PANAMA, Okla. -- Brex Caldwell needed a pitcher's best friend on Thursday to complete a no-hit shutout.
After a strikeout to open the fourth inning, Caldwell walked two straight batters, both on full counts, and his pitch count was starting to rise.
Panama (25-4) shortstop Dylan Restine then turned a sharply hit grounder into an inning-ending double play.
"That was huge," Caldwell said. "Knowing my teammates had my back was amazing. After that I knew I could just throw the ball and let them hit it. I was just trying to throw it down the middle."
Restine ranged to his right, cleanly fielding the grounder and threw a dart to second baseman Jaxon Harris, who made a quick turn and perfect throw to first baseman Caleb Brewer, who made a long stretch to complete the text-book double play.
From there, Caldwell cruised to the complete-game, seven inning no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Tonkawa in the winner's bracket final of the Class 2A Regional at Panama. Friday's games were moved to Checotah due to the overnight rain on Thursday night.
Caldwell was at 66 pitches after the fourth inning, but needed just 44 over the final three and allowed just two base runners the rest of the way. That's also about the time that he thought about the no-hitter.
"I started feeling myself a little more after the fourth inning," Caldwell said. "I looked at the pitching chart and saw that I had it going. I started throwing harder it felt like. Our dugout was going along with it. It felt good. They were helping out."
Caldwell hit 95 mph early in the game and has been consistently 91 to 93 all season with his fastball.
The win on Thursday improved Caldwell to 7-0 on the season. He has struck out 78 in 32 2/3 innings this season and has a 0.65 earned run average.
"You don't always get to coach a Division I baseball player," Panama Coach Chris Gollihare said. "He's good with the younger kids. He comes out and helps with the junior high. He gets up here at night to hit."
Gollihare went with Shawn Hogan in the opening game of the regional, saving Caldwell for the winner's bracket final. Panama broke open a tight game late for a 10-2 win over Fairview in the opener.
"Shawn threw well the first game and did what he's supposed to do, throw strikes," Gollihare said. "We played good defense behind him and scored enough runs to get the job done. Our whole plan all along was to throw Hogan and bring in Brex the second game and get to the finals."
Caldwell and Restine homered in each game. The left-handed hitting Caldwell belted an opposite field two-run shot in sixth inning, and Restine also parked one beyond the fence for a three-run shot to finish off a five-run sixth inning in the opener.
In the nightcap, Caldwell had two doubles and hit a solo homer in the third inning, and Restine added another three-run clout four batters later to cap a four-run frame.
"We did a good job for the most part driving in runs when we had the opportunity," Gollihare said. "It doesn't hurt to have four home runs. We just have to continue to play."
OKLAHOMA CLASS 2A REGIONALS
At Panama, Okla.
PANAMA 10, FAIRVIEW 2
Fairview^000^020^0^--^2^6^4
Panama^101^215^x^--^10^9^1
B.Miller, Hayes (5), Mendenhall (6) and C.Miller; Hogan and Simkins. W – Hogan. L – Hogan. HRs – Panama; Caldwell, Restine.
PANAMA 10, TONKAWA 0
Panama^104^110^3^--^10^10^0
Tonkawa^000^000^0^--^0^0^0
Caldwell and Simkins; Braden, DeWitt (4), Braden (5) and Wano. W – Caldwell. L – Braden. HRs – Panama; Caldwell, Restine.
OZARK
The Ozark Hillbillies turned in the upset of the day in the first round of the Class 4A North Region Tournament at Morrilton on Thursday with a 5-4 win in 10 innings over 4A-1 Conference champion Shiloh Christian.
After consecutive strikeouts to open the 10th inning, Dax Shaffer, Blaine Childers, and Caleb Lyons walked to load the bases. Ryder Herriage reached on an error that allowed Shaffer and courtesy runner Colten Rosson to score for a 5-3 lead.
Brock Billingsley homered with two outs in the bottom of the inning for the Saints, but Kade Kendrick coaxed the final out for the win.
Childers and Braden Bramucci each had two hits for Ozark (11-17), which entered the regional tournament as the fourth seed from the 4A-4 Conference.
The win earned Ozark a berth into next week's Class 4A state tournament.
CLASS 4A NORTH REGION
At Morrilton
OZARK 5, SHILOH CHRISTIAN 4 (10)
Ozark^110^001^000^2^--^5^6^1
Shiloh Christian^000^021^000^1^--^4^10^3
Case, Kendrick (8) and Childers; Ward, Gillison (8), Halberg (10) and Billingsley. W – Kendrick. L – Gillison. HRs – Shiloh Christian; Billingsley.
ROLAND (OKLA.) RANGERS
The season for Roland (Okla.) ended with a loss to No. 1 Salina in the Class 3A Region 9 Tournament.
Senior right hander Carson Wiggins won the opener against Beggs in the regional and finished the season with an earned run average of 0.97.
In seven starts, Wiggins threw 36 innings, allowed nine hits, five earned runs, walked 21 and struck out 94. His season high was 17 strikeouts twice. He consistently was at 95 with his fastball throughout games.
Wiggins has signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks.