Stratford Completes Season Sweep 10-7

Stratford ran their record to 6-4 with a home victory against Cy Creek. On a day when Keely Meeks was not razor-sharp in the circle, the Spartans relied on patience at the plate and speed on the basepaths to grind out a win.

The Spartans found themselves in the unfamiliar position of being in an early hole. The Cougars put three runs on the board in the first inning on one hit, using 4 walks and a pair of fielders’ choice. The first out was recorded when, with runners on second and third, the Cy Creek batter laid down a bunt, and Emma Adisa indulged her thirst for sacrifice. With three runs in and the bases loaded, Meeks struck out the last two batters to avoid wholesale catastrophe.

The deficit was short-lived, as Caroline Chamberlain (walk), Adisa (walk), Meeks (bloop single), Mariah Estrada (walk) and Laura de la Rosa (hbp) all touched home and put the Spartans ahead 5-3.

More trouble loomed in the second, as the top of the Cougars’ order plated another trio of runs before the Stratford infield activated. For the first out, Chamberlain fielded a grounder at second base and threw to Allie Richardson at first. The next batter grounded to Richardson, and she flipped it to Chamberlain, who rotated to cover first behind her. The theoretical question of whether there were any additional in-fielding permutations between Chamberlain and Richardson went unanswered, as the third out was recorded by Darcy Broaddus, who gathered a grounder to her left and outraced the Cy Creek runner to second base.

A singular moment occurred during the inning in which Meeks attempted to rub down a new softball with a quantum of infield dirt. This conduct prompted a visit to the circle by the home plate umpire, who proceeded to drop the ball to the ground and massage it with the sole of her right shoe, whereby the Stratford fans gained new insights to the rules of softball and, frankly, life as we know it.

Thus did the Spartans find themselves down again, by the score of 6-5. However, the same five Stratford batters who scored in the first inning scored again, this time without the necessity of a hit, securing a 10-6 lead.

A final Cougar batting session failed to close the gap, with Chamberlain, Meeks, and Richardson making infield plays to close out the inning and the game.

The Spartans’ Thursday game against Northbrook was rained out. They play two games this week: Tuesday at home against Spring Woods and Friday at Cy Ridge. We shall report.