Bartlesville Doenges Ford prepares for Winget Tourney with uplifting tie

That sigh of relief resonating Thursday night over downtown Bartlesville's skies emanated from Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium.

Seldom has there been such a high sigh because of a tie. But a deadlock can feel as good as a warm hug when a baseball team has suffered six-straight losses — by a combined score of 52-3.

Admittedly, the struggling Bartlesville Doenges Ford lads didn't feel exactly like doing cartwheels after the 4-4 draw in the nightcap against the visiting Lonnie Cobble club. But for the first time in more than a week, they at least salvaged something positive at Rigdon Field in Doenges Stadium.

It was a good time for the Doenges do-gooders (13-10-1) to regain their swagger — the 65th Annual Glenn Winget Tournament is just a week away.

Following are some details from Thursday's tie and other games this week.

THREE RIVERS 3-13, BARTLESVILLE 0-0: The Doenges boys couldn't get their offensive engine in gear in this Wednesday battle against their familiar rival. Three Rivers threw a no-hitter in the second game. Bartlesville batters struck out 12 times in five innings — an unusual statistic considering the Doenges dudes have excelled this summer at earning free passes or putting the ball in play. Trey Bennett reached base on an error, and Liam Buchanan and Eli Winters both drew walks to try to inspire a Bartlesville rally. Providing some defensive highlights were Kael Siemers on a strong throw that ended up retiring a runner at home and Jaxon Zaun with a couple of difficult catches. Brenden Asher also belted a hit in the first game.

LONNIE COBBLE 14, BARTLESVILLE 1: At least the home boys finally broke their scoreless skein when Nik Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning to force home Asher. Bartlesville left the bases loaded with Kaleb Bashford, Zaun and Johnson. Earlier in the game, Bryce Luelf drew a walk. Siemers reached on an error in the final inning but was left stranded to end Thursday's opener.

BARTLESVILLE 4, LONNIE COBBLE 4: In the second game, Bartlesville bolted to a 4-0 lead and hung on at the end thanks to the extraordinary complete-game pitching effort by Carlos Lopez. The Doenges do-gooders opened up with a mighty wave of scoring — well, at least considering the past two weeks — to go ahead, 3-0. One of the scoring plays saw Asher drive home Zaun. Johnson added a line drive blast to the wall. Bartlesville loaded the bases in the third — but came away with only one run, which pushed their lead to 4-0. The Cobble club scored three in the bottom of the third. The Doenges guys continued to threaten on offense — loading the bases in the fifth with three straight walks to Buchanan, Winters and Zaun, but saw the uprising ended on a K. A baserunning miscue in the seventh derailed another Bartlesville rally. But Lopez preserved the tie in the bottom of the seventh, ringing up a strikeout with a runner in scoring position. The teams didn't go into extra innings.

WINGET TOURNEY: The annual Bartlesville American Legion Baseball showcase event is set for July 4-7 at Doenges Stadium. Bartlesville will be battling for its first Winget title since 2018. Bartlesville and the Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest Merchants are the only two teams that have played in every Winget tourney since it began in 1959.