STRATFORD SPRINGS WOOD ON SPRING WOODS

Spartan Bats Come Alive in 10-2 No-Hitter

In their first battle against Spring Woods on their home field, the Spartans defeated  the Tigers at the Front Yard for the rematch, in which Stratford cruised to a 10-2 victory. Keely Meeks tossed a 10-strikeout, no-hitter, and Emma Adisa homered in the right centerfield gap (or, for the insufferably pendantic among you, she tripled and scored on the delayed throw), while Caroline Chamberlain and Kyla Vazquez each drove in a pair of runs.

Meeks opened the game by striking out the side, bringing the Spartans quickly to bat. Darcy Broaddus and Sophie Donnel drew walks in front of Chamberlain, whose hard grounder up the middle was far too hot for the shortstop to handle cleanly. When the dust cleared, Chamberlain was at first with both runners in. Meeks then powered a bending line-drive at the centerfielder, who jabbed a glove at it but could not secure it. When that dust cleared, Chamberlain was in and Meeks was at second. Adisa then performed her aforementioned heroics to complete the 5-0 inning.

After a quiet second inning, the Tigers sought to mount a threat in the third. With a runner on first as a result of being hit by a pitch, the batter hit a hard grounder toward the hole on the right side. The ball evaded the reach of Allie Richardson, lunging to her right, but Chamberlain overlapping behind her was able to glove it. Unfortunately, with Richardson having made a play for the grounder no one was able to receive a throw at first base. Chamberlain recognized the problem, spurred her steed, and galloped toward the base, beating the runner by a step.

Laura de la Rosa began the Stratford third by hitting a pop-up over second base that no Tiger could track down. With de la Rosa on first, Mia Hutchison and Kyla Vazquez entered the chat. de la Rosa worked her way to third, and Hutchison was hit by a pitch for a team-leading third time. With that table set, Vazquez came to the plate seeking her moment, and she responded by delivering a blistering line drive to center. The first RBI in the form of de la Rosa was a foregone conclusion, but the speedy Hutchison padded Vazquez’s stats by blazing home from first for a second RBI.

STRATFORD DEPLOYS FULL PACKAGE AGAINST CY RIDGE 15-5

Spartans Purge Memory of Mid-Season Loss to Rams

Although Coach Salinas’s team has provided a lot to cheer about this season, rarely have they offered a choice of so many different winning narratives in a single game. You like pitching? Keely Meeks completed her second straight no-hitter. You like hitting? Darcy Broaddus has entered Beast Mode. You like double plays? The Spartans have you covered. You like tacos? Laura de la Rosa has a deal for you.

The umpire had barely put the teams on the clock when Broaddus lasered her first of three line drives to centerfield, rippling a Friday happy hour vibe through the bleachers on the visitors’ side. Sophie Donnel and Caroline Chamberlain walked, setting the table for Meeks. Her first swing sent the ball on a line in a foul trajectory over the fence down the third baseline, the most surprising result being the absence of any car alarms. She straightened out the next pitch and set the Stratford pieces in motion, scoring Donnel and Chamberlain. After Emma Adisa walked, de la Rosa walked to turn things over to Mariah Estrada. Estrada hit a ground ball to the pitcher, who attempted to get the runner at home. Unfortunately for her, that runner was the motoring Adisa, who was easily safe at home.

Meeks took the rubber with a 5-0 lead and took the opportunity to see if she could (1) add a few MPH to her fastball and (2) control it. The answers were (1) yes and (2) no. A series of walks brought in two runs, loaded the bases, and forced Shayleigh Thomas to showcase her considerable skills behind the plate. Eventually she struck her way out of the jam.

The Stratford second produced more fireworks. After Dulce Soto walked and Thomas reached by a shortstop’s error, Broaddus – who coming into this game had walked in 13 of her previous 15 plate appearances – brought a revised agenda to the plate. She hit the same line drive to the same spot over the centerfielder, but harder. By the time the outfielders had tracked it down, Broaddus was steaming to third, and there was no stopping her from registering the first Spartan home run of the season.

Bases cleared, the Spartans started rebuilding the rally. Donnel singled to right and Chamberlain and Adisa walked, bringing de la Rosa to the plate. The de la Rosa family shouted an offer of tacos in exchange for RBIs (this was not be the only parental offer to an on-deck hitter during this game, but it was the most delicious). She responded with a hot tamale through the hole at short to drive in two runs and end the inning, to the delight of the crowd.

In the Cy Ridge second, with a runner on first and no outs, the Ram lead-off hitter hit a ground ball to shortstop. Broaddus flipped it to Chamberlain, who made a relay throw just behind the runner: a near double play. However, the next batter hit a grounder at Meeks, who picked it and threw it to first for one, whereupon Allie Richardson opened and fired to second, where Broaddus tagged the runner for a 1-3-6 double play.

The best was yet to come in the Stratford third. With two outs, the line-up turned over to Broaddus, of the two line drives over the centerfielder. She showed a distinct lack of creativity by hitting it there again, this time her hardest swing yet. The hollow gong of the ball hitting the base of the centerfield wall will be one of the enduring sounds of this season. The ricochet off the wall denied her a second home run, but the triple gave her 8 total bases for the game. Donnel sacrificed her in, followed by a Chamberlain single, a Meeks double, and an Adisa triple. The last of these was a hard grounder in the right-field gap that Adisa came out of the box intending to turn into three bases, and her full-speed turn at second base was a work of softball art.

This brought de la Rosa to the plate. By this time, the Stratford crowd had managed to twist the taco paradigm from tacos for Laura to tacos for all. With the crowd at the edge of frenzy, she drove a ball deep to centerfield, racing around the bases and coming home ahead of the throw for a home run, putting the capstone on a great game.

Coach Salinas has her team at 8-4 and playing its best softball as they enter the final week of the season. This week the Spartans play Memorial at home on Tuesday 4/18 and at Jersey Village on Friday 4/21. We shall report.