STRAKE JESUIT TOURNAMENT

vs. Concordia Lutheran

JV Baseball opened the Strake Jesuit Tournament against Concordia Lutheran on Thursday. After a scoreless first inning, the Crusaders would put up a crooked number in the second frame thanks to a tight strike zone from the umpire and some defensive miscues. The Spartans found themselves trailing 0-5 after only allowing one hit. Freshman Peter Hebert came on in relief to settle things down and was dominant, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only allowing 1 hit.

The Stratford bats came alive, led by Liam Schultz (3 for 4, 1 RBI) and Anthony Castillo (3 for 4, 1 RBI), but they had no runs to show for it as multiple runners were left on base every inning. Still trailing 0-5 heading into the bottom half of the final inning, Jack Sullivan would get the scoring rally started by delivering a pinch-hit single to drive in the first run. Hunter Gilbert, Schultz, and Castillo all followed with RBI singles to pull within a run. Carter Saunders’ clutch pinch hit with 2 outs capped off the rally to tie the game at 5-5, which was the final score. It was a great comeback by the Spartans!

vs. Strake Jesuit

The first game of the Friday doubleheader was against the host school, Strake Jesuit. Carsten Vasut started on the mound and was solid through the first 3 innings, only allowing one run. Stratford jumped out to a 2-1 lead after three innings, but Strake Jesuit would take advantage of several free baserunners in the fourth inning to pull ahead 7-2. The Spartan bats could only muster 2 runs on 3 hits and would lose this game 2-8.

vs. Memorial

They would look to bounce back against their rival, Memorial High School, in the nightcap. William Coates got the start and was as sharp as he’s been all season, displaying great velocity on his fastball and fooling hitters with his off-speed. He allowed only 2 earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched, with 7 strikeouts and no walks. The game stayed close throughout and the Spartan defense came up big in the 2nd inning when centerfielder Carsten Vasut backed up an errant throw to second base and showed off his cannon by throwing out the runner at third to help kill the Memorial rally. Big Country John Nugent was also dominant in relief, striking out 4 of the 5 batters he faced. Unfortunately, the Mustang pitching staff was just as impressive, and only surrendered 2 hits on the way to a 4-0 shutout. Until we meet again….

vs. Katy Taylor

The final game of the tournament was Saturday morning against the Katy Taylor Mustangs. Levi Lease had a very solid outing, going 6 strong innings, allowing only 1 earned run with 7 strikeouts. On the defensive side, Liam Schultz was a vacuum at shortstop all game and made every play look routine. Stratford had plenty of traffic on the base paths, and seemed in control for most of the game, but the Mustangs turned a couple of timely double plays in the game to kill rallies and would not go away. The Spartans took a 3-2 lead into the top of the 7th, and Katy Taylor would scratch across 2 runs to grab a 4-3 lead. Down to their last at-bat, the Spartans’ first two batters reached base with walks. The table was set for Luke Tamez, and he answered the call by crushing a line drive down to the left-field corner for a bases-clearing double, and the Spartans celebrated a walk-off win!

The Stratford JV Team looks to keep the momentum going next week in the Katy ISD tournament, starting Thursday against Fort Bend Travis at Katy Taylor High School at 4 pm.