| Spartan Booster Club Varsity Baseball 2008/2009 |
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| Varsity Roster 2009 printable roster 1 - Willie Tanigaki 5 - David Bouche 6 - Dylan DeLozier 7 - Jonny Snapp 9 - Jerry Young 10 - Kevin Hahn 11 - Andrew Mitchell 12 - Connor Stehr 13 - Jared Musgrove 16 - Tanner Barron 17 - Zane Sanchez 20 - Michael Reed 21 - Kyle Risser 22- Austin Erb 24 - Jake Miller 28 - Mark Benninger 33 - Carson Brown 34 - Matt Kitterman Head Coach: Jason Willis Asst Coach: Doug Lowry |
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| All District Awards: 18-5A MVP Pitcher: Kevin Hahn First Team: Jake Miller (SS), Michael Reed (OF), Carson Brown (UT), Andrew Mitchell (3B), Mark Benninger (OF) Second Team: Jerry Young, Matt Kitterman May 24th update: Interesting Stats (Final) § Jerry Young was the top hitter in the playoffs batting .667, followed by Carson Brown .545 and Michael Reed .455. Carson and Michael tied for the lead in slugging percentage at .818 followed by Jerry Young at .778. § Stratford continued their strong hitting into the playoffs batting .370 as a team over the 3 games! This compares to a .338 batting average in our District games, and it wasn’t that long ago that our team batting average was .270 for the season. § Playoff pitching didn’t fair so well. Our team ERA was 6.0 versus 1.24 in the Districts. Yikes! § Here’s our season batting leaders: o Home Runs: Kevin Hahn (8), Carson Brown (5), Michael Reed (4) o Batting Average: Matt Kitterman (.571), Michael Reed (.418), Tanner Barron (.400) o On Base Average: Matt Kitterman (.625), Jared Musgrove (.529), Tanner Barron (.500) o Slugging %: Michael Reed (.722), Matt Kitterman (.714), Mark Benninger (.605), Kevin Hahn (. 603), Tanner Barron (.600) o Extra Base Hits: Michael Reed (15), Jerry Young (11), Jake Miller (10), Kevin Hahn (9) § Here’s our season pitching leaders: o Innings Pitched: Kevin Hahn (51.67), Michael Reed (43), Matt Kitterman (29.33), Tanner Barron (29) o Earned Run Average (ERA): Carson Brown (0.00), Jake Miller (1.23), Kevin Hahn (1.49), Michael Reed (2.60), Tanner Barron (3.38), Matt Kitterman (3.58) o Walks & Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP): Kevin Hahn (1.01), Jake Miller (1.06), Andrew Mitchell (1.10), Michael Reed (1.17) o Strike Outs: Kevin Hahn (85, 1.65/IP), Michael Reed (69, 1.61/IP), Tanner Barron (35, 1.2/IP), Matt Kitterman (23, .79/IP), Dylan DeLozier (1.5/IP), Jake Miller (1.4/IP) Stratford (11) vs. Katy Taylor (7) :: Game 1 The boys were obviously a little tight to start the game and therefore got off to a slow start, going 3 up and 3 down in the first 2 innings. Katy Taylor didn’t have that problem however, jumping on us early with 3 runs in the first inning. Michael Reed started the game and although he brought the heat, he didn’t bring his control or off speed pitches. Walking 6 batters and giving up 8 hits, including a HR over 5 innings. It was the bottom of the Stratford batting order that got the team moving in the top of the 3rd inning. Conner Stehr had a great night getting the first of his three hits and promptly stole second base. Jerry Young followed with an RBI single up the middle then stole second base himself. Two batters later, Carson Brown knocked in the first of his 4 RBI’s with a single scoring Jerry Young to bring Stratford within a run at 3-2. Reed struggled through the bottom of the 3rd, giving up 3 more runs to make it 6-2 KT. But, Stratford came back in the top of the 4th big time. Kevin started the inning with a bomb to left center to make it 6-3 KT. Reed hit a grounder to third and after struggling with the ball, the third baseman threw it over the first baseman’s head allowing Mike to advance to 2nd. Andrew Mitchell then lined a single into right center scoring Reed (6-4 KT). Conner then got his second single of the game, putting runners on 1st & 2nd. Jerry then laid down a perfect bunt that the third baseman didn’t even make a throw even though he was playing in expecting a bunt. This loaded the bases for Mark Benninger, who drilled a double to score 2 more Spartans and tie the game (6-6). Carson Brown followed with the 5th consecutive Spartan hit and it was a base clearing Home Run! This put Stratford up for the first time in the game 9-6. Reed started to find his release point and confidence in the 4th, but did give up a HR (9-7 S) in the 5th inning after a questionable check swing that would have been strike three. But Mike finished the inning striking out the last 2 batters. In the top of the 6th, Carson lead off with a fly out to left, then Jared Musgrove fouled off 3 straight pitches on a 2-2 count before earning a walk on 9 pitches. Jake Miller then singled to score Musgrove (10-7 S). Kevin Hahn hit one of the longest balls of year; a shot to right that was a mile high and took the right fielder to the wall. When if finally came down the ball was bobbled and dropped for a 2 base error. Miller couldn’t score because he thought the ball was going to be caught and had to stop at third. Reed came to the plate with Miller on 3rd and Hahn on 2nd and 1 out. Coach Willis called for a suicide squeeze but Reed missed the sign and Miller was a dead duck at the plate. Reed didn’t take long to make amends for his mistake, driving the next pitch into left center for double and RBI (11-7 S). Matt Kitterman came in to pitch the 6th inning and thanks to a “Taylor Made” (you knew it was coming!) double play, Matt able to get through the inning facing only 4 batters and not allowing a run. In the top of the 7th, Stratford went down 1, 2, 3 all on strike outs. Jake Miller came in to close the game and over powered the Taylor batters, retiring the side on 16 pitches while striking out 2. Katy Taylor (10) vs. Stratford (9) :: Game 2 Things didn’t start off too well in game 2 of the series. Matt Kitterman took the mound and gave up 5 runs in the top of the 1st. Then after a leadoff single by Carson Brown, Musgrove hit into a double play and Miller flied out to right. (5-0 KT) After a lead-off single by Taylor, Coach Willis pulled Kitterman and put in Tanner Barron. Barron allowed a hit and walk to load the bases but escaped without giving up a run thanks to another “Taylor Made” double play. Still unable to get untracked, Stratford went down quietly in the bottom of the inning. Tanner breezed through the top of the 3rd in order. Stehr lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a fly out to right, the Jerry Young singled, DeLozier grounded out and then things started to get interesting. Carson singled putting 2 runners on. Then Jared Musgrove doubled to drive in Jerry making it 5-1 KT. With runners on 2nd & 3rd and two outs, Jake Miller struck out, but the ball got away from the catcher and after his throw to 1st base pulled the KT first baseman off the bag. That loaded the bases for Kevin Hahn and he delivered driving a single into left field to put Stratford on the board with 2 runs (5-3 KT). Reed quickly hit a line drive off the center field fence 1’ from the top of the wall. That brought home 2 more Spartans to tie the game (5-5). Mitchell then singled so sharply that Reed was unable to score from second, but Stratford was unable to score again. Tanner continued to frustrate Taylor through the 5th inning. Unfortunately, Stratford was not able to capitalize so the score remained 5-5 through the 5th inning. With one out in the 6th Taylor singled and then sacrificed the runner to 2nd. Taylor’s leadoff hitter, then hit a 2 run HR to left giving them the lead 7-5. Stratford went scoreless in the bottom of the inning. Taylor was able to add to their lead in the 7th making it 8-5. But Stratford again fought back. Carson lead off with another single, Jared flew out to deep center field, then Jake, Kevin and Mike came through with 3 consecutive singles to tie the game at 8-8. Tanner started the 8th retiring the first batter, but Taylor’s leadoff hitter Otto blasted another HR, this time over the center field fence (9-8 KT). The no. 2 batter singled and that was followed with a double putting men on 2nd & 3rd with 1 out. Kevin Hahn came in to relieve Barron. His first pitch was a blooper hit into shallow right center. Reed made a diving catch, jumped to his feet and threw a strike to Musgrove, but the runner beat the throw by a hair (10-8 KT). Several fans and players, lead by Andrew Mitchell, felt the runner left early, but the umpire didn’t see it…that way. Later the Taylor Coach would admit that he saw his runner leave early. That would prove to be a pivotal call. Hahn struck out the final batter to end the top of the frame. Again Stratford fought back. Jerry Young singled and Carson walked before Jared singled in Jerry making it 10-9 KT. Johnny Snapp pitch ran for Jared and promptly stole second putting runners on 2nd & 3rd with 1 out. Taylor changed pitchers and that did the trick as he struck out Miller and Hahn to end the game. Stratford 4 vs. Katy Taylor 6 :: Game 3 Carson Brown started game 3 with a hard liner up the middle and Jared Musgrove bunted him to second. Michael Reed then hit another double off the top of the center field fence plating Brown (1- 0 S). Kevin Hahn started the game by holding KT without a score in the bottom of 1. Mitchell got a hit in the 2nd, but that was all Stratford could produce in the inning. Katy Taylor came back in the bottom of the inning to score on a HR to narrow the lead to 2-1 S.Both teams were scoreless in the 3rd inning and Stratford was also scoreless in the top of the 4th, but Taylor was not. After a leadoff out, Taylor singled and then doubled. The next batter bunted, but Kevin was not able to field it smoothly allowing the runner to reach 1st. After the next batter was retired, the no. 9 hitter for Taylor bunted the ball back to Kevin and uncharacteristically, he threw the ball over Carson’ s head down into the right field corner. By the time the ball was retrieved, the speedy batter had circled the bases. (2-5 KT) Stratford didn’t score in the 5th or 6th, but Taylor was able to play small ball and get 1 more run in the 5th making it 2-6 KT. Things weren’t looking good going into the 7th, but Stratford wasn’t going to give up. Jerry lined a single to start the inning, but was thrown out trying to steal second. Carson flied to right for the 2nd out, but Jared drilled a single to center to keep our hopes alive. Mike then doubled to right center plating Musgrove (3-6 KT). But Kevin flew out to center to end the game and the series. Katy Taylor went on to lose a 1 game series with Atascocita 11-0. May 14th update: Interesting Stats (Through Spring Woods Game) § Stratford is averaging 7.12 Runs per game and allows 2.92. Our Pitching staff has an ERA of 2.51. § Our top 5 individual batting averages on the team are: Matt Kitterman (.571 with 7 AB), Michael Reed (.412 with 68 AB), Tanner Barron (.400 with 5 AB), Mark Benninger (.371 with 35 AB) and Jarred Musgrove (.346 with 52 AB). § Jared Musgrove (7 G), Jake Miller (10 G), Kevin Hahn (4 G) and Reed (5 G) all have a 4 plus game hitting streak in progress. § Kevin Hahn is on a streak of 15 straight scoreless innings pitching. § RBI leaders are Kevin Hahn (26), Jake Miller (24), Michael Reed (23), Jared Musgrove (18), Andrew Mitchell (16), Jerry Young & Johnny Snapp (14). § Carson Brown (24) and Andrew Mitchell (23) lead the team in Runs scored. § ERA (Earned Run Average “per 7 inning game”) & WHIP (Walks & Hits per Inning Pitched) are the two most important pitching statistics. Here’s how we are doing: Team ERA 2.51, WHIP 1.22; Top five Pitchers ERA are Kevin Hahn (1.24), Jake Miller (1.50) & Michael Reed (1.84), Tanner Barron (2.78) and Matthew Kitterman (2.82) oops & Carson Brown (0.00 with 1 inning pitched). Top Strake Jesuit (0) vs. Stratford (2) Kevin Hahn, enough said. What do you think Strake would say about Stratford pitching? Two weeks ago Michael Reed held them to 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks. Now Kevin tops that limiting Strake to 1 hit, 1 walk, and 0 runs, a masterpiece plain and simple. I thought these guys could hit? Stratford had little trouble hitting, piling up 7 hits and 5 walks in 6 innings of hitting. You would have thought that would produce more than 2 runs, and it kinda did, except we forgot to touch all the bases when circling them, oops! Base running has been hurting us the last few games and that’s kind of errors we’ve got to improve upon going into the playoffs. Now back to hitting. The heart of our order is hitting stride now: Musgrove (1 Single, 1 Double), Miller (1 Single), Hahn (1 Single), Mitchell (1 Single) and Reed (1 Single, 1 Double) delivered all the hits we would need tonight. Stratford (11) vs. Spring Woods (0) A game that started back in April was finished this Monday. Most of the damage was done in April, we just finished the job in May. Should Michael Reed get a save and a complete game?! Eight of our nine starters had a hit in this game stopped with mercy after 5 innings. Stratford hitters piled up 13 hits on 26 AB, a .500 batting average for the game. In reviewing our games this year I was surprised to find that this was actually our 3rd best hitting performance. We accumulated 15 hits on 27 AB in our last Northbrook game, and 16 hits on 29 AB in our first Elsik game back on April 3rd. Statistically speaking, Kevin Hahn and Michael Reed each had 1 single, 1 double & 1 HR in the game, both just a triple short of the cycle. Playoffs Round 1 Stratford played Katy Taylor back in February, winning 11 to 5 behind the pitching of Matt Kitterman. Taylor pitched Mike Blackwell (4R, 5H, 3W) and Max Harris (7R, 7H, 2W, 2HR) in the losing effort. However, we’re not likely to see either of these guys unless in relief. Their two top pitchers are Travis Martin (5-3, 2.39 ERA) and Cliff Archibald (5-5, 2.68 ERA) are both heading to McLennan Jr. College to play ball next year. District 17-A is a tough district with no easy teams and Taylor is a much different team than when we saw them. They hit Seven Lakes best pitcher pretty hard in a tough loss last Friday, so we’ll have to play well to win. They beat Katy twice this year, so they can play…but so can we. It will be fun! I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to quit yet! May 7th update: Interesting Stats: The positive comments on this new section have motivated me to continue the Interesting Stats Section for at least another week. § This week the team had Wheaties for the team dinner, as evidenced by 6 bombs in a game and a half. Kevin Hahn led the muscle men with two long balls. Carson Brown, Jared Musgrove, Johnny Snapp and Michael Reed all had one. § This week our pitching staff had the fewest number of strike outs in a week (9) this season, yet gave up only 1 earned run over 8 innings. Huh? Stratford pitchers are averaging 9.6 strike outs per game, while our team strikes out 7 times per game. § Our team batting average is now up to .304 from .280 after the Hastings game on 4/20. The bats are getting hot at the right time. Likewise we’ve hit 8 home runs since that game, 4 by Kevin Hahn. § We scored 23 runs in the last 8 innings of play and we’re still batting it the 8th with men on 2nd and 3rd and no outs! That’s nearly 3 runs per inning. Stratford (13) vs. Elsik (1) Carson Brown jumped on the forth pitch of the game and sent it over the center field fence for his 4th home run of the season. Jared Musgrove tried to duplicate Carson’s effort hitting his fourth pitch in the same direction, but it was caught against the wall. Stratford went cold after that all the way through the 3rd inning, not scoring a run over that stretch. Fortunately, Tanner Barron kept Elsik at bay without scoring a run through 3 innings. With only a 1-0 lead, our boys kicked things up a notch in the top of the 4th. Elsik began the inning walking Andrew Mitchell, David Bouche and Johnny Snapp to load the bases. But after two successive strike outs, things weren’t looking so good, so Coach Willis decided to make things happen having Mitchell steal home. The mere attempt flustered the Elsik pitcher causing him to balk scoring the run and advancing the other runners to second and third. So Coach Willis decided to try it again, sending David Bouche who slid under the tag for our 3rd run of the game. Carson then coaxed a walk and stole second and the throw went into center field allowing Johnny to score and Carson continued to 3rd. Jared Musgrove then homered to right making it 6-0 for the good guys. But our Spartans weren’t done yet. Miller got to 1st on an error by the SS, and Hahn crushed a bomb to right, making it 8-0. Mitchell came to bat for the second time in the inning and reached 1st base on another error by the Elsik SS. Bouche then hit a triple knocking in Mitchell (9-0). Then Johnny Snapp hit his first home run of the year scoring Bouche (11-0). Elsik scored what would be their only run in the bottom of the 4th, after Tanner hit their lead-off hitter, his first HBP this year! After wild pitch and an Elsik single the shutout was broken. But Tanner regained his composure and closed out the inning and the next without allowing another runner to cross the pay station. Meanwhile, the mighty Spartans were back at the plate ready to continue the beating. Willie Tanigaki started the inning by literally hitting the ball off the top edge of the right field wall. Talk about a game of inches! Willie hustled the whole way and legged out triple. Mark Benninger joined the hit parade with a pitch hit single, then Reed also pitch hitting did the same. Jake then doubled scoring Benninger and Reed (14-1) for the final runs of the game. Our Spartans had 11 hits (4 HR, 2 Triples & 1 Double). Barron and Brown (yes, Carson) pitched 5 innings, allowing 1 run, on 4 hits, and 0 BB. Stratford (10) vs. Spring Woods (0) Game Suspended in the top of 4th inning Carson again got Stratford started with a single to start the game. Musgrove’s sac bunt advanced Carson to second and Kevin Hahn doubled him in. Michael Reed started his first game since Strake Jesuit and he wasn’t himself, walking 2 batters in the first, but got away with it because of solid defensive plays by Andrew Mitchell at 3rd and Connor Stehr in right. In the second, Stratford went 3 up and 3 down. Mike continued to struggle in the 2nd walking the first batter then getting the second batter to hit into a force out at 2nd. The next batter singled, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Mike then struck out the next batter and Andrew made another nice play for the 3rd out catching a hard liner. Jerry Young lead off the top of the 3rd with a double off the center field fence. Carson bunted him to 3rd and Musgrove grounded to 3rd and Jerry had to stay at third. Then with 2 outs and Stratford leading 1-0, Jake Miller hit a hard grounder to short, which he dropped and promptly threw to 1st, but Jake hustled and dove into first narrowly beating the throw scoring Jerry from 3rd. This seemed to really motivate the team. Hahn then singled Jake to 3rd and Reed then singled to left driving in Jake and giving the Spartans another badly needed run making it 3-0. Reed stuck out 2 of the next 4 batters to maintain the shut out. The Spartans turned in on in the 4th. Benninger doubled, Young beat out a bunt, Brown walked, Musgrove singled, Miller doubled, Hahn homered, Reed homered, Mitchell walked and Stehr doubled. Then the lightning flashed and the game was halted, but the Spartans ran the score up to 10-0 and have runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs when the game resumes. April 15th update: Interesting Stats (Through Taylor Game) As the statistician I thought it would be interesting to share some statistical information that I found interesting. Let me know if you like this stuff or if you’ve got some suggestions. § Tannor Barron, Kevin Hahn & Michael Reed have over 85 innings between them and are the only Stratford pitchers to not hit a batter. § Matthew Kitterman has the highest batting average on the team at .500. Andrew Mitchell is second at .377 and Mark Benninger is third at .370. § Four Spartans have 3 Home Runs each: Carson Brown, Jake Miller, Andrew Mitchell and Michael Reed. § Austin Erb leads the team in stolen bases with 8 out of 8 attempts. § Michael Reed leads the team in RBIs with 19, followed by Andrew Mitchell (16) and Jake Miller (14). § On-base Plus Slugging (OPS) is considered one of the best indicators of a player’s hitting ability. OPS is On-Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage. Let’s see who’s at the top among our Spartans: Matthew Kitterman is 1.238 (6 AB), Andrew Mitchell 1.092 (53 AB), Michael Reed 1.036 (55 AB), Mark Benninger 1.022 (27 AB) and Jerry Young .994 (46 AB) Stratford (10) vs. Taylor (0) Granted Taylor is not the strongest team in the district, but Stratford did play a solid game offensively and defensively. We had 7 hits and several hard hit balls that didn’t register as hits. Jared Musgrove led the hitting parade with 2 hits including a double while knocking in 4 RBIs. Mitchell, Miller, Snapp, Brown and Barron all had 1 hit. Kevin Hahn started the game and pretty much over powered Taylor with his 85 mph fast ball (the Taylor Scorer had a radar gun). Kevin struck out 8 of the possible 9 outs, giving up just 1 hit. Tanner Barron came in relief and after striking out the first batter, he walked the next two batters then gave up a bunt single. But, he stifeled the rally, striking out the next batter and a ground out to end the inning. Tanner gave up a hit in the 5th, but that was it, keeping the shutout intact. FYI, Tanner was clocked at 82 mph. Stratford (0) vs. Memorial (4) Carson got Stratford started with a shot up the middle, but was caught stealing second 2 pitches later. Miller then drilled a shot into the left field corner for a double, but we were unable to get him to cross the pay station. We gave the Red Bellies their first run in the second inning after an error, a stolen base, a wild pitch and a single; bingo 1 unearned run. Kevin had his first bad inning versus the village bums in a couple years, giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits. Kevin got back on track going 3 more innings, 6 total, without giving up another run. Not about to give up, after 2 outs in the top of the 4th, Kevin hit a line drive single to right, Mitchell drew a walk, and Reed hit a shot off the pitcher for an infield single. Unfortunately, that kept Kevin from scoring and Benninger hit a deep fly to center to end the inning. In the top of the 5th, Snapp hit a dribbler in front of the plate that their pitcher threw over the head of the 1st baseman, but Johnny got caught trying to reach second on the throwing error. After Jerry struck out, Carson came through with another single, then Musgrove followed with a single and Jake was walked, but they were stranded again and that was about it. So our hated neighbors from the east stuck it to us again. April 9th update: Week 5 Stratford remains tied for second in the District standings with Strake Jesuit at 4-1. But if you compare how each team has achieved their records, it is a very different story. Strake was shutdown by Memorial 10-1, with a solo home run that was the only thing that kept Memorial from a perfect game. Stratford on the other hand, played Memorial to a draw through 7 innings with numerous chances to come out victorious, only to lose in the 9th. Since then, Strake has hammered the other teams in the District by lopsided margins, while Stratford has, should I say “played down to the competition”, winning many games by the skin of our teeth. Next Tuesday, we’ll travel to Strake Jesuit to see who is the best of the rest, at least until we face Memorial again. Let’s travel well there, bringing the big crowds Stratford is known for, and kick some #@%! Northbrook (0) vs. Stratford (15) Looks like Northbrook isn’t trying again this year. The game started with Kevin Hahn mowing down three of the first four batters allowing 1 runner to reach first on an error. In the bottom of the 1st, Northbrook proceeded to hit Carson & Jared with pitches then walk Jake & Kevin on a total of 9 pitches. That was it for their starting pitcher and it was downhill from there. We ended up scoring 4 in the 1st. In the 2nd inning, Kevin struck out all 3 batters he faced. Starting at the top of the order again, every single batter in our lineup scored before making the 1st out was made. I wish I could say it was because we knocked the cover off the ball, but it was a result of 5 walks, 1 hit-by-pitch, 2 errors and 4 hits. It would have been worse, but the umpire obviously widened the strike zone to stop the Northbrook collapse. Score 13-0 after 2 innings. As for highlights, Kevin Hahn pitched a no-hitter and walked only 1 with 9 strike outs in only 5 innings. Michael Reed had 5 RBIs on 2 of 3 hitting and Willie Tanigaki was 1 for 1 with 2 RBIs and Carson Brown was 1 for 1 with 2 RBIs & 2 runs. All told, Stratford had 15 runs, 9 hits & 1 error, Northbrook 0 runs, 0 hits, and 1 error. Spring Woods (3) vs. Stratford (4) With Spring Woods best player on the disabled list, and a mediocre lineup, we should have our way with them. But Spring Woods always plays well against Stratford as evidenced by sweeping us last year. This year proved to be another tougher than expected game. Stratford struck first in the bottom of the 2nd, with 2 lead off singles by Kevin Hahn and Andrew Mitchell, then Reed popped up for the 1st out and Mark Benninger continued his hot hitting with a single to load the bases. Jerry Young drew a walk to force in the first run and Dylan DeLozier hit sacrifice fly to center to drive in Mitchell. In the second, Musgrove got beaned again, that’s 3 this year. Austin Urb, running for Musgrove, promptly stole 2nd and 3rd bases and was driven in on a hard ground out by Miller to short. Meanwhile, Michael Reed was cruising through the first 3 innings, before stumbling in the top of the 4th giving up 3 hits and 3 runs to tie the game at 3. But, for the 3rd inning in a row, Stratford scored, which was started by Jerry Young’s walk and back to back stolen bases. Then Carson Brown came through with a clutch shot to left field to drive in what would end up being the winning run. Reed went back to work retiring the next six batters, before giving way to Jake Miller to close the 7th. Reed ended up with 12 strike outs, 0 walks, and 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. Jake retired the 1st batter, then walked 3 of the next 4 batters to load the bases with the leadoff hitter stepping to the plate. Jake then blew three fast balls past the dazed batter to end the game and earn a save. Stratford is now 11-5 for the season and 4-1 in District play. We finish off the first pass through the district next week with the aforementioned big game at Strake next Tuesday. Week 6 Elsik (2) vs. Stratford (14) The bats came alive in this one, with 16 hits, wow! Mitchell and Hahn both were 3 for 3, with 5 extra base hits. Kevin had 2 homers, 1 an inside the park grand slam and 6 RBIs. Andrew had 2 doubles and a triple. Every starter had at least 1 hit in this slug fest. All the scoring came in the first 3 innings, with Elsik jumping in front in the top of the 1st with what would end up being their only runs. Stratford bounced back to say the least, with 10 in the bottom of the first. Kevin Hahn started the game and he didn’t have his best stuff, but he held Elsik to two unearned runs in the first and that was it. Kevin left after the 3rd inning, with 6 strike outs, 3 hits and 1 walk. Tanner Barron came in relief and finished the job pitching 2 scoreless innings, with 4 strike outs, 0 hits and 2 walks. Cy Fair (8) vs. Stratford (6) Our bats stayed hot against Cy Fair, with Home Runs from Carson Brown and Jake Miller. Kevin Hahn had 1 hit, Michael Reed had a single and double, Johnny Snapp and Dylan DeLozier each singled, and Jerry Young had two doubles. These hits produced 6 runs, but that wasn’t enough unfortunately. Matthew Kitterman pitched 5 innings giving up 5 runs, 3 of which were earned on 5 hits, 4 walks and 4 strike outs. Tanner Barron came in relief, but he couldn’t slow down Cy Fair’s hitting either, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits before striking out 2. Jake Miller came in the 7th and shut down Cy Fair, but the cows already left the barn as Stratford was unable to pull this one out in bottom of the seventh. Stratford (1) vs. Strake Jesuit (2) This was a tough one to lose. Seems like all the breaks went Strake’s way starting with a diving catch of Mike Reed’s lined shot to right. Both pitchers mowed down every batter they faced through the first 2 innings. In the top of the 3rd, Johnny Snapp walked on 4 pitches, after Jerry flew out to right. DeLozier popped out to second on a hit and run, but Johnny got back to 1st safely. Johnny then stole second base and Carson Brown came through with a line drive single to left, and Strake was conceding the run until Johnny slipped and fell as he rounded third. After a strong at bat by Musgrove, he grounded to second which brought a close to the inning without a score. Michael Reed, pitching for Stratford, also struggled in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Strake started the inning with a single and a sacrifice bunt to put the lead off runner in scoring position. With 2 strikes and 0 balls, the number 9 hitter doubled down the right field line, scoring the runner on second for the games’ first run. Stratford managed to get out of the inning without allowing another run. Both pitchers got back on track in the 4th inning retiring every batter in order. In the top of the 3rd, Jerry Young smashed a double to right center and promptly stole 3rd with only one out. But, Mitchell struck out and DeLozier grounded out to second to end the rally. Warming up in the top of the 6th, Michael rolled his ankle on his last warm-up pitch. Musgrove asked the umpire if Mike could throw a couple more warm-up pitches, but he refused. First pitch of the inning, ended up well over the left field fence giving Strake the lead 2-1. Flustered Mike walked the next batter before striking out the next three batters. Stratford was unable to get anything started in the bottom of the 7th. March 25th update: Stratford keeps the ball rolling in the Ewell-Jackson Tournament Stratford lost it’s last two games of the Ewell-Jackson Tournament to finish 4th in the 32 team tournament that included many of the best teams in Houston. It was a bit disappointing because Stratford had quality pitchers left down the stretch when most of the competition didn’t. None-the- less, it was a successful weekend, but Coach Willis has the boys expectations on winning tournaments, not placing and they certainly felt they should have done so in this tournament. Alief Taylor (2) vs. Stratford (4) Matthew Kitterman and Tanner Barron teamed up to hold Taylor to 2 runs and the win against a scrappy Taylor team. Kitterman and Barron had 12 strike outs between them, with only 5 walks behind a solid defense that didn’t surrender an error. Errors really sank Taylor extending several innings letting Stratford leverage 6 hits (all singles) into 4 runs. Westside (15) vs. Stratford (4) Westside, last year’s state finalist, is still a quality team. Lead by Daniel Mengden, the 4th ranked sophomore in Texas, Westside taught Stratford a lesson, winning 15-4. Stratford only mustered 4 hits and 4 walks, while giving up 10 hits and 10 walks. Enough said. Memorial (0) vs. Stratford (4) The most exciting game of the year, maybe in years, slipped through our fingers after 9 hard fought innings. The Spartan bats came to life, with 9 hits, several of which were extra base hits. Mark Benninger lead the Spartans with 2 doubles and a single in 3 at bats. Jerry Young also hit well collecting 2 hits, we’ll talk more about him later. Stratford jumped on Memorial early with a run in the 2nd and 2 in the 4th. Memorial came back with 1 in the 4th and 2 in the 6th to tie things up which lasted until the 8th inning. Let’s talk pitching Kevin Hahn deserved better, pitching a fabulous game, and showing everyone why he’s playing next year for Rice. Kevin struck out 15 batters and didn’t give up an earned run to #2 ranked (Houston 5A Baseball) Memorial who is known for their hitting. Michael Reed relieved Hahn in the 8th and while cruising through the first 2 batters, he gave up a line drive home run to put Memorial ahead for the first time. But Stratford wasn’t ready to go home yet. With a 0-2 count, nobody on base and 2 outs, Jerry Young hit the next pitch across Dairy Ashford to tie the game and on we went to the 9th. After retiring the first batter and blowing the first two pitches past the next batter, Michael Reed’s leg suddenly cramped up. This seemed to bother him and he proceeded to give up a single and two walks to load the bases before striking out Memorial’s No. 3 hitter. Then with a 3-2 count on Rice commit Michael Rattery hit the next pitch over the center field fence for a grand slam and a lead the Spartans couldn’t overcome. Stratford showed that they can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in Houston, let’s show them we can beat the best teams in Houston moving forward! March 11th update: Stratford keeps the ball rolling in the Ewell-Jackson Tournament Stratford lost its last two games of the Ewell-Jackson Tournament to finish 4th in the 32 team tournament that included many of the best teams in Houston. It was a bit disappointing because Stratford had quality pitchers left down the stretch when most of the competition didn’t. None-the- less, it was a successful weekend, but Coach Willis has the boys expectations on winning tournaments, not placing and they certainly felt they should have done so in this tournament. Stratford (12) vs. Marshall (0) Tanner Barron (W 2-0) & Conner Stehr (Save) needed only 37 pitches to put away Marshall in 4 innings. Marshall was simply outmatched in every category in this one sided affair. Carson Brown went yard in the 2nd inning with the only homer of the game. Walks and errors killed Marshall and Stratford added to their misery with 5 hits in just 3 innings in a game that was lopsided from the start. Stratford (4) vs. St. Pius (3) One of the St. Pius Coaches said, they felt Stratford was the best team in their bracket and if they could win against us, it was downhill from there. They certainly gave a strong effort leading most of the game, but Stratford has a never say die mentality this year and came from behind for the second week in a row. St. Pious threw their best pitcher, but the Spartans came up with 1 run in the 6th on a Home Run by Andrew Mitchell and 2 runs in the 7th on Jake Miller’s game winning hit to pull out with the victory. Matthew Kitterman went 6 strong innings giving up just 3 runs, on 6 hits with 3 strike outs. Jake Miller shut the door on St. Pius with a strong outing in the 7th inning. St. Pious was a very strong team to face this early in a seeded tournament. Milby (0) vs. Stratford (4) Michael Reed threw a gem against Milby surrendering just 3 hits without a run on 9 strikeouts and 0 walks. Milby never really threatened with only had 2 runners getting past base in the game. The Spartans played small ball using the bunt effectively and getting the most out of 4 hits, highlighted by Dylan DeLozier’s triple where he scored on a wild throw to the plate. Elkins (5) vs. Stratford (3) Coach Willis rolled the dice, saving Kevin Hahn for a potential Championship game and it looked like it would pay off. Andrew Mitchell pitched 3 strong innings, before losing command of the strike zone in the 4th inning. Tanner Barron stepped in and got us out of the inning but not until 5 runs scored. Tanner picked up momentum after that and finished the game allowing just 2 more runs. Unfortunately, Stratford’s bats were silent and we just couldn’t string together many hits. Stratford’s did mount a rally in the 5th, but we ran ourselves out of the inning, with two failed stolen base attempts ending with just 1 run out of the promising inning. I think everyone would agree that we should have won this game. Stratford (6) vs. Ft. Bend Austin (7) With the Championship gone, Coach Willis decided to start players who have had limited playing time during the tournament along with a rested Kevin Hahn on the bump. Stratford scored in the first with 1 run, but Ft. Bend Austin came back with 3 of their own in the bottom of the frame. Austin scored again in the 3rd, but Stratford came back in the 5th with 4 runs closing the gap to just 1 run. After shutting down Austin in the bottom of the 5th, Michael Reed pitch hit to lead off the top of the 6th. On the 2nd pitch he drove a line drive over the left field wall to tie the game. March 4th update: 16th Ranked Stratford knocks off 3 ranked peers via 4-1 start Stratford began the season going 4-1 in the Katy ISD Tournament, beating Seven Lakes (13-3), Ft Bend Austin (4-3), Katy Taylor (11-5) and Ft Bend Travis (6-5), before losing to Cinco Ranch (10-2). While all were legit solid teams, three were ranked in the top 25, Seven Lakes (23), Katy Taylor (12) and Ft Bend Travis (25). Stratford is ranked 16th. Home Run power is abundant and well distributed in this team with 8 different players hitting dingers. Stratford (13) vs. Seven Lakes (3) The boys have been looking forward to this game since the schedule came out. Playing against Coach Mardirosian provided all the motivation they needed. Andrew Mitchell lead the hitting parade with 7 RBIs on 3 hits including a home run, followed by Jake Miller and Michael Reed with 2 hits apiece and a home run by Jerry Young. Michael Reed held Seven Lakes to 3 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits while striking out 9 over 5 innings. Matthew Kitterman closed the game without allowing a run. Ft. Bend Austin (3) vs. Stratford (4) Kevin Hahn shut down a strong hitting Ft Bend Austin team pounding the strike zone early. Kevin pitched 6 innings giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and just 3 walks, while striking out 6. Jake Miller closed the game and got the save, giving up 1 run and striking out 2. All the offense came via the long ball in the form of 4 solo home runs from Carson Brown, Jared Musgrove, Kevin Hahn and Michael Reed. Stratford (11) vs. Katy Taylor (5) Jared Musgrove (3 hits, 1 walk), Jake Miller (1 HR, 3 RBIs) and Michael Reed (3 hits, 1 HR, 2 RBIs) lead the charge against Katy Taylor. Mark Benninger piled on with a pitch hit 2 run homerun on the 1st pitch thrown to him this season. After a shaky start, Matthew Kitterman settled down and provided 6 innings of work allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits and 4 walks with 2 strike outs. Conner Stehr closed the game allowing only a walk. Ft. Bend Travis (5) vs. Stratford (6) This was the most exciting game of the week, with Stratford coming from behind in the final inning to win the game. Profs go to Coach Willis on this victory. The mental toughness he’s brought to this team clearly showed in this game and we look forward to seeing Stratford win many more close games this season as a result. Tanner Barron got the first complete game victory for a Stratford Pitcher this year, going 6 innings and giving up 5 runs on 8 hits, with 5 strike outs and only 1 walk. The kid can throw strikes! Jake Miller and Michael Reed lead the hitting attack. Jake had two timely hits, a double and single, and scored twice. Michael was 3 for 4 with clutch hit in the last inning with bases loaded and 1 out that scored the tying run. Stratford (2) vs. Cinco Ranch (10) On a cold and very windy morning, Stratford lost its first game to Cinco Ranch. The umpire clearly opened up the strike zone because of the conditions and that limited the hits for most of the game on both sides until the bottom of the 6th when Cinco Ranch found their stroke getting 8 hits and scoring 8 runs. Unfortunately, Andrew Mitchell got the loss even though he pitched well this game, going 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 1 hit and 4 base on balls After a very successful showing last week in the Katy tourney (SHS was 4 and 1), the Spartan varsity team hopes to build on that success this week at the Ewell-Jackson Tournament which runs from Thursday thru Saturday. We are scheduled to play at least 4 games (all away) - dates and times are as follows: Thursday, March 5: - Game 1 - Ewell-Jackson Tournament: 7:00pm vs FB Marshall at St. Pius Friday, March 6: - If we win the Thursday game we play at 6:00 pm at St. Pius vs TBD (and if we win this game we play again at 8:30pm Friday) - If we lose the Thursday game we play at 3:30 pm at St. Pius vs TBD (that would be our only game on Friday) Saturday, March 7: - TBD - Saturday games will be determined based on our record and place in the bracket. Check the website for map and directions to St. Pius (St. Pius X High School is located at 811 W. Donovan Street , Houston , TX 77091 ) February 24th update: On Saturday, February 21, 2009 the parents of Stratford Baseball showed up in full force for the annual field cleanup day. The amount of work nearly 50 people can get done in 3 hours is just amazing. And, except for the last 30 minutes (rain) the weather was beautiful. The list of accomplishments is very impressive and includes the following: - Both dugouts powerwashed - Batting cages repaired and cleaned - Concession stand cleaned and re-stocked - Home bull pen pitching mound re-worked with new dirt and raised 4 inches - Visitor bull pen groomed with new dirt - Bleacher power wash - Fence Line and HEB Ditch Clean UP - Outfield Fence - Weed eating/mowing - Complete cleaning/powerwashing of the coaches storage shed Obviously, we couldn't have completed this work with out the enthusiastic support of our Baseball Parents and the Coaches. Below is a list of everyone who showed up Saturday with their tools, powerwashers, ladders, brooms, blowers etc., and participated. A BIG thank you to everyone. Jackie Benninger, Tim and Vanessa Waikem, Todd and Jennifer Miller, Lisa DeLozier, Lida Herring, Rob and LeighAnn Smith, Julie Enis, Craig Johnson, Lee Mitchell, Mike and Karla Kitterman, Jeff Bouche, Eric Lien, Bill and JoAnne Rucker, Mike Mandola, Dave and Charmaine Denney, Ben Bejarano, Rick Magee, Roger Hennington, Glen and Paulette Farek, Chris Swank, John Milan, Bill Snapp, Mike Duffy, Jake Duffy, Will Duffy, John Byrd, Ron Brown, Jessica Blair, Paul Stehr, Jay and Donna Smith, Carol Settegast, Alan Musgrove, Lynn Morris, Butch and Karen Butcher. Coach Willis, Coach Lowery (these are the names on the sign in list and if I missed anybody, please let me know). A special thanks to Todd and Jennifer Miller for coordinating the cleanup effort as their last official duty as last year's baseball liaisons. We are ready to start the season. January 15, 2009: Congratulations to Jake Miller who was one of fifteen players in Houston named to the 2009 All- Greater Houston Area Preseason High School Team at the Houston Athletic Committee 2009 Houston Baseball dinner. Fall 2008: Congrats to Kevin Hahn, who signed with Rice University, Jake Miller, who signed with Baylor University, and Michael Reed, who signed with LSU. August 22, 2008: Congratulations to Kevin Hahn, Stratford's ace left handed pitcher. He has verbally committed to play baseball for Rice University. Congratulations to Jake Miller, Stratford's Shortstop, who has verbally committed to play baseball for Baylor University. |
| Jake Miller named to the 2009 All-Greater Houston Pre-Season High School Team |
