Stratford Spartans Vs. Cinco Ranch Cougars, Thursday May 9th,

GAME 1

Game 1 of the Area Playoffs was one to watch for sure. The Spartans were the visiting team against the Cougars. It would turn out to be a pitchers' duel all evening. Senior Carson Craft took the ball in Game 1 and was outstanding. The big righty would silence the Cougars until the 5th, when they got a run across, to go up 1-0 in the bottom of the 5th. Stratford would come up to bat in the top of the 7th with 3 outs to play with and a chance to tie the game. Senior Henry Braniff would lead off the inning on the first pitch with a hard single to left that woke up the crowd and dugout! Chris Johnson would sacrifice Braniff over to second on a perfectly executed bunt. Owen Bennett would enter the game to run for Braniff, who advanced to second on the Johnson bunt. With 1 out in the inning, Luke Zilafro would hit a line drive to right that the defender had to lay out to record the out. Bennett would tag up and advance to third with 2 outs. Down to their last out, Rylan Reichenau would come to the plate. He would fall into a 0-2 hole after two quick strikes. Reichenau would see a high fastball on the next pitch and hit a laser to left field,  scoring Bennett and tying the game at 1.

Carson Craft walked back to the mound for the bottom of the 7th. He pitched around a lead-off single and give the Spartans a chance to jump on top in the top of the 8th. After a quick out to start the inning, Senior Braxton Wakefield came up to the plate. The Cinco Ranch lefty made a mistake with a 2-0 pitch…Wakefield deposited the baseball over the left field fence, into the wind, to give the Spartans the lead 2-1. Craft once again demanded the ball in the bottom of the 8th to finish what he started. He recorded a quick first out on a ground out to SS. The next batter would reach on a single. With the tying run on first and clinging to a 1-run lead, the Senior right hander wasn’t giving in. On his 92nd pitch of the game, Craft induced a slow grounder to third baseman Maddox Garnero, who made a fabulous play and threw across his body, across the diamond to beat the runner to first. This secured the Game 1 Area round win for the Spartans, 2-1. Carson Craft went 8 innings, walking ZERO, scattering 5 hits, and striking out 6 Cougars. What a game, what a performance!

Stratford Spartans vs. Cinco Ranch Cougars, Friday May 10th ,
 

GAME 2

Game 2 was a battle for 7 innings by both teams. Cinco Ranch would put 7 runners on in the first 4 innings and not be able to push one across. That is because Senior Thomas Cloud was dealing the entire time he was on the mound. His wizardry over the 5 full innings he pitched was masterful to witness. The big righty would work his way out of a 2-on, no-out pickle in the first. He maneuvered out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the third.

The home half of the third saw Stratford strike first and take an early 2-0 lead. Adam Gilbert reached on an error, followed by a Caden Baker walk. Braxton Wakefield’s single to left loaded the bases for Maddox Garnero. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Garnero shot a single to center to score Gilbert and Baker. The top of the 4th saw Cinco put another runner on base with 1 out and yet again…Cloud scampered out of the inning without allowing a run.

Stratford added 2 more runs in the bottom of the 4th to extend the lead to 4-0. Chris Johnson led the inning off with a single to center. Ethan Gentil would follow with a 1-out single to center to put runners on first and second. Gilbert followed with a single to right to load the bases for Baker. Caden laced a hard ground ball to left to score Johnson from third. Wakefield’s sac fly to the right field wall scored Gentil, making it 4-0. In the top of the 5th, Cinco would notch the only run against Cloud with a solo HR to left center. Thomas recorded the third out of the inning to leave the score 4-1 Spartans.

Cloud was an absolute warrior on the mound Friday evening and exited after finishing 5 innings and giving his team a chance to move on in Game 2. He would strike out 4 Cougars, allow 1ER, and only give up 4 hits over the 5 innings. The top of the 6th and top of the 7th for Stratford saw the Cougars offense explode for 7 runs. They would extend their lead to 8-4, and the Spartans were unable to answer and fell in game 2 by a score of 8-4.

Stratford Spartans vs. Cinco Ranch Cougars, Saturday May 11th,

GAME 3

Game 3 was a winner-take-all, move-on-to-the-Regional-Quarters-game. Sophomore Drew Emery was on the mound for the Spartans Saturday. The right hander pitched 5 strong innings, gave it everything he had, and continued to keep his team within striking distance and a chance to win. On the day Emery struck out 4 Cougars and allowed 5 earned runs. The Spartans put runners on base but could not capitalize until the bottom of the 7th. Sparty put 3 runs on the board in exciting fashion. Senior Henry Braniff once again led off a big inning with a single to center. Senior Bo Harrison shot a line drive to left to put 2 on with no out. Senior Cooper Harrison came to the plate and laced a double to the RCF gap to score Braniff. An Ethan Gentil ground out scored B. Harrison, making it 8-2. Caden Baker drove in the final run for the Spartans on a ground ball, making it 8-3.

That is as close as the Spartans would get, and they would fall in Game 3 to the #10 State-Ranked Cinco Ranch Cougars, 3-8. What a great season by these boys! They battled all the way to the end and never quit. Good luck to the seniors as they move on to great things. We are all excited to see what you do moving forward!!! Looking forward to great things in the Spring of 2025 from this group of players!!