Last week featured three games and the opportunity for the Spartans to continue their climb in the District standings. A good result could provide the momentum needed to finish the season strong. By Saturday afternoon when the final pitch was thrown in the Spring Woods make-up game, it was clear that the boys were playing some of their best baseball of the season and ready for the annual showdown with the Memorial Mustangs this week.

Highlights:

Spartans 3 - Rams 0:

The week started with a trip to Cy Ridge for the start of a two-game series with the Rams. The Spartans started hot, scoring three runs and collecting five hits over the first three innings to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. That would be all of the offense for the evening, but great pitching and a spectacular catch would secure the victory. Thomas Cloud kept the Rams off-balance throughout the evening, going the distance while throwing a three-hit shoutout (7IP/3H/0R/0BB/7K) that included 73% strikes. With two runners on, Caden Baker made an incredible diving catch in centerfield to end the sixth inning and prevent the Rams from closing the gap. Cloud pitched a perfect last inning to close out the victory. The offense was led by Braxton Wakefield with two hits. He was joined by Brecken Menuet, Luke Barre, and Baker, who all contributed a hit each.

Spartans 9 - Rams 3:

The boys returned to the friendly confines of The Backyard on Friday, where a high-energy and enthusiastic SBMSA Youth Night crowd served to awaken the bats for the second game against the Rams. Paxton Terveen took the ball and continued his string of high-quality starts (6IP/2H/0ER/1BB/8K) on the way to another victory. Maddox Garnero struck out the side to close out the W. Luke Rives (3B/4RBI) and Terveen (RBI) led a re-energized offense by adding two hits each. Blake Barry, Alex Skoutelakis, Menuet (RBI), and Barre (RBI) each added a hit to close out the eight-hit evening.

Spartans 17 - Tigers 3:

The third game brought the Spring Woods Tigers to The Backyard to make up a rainout from the previous week. With Tucker Copeland on the mound and the offense unleashing a 16-hit attack, the Spartans coasted to the 17-3 win to cap off the week. Copeland started strong and left little doubt as to the outcome, earning the W with a near-perfect, three-inning outing (3IP/1H/0R/0BB/6K) that included 81% strikes. Matthew McDuffie kept up the strong pitching and closed out the final two innings (3H/0ER/5K) of the Saturday matinee. Leading the offense with the first four-hit performance of the season was Blake Barry (2B/4RBI). Baker and Rives (3RBI) collected two hits each. Ryan Healy, Ethan Gentil, Carson Craft, John White, Terveen, Menuet, Wakefield, and Skoutelakis all added a knock to put a bow on the dominant performance.

Next Up:

In review, the Spartans scored 29 runs, and the pitching allowed zero earned runs on the week, leading to three consecutive victories and allowing the Spartans to move up to second place in the District standings. Coming up this week, the Memorial Mustangs are on the schedule for what promises to be two hard-fought contests: at The Backyard on Tuesday and then on the road Friday. The Spartans are currently riding an eight-game District winning streak (8-2) which is good enough for second place and stand 19-6 overall.