Stratford Spartans vs. Cypress Ridge Rams, Tuesday April 9th

Tuesday night the Spartans hosted the Cy Ridge Rams at The Backyard. Ridge jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Stratford answered back quickly in the first with a 1 out solo home run over the LCF fence by Owen Bennett, tying the score at 1 a piece. Braxton Wakefield would follow with a single center and a Blake Barry double to left field. A Henry Braniff ground out would score Wakefield and make the score 2-1 Spartans. In the bottom of the second, Caden Baker laced a double down the RF line to score Rylan Reichenau, making it 3-1. A Bennett walk and Wakefield single made the score 5-1 ahead of red hot Barry. Blake deposited a 2-1 pitch over the LF fence for another BOMB to make the score 7-1 Spartans.

In the third, Stratford would add another run on a tower flyball by Caden Baker over the right fielder’s glove to reach third and score Reichenau and make it 8-1. The Rams would add 2 runs in their half of the 4th to make it 8-3, and that would be as close as they would get. Carson Craft struck out 4 over 3 innings and allowed only 1 earned run to secure his 4th win on the year. The Spartans would add 5 more runs on the evening to end the game in the 5th by a score of 13-3. The Spartans tallied 12 hits on the evening with Barry collecting 3 and Baker, Wakefield, Braniff, and Bennett notching 2 each.

Stratford Spartans vs. Cypress Ridge Rams, Friday April 12th

Game 2 of the series saw Stratford travel to Cy Ridge for a Friday night affair. Sparty would open the scoring in the first with a lead-off single by Caden Baker. He would come around to score on a double to the LCF game by Blake Barry, making it 1-0 Green. Ridge would knot the score at 1 in the bottom of the second without the benefit of a hit. In the top of third, Baker again led off with a hard-hit single to right. Owen Bennett would follow with a walk. Braxton Wakefield would bring home Baker on a sac fly to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. The bottom of the 3rd saw Ridge once again tie the score on a single to center, making it 2-2. Once again the score would not remain tied for long. Ethan Gentil would reach on an error. DH Luke Zilafro would follow with a single to left, putting 2 runners on base ahead of Adam Gilbert. The Spartans would take the lead 3-2 on a hard-hit ball to third base,  scoring Zilafro. In the home half of the 5th, the Rams tied the game at 3 apiece.

Thomas Cloud pitched a gem Friday night to give his team a chance to win the game late. The big righty went 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 ER, and striking out 1. He battled all night and gave way to Christian Ramirez in the bottom of the 6th to keep the score tied at 3. Ramirez would do exactly that. Christian shut down the Rams in the home half of the 6th to keep the score tied at 3 and set up a big top of the 7th for the Green. Rylan Reichenau would lead off the 7th by getting hit by a fastball in the back after a 7-pitch at-bat. Baker executed a perfect bunt single to put runners at 1st and 2nd. After a Bennett walk to load the bases, Barry would also get beaned by a fastball to bring home Reichenau to make it 4-3 Spartans. Henry Braniff would hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Baker, making it 5-3. With runners still on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs, Chris Johnson delivered a single to center to score Bennett and extend the lead to 6-3. Coach Richards would call on the bullpen once again and Junior Caden Cooper to close out the Rams in the bottom of the 7th. Cooper needed only 12 pitches to record three strikeouts to secure the save and victory for The Spartans.

This series sweep of the Rams takes the Spartans to 8-2 in District 17-6A, in sole possession of 2nd place.

This week’s Varsity Baseball Schedule

Stratford Spartans vs. Memorial @ Memorial High School, Tuesday April 16th, 7:00 pm

Stratford Spartans vs. Memorial @ The Backyard, Friday, April 19th, 7:00 pm. SBMSA Night! Players in jerseys will get in free, run the bases after the game, and meet the players and coaches.

*If able, please come strong Friday night to The Backyard and WEAR GREEN. This series against the Mustangs will prove pivotal in how the 17-6A District standings finish in two weeks. A strong crowd cheering on this team will make for a great Friday Night atmosphere at The Backyard!