MANNFORD — Final record, 7-20. That’s the number written in when they shut the 2026 ledger on the Mannford Pirate Baseball Team.
But if you stood along the fence at Mannford this spring — cleats grinding dirt, wind pushing in o the lake-you know that number never told the whole story Because this team didn’t fade quietly. It fl ared bright at the end with a dominant sweep of Catoosa.
It started right away. First inning. The nacho cheese wasn’t even hot yet. Mannford didn’t wait around either.
Ausbern stepped in and sent a shot through the fi eld like it had somewhere to be. Clean. Direct. A run crossed, and just like that, Mannford had the edge.
They didn’t chase more—they built it. Second inning, small ball. Morgan dropped down a bunt, the kind that rolls over and dies in the dirt like a scared possum. No play. Run scores.
2–0. Precision. On the mound, Cooper Ausbern owned the game. Seven innings, no panic, no free passes — just outs stacking up like they were on the script. Grounders. Fly balls. A strikeout when it was needed most. The defense settled in behind him.
Five to one when it closed. A win that felt controlled from the fi rst swing to the last out.
The next day? This one felt di erent - felt like release. alive First inning — Ausbern again. This time a double, driving two runs home and setting the tone before Catoosa could even settle into position.
Then the third inning cracked the game open. A walk forced in a run. Hagen Anderson stepped up and drove a double into the gap — two more runs scoring as the The inning stretched, ran away, and never came back.
And then the fourth. That’s the one people will remember. Max Moore stepped in and twisted up on a pitch, sending it high and deep to left. No doubt. Still climbing. Gone.
A solo shot, clean and undeniable. A nice jog and a celebration at the plate But it didn’t stop there. Walks piled up. Anderson drew one in. Lyndon Hamilton followed. Cooper Bartlett punched a single through. Moore came back around and worked another run home. Ricky Morgan added one more with patience at the plate.
Six runs in the inning. 13-3 when it was done. Mannford didn’t just win—they ran this game o the fi eld.
And then came the reality that followed them most of the season. Sequoyah jumped early. Hard. The kind of fi rst inning that forces you to play uphill the rest of the day. But Mannford didn’t fold. By the fi fth, Morgan stepped in and answered with a swing of his own — a solo homer to left, cutting into the defi A wild pitch brought another run home. It wasn’t enough to turn the game, but it was a reminder. Never stop swinging, never stop pushing.
This one ended 7-15. Against Sperry, they fought again. Second inning—they answered. Barnes drove in runs from The game tightened, 3–3, right there in the middle innings.
For a stretch, it felt like it could go either way. But baseball doesn’t care about balance. Sperry answered back, took the lead, and held it. Six to three when it ended.
And that’s how the season closed. Not with a collapse. With resistance.
Mannford baseball in 2026 wasn’t about clean lines or easy narratives. It was about moments.
Ausbern dealing with control and confi dence, never giving an inch. Moore’s bat cutting air and sending balls over the fence like a statement. Morgan doing the important stu — the bunt, the steal, the pressure — keeping innings alive. Barnes delivering from the bottom of the lineup when it mattered most.
Seven wins. But inside those games were innings where Mannford dictated everything — the pace, the pressure, the energy — it all belonged to them.
You could hear it in the dugout. You could feel it in the air.