Pace Wins 2024 Aggie Classic

What a turnaround it has been this season for the Pace Patriots. Since a rocky 0-4 start to the year, the Patriots have rebounded remarkably of late. Thursday night marked their biggest high point of all, when Pace slugged its way to a 14-4 win over the Tate Aggies to win the 2024 Aggie Classic championship.

It is the fifth straight win for the Patriots (7-5), who went 4-0 this week in the tournament, defeating a trio of visiting schools from Oklahoma. Following blowout wins over Charles Page and Noble, they earned a 5-2 win over Broken Arrow on Wednesday to secure a spot in the title game against their longtime rivals.

Pace brought the lumber to the yard in this one, as the offense piled up 12 hits and every starter reached base to play their part. Grant Walters had a huge night in going 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, three RBI and three runs. Glenn Brooks also went deep, and he reached base four times and scored four runs as a result.

Photo by @PacePatriotsBaseball.

The visitors jumped right out in the lead with three runs in the top of the first inning. But it was a six-run fourth inning that blew the game open, as the Patriots built a lead too large for the Aggies (8-4) to overcome. Tate had answered right back in the first with three runs of their own that evened it back up, before Pace rallied back in front with a pair of runs in the second.

The hits just kept falling for the Patriots, as they put runners on the bases in nearly every inning. Eli Riffell was the only other Patriot with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Nick Ricci was 1-for-1 with a two-run double, and Chase Kirchkarr also went 1-for-1 with two RBI.

The rivals have now split on the season, after Tate defeated Pace, 8-6, back on March 1st. This unplanned second meeting now sets up for a rubber-match season finale when the two teams meet again at Pace on April 12th.