his composure in equal measure.
By the time Max Moore stepped in to close it out, the Pirates had something special brewing, finishing off a combined no-hitter that served as both a statistical achievement and a psychological lift.
The offense, while modest, was efficient. Corbin Mobley’s bases-loaded walk and Lyndon Hamilton’s sacrifice fly in the opening inning accounted for all three runs, and from there Mannford played the kind of controlled, patient baseball that has been building beneath the surface. Seven walks, disciplined at-bats, and a key double play underscored a team beginning to understand how to manufacture a win.
If Tuesday night felt like a release, Wednesday served as a reminder of how volatile momentum can be.
Inola answered back with a 16-7 win, capitalizing on a big inning and stringing together 13 hits. Even in defeat, Mannford showed flashes of the same offensive patience that had carried them the night before, drawing seven walks and getting a two-run homer from Ausbern, who finished with three RBIs. It wasn’t enough to keep pace, but it was enough to suggest the Pirates weren’t giving up—they were still there, developing experience.
That learning showed up again Thursday, this time, in the form of resilience.
Against Bristow, Mannford played a game that required more than just execution. It required focused response.
Ricky Morgan gave the Pirates an early spark with a solo home run in the fourth, but the game tilted back in Bristow’s favor in the fifth. Rather than unravel, Mannford stayed within itself, waiting for an opening and then taking full advantage when it came.
In the sixth inning, an error brought two runs home, and Mobley followed with an RBI single that put the Pirates back in front for good. Morgan, who had already made his mark at the plate, returned to the mound and delivered two steady innings to close out a 4-3 win, sealing Mannford’s second victory of the week.
Ryker Pollard’s five innings of work earlier in the game kept things within reach, and Morgan’s two-hit performance at the top of the lineup set a tone that carried throughout.
By the time the final out was recorded, the Pirates were no longer searching for their first win. They were starting to stack them.
The week closed with a harsh 14-6 loss to Sperry, a game that turned on a decisive eight-run fourth inning. Mannford showed its ability to compete early, trading runs and briefly holding the lead, but Sperry’s offensive surge proved too much to overcome. Even so, the Pirates continued to produce at the plate, with Cooper Ausbern driving in three runs and Morgan, Kayden Leslie, and Major Hilton each collecting two hits.
It would have been easy, earlier in the season, for a week like this to feel incomplete because of how it ended. Instead, it felt different.
Because the Pirates are different. At 2-7, Mannford is still in the early stages of its season, but the record no longer tells the whole story. There is a steadiness beginning to form—on the mound, in the batter’s box, and in the way the team responds when games begin to shift.