KATY ISD TOURNAMENT

vs. Fort Bend Travis – Thursday, March 6

The JV Spartans opened the Katy ISD Tournament against Fort Bend Travis in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon. Levi Lease got the start on the mound and did not disappoint. He hurled 5 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits, with 7 Ks. After stranding 2 runners in the first, the Stratford offense cashed in the next inning when Luke Tamez drove in a run with a line drive single to centerfield, and Jack Sullivan followed with an RBI double to left. Luke Szilagyi, Caden Stone, and Hunter Gilbert also joined the hit party with doubles in the game. The Spartans outhit the Tigers 8 to 4 and cruised to a 5-0 shutout victory.

vs. Katy Taylor – Thursday, March 6

The chilly nightcap featured a rematch from the week before. Katy Taylor hoped to avenge the Spartans’ walk-off win, but Stratford wouldn’t oblige. William Coates came out pumping gas and struck out 7 Mustangs in 2.2 innings before running into some trouble late in the third. Liam Schultz (3-4, 2B, RBI), Caden Stone (2-3, 2 RBIs), and Carter Saunders (2-2, 2B, R) led the offense as the bats stayed hot with 10 total hits in the game. John Nugent came on in relief to close out his second game of the day by retiring both batters he faced and seal an 8-6 Spartan win.

vs. C.E. King – Friday, March 7

The Spartans looked to keep the momentum going on Friday and extend their 3-game winning streak against C.E. King, but found themselves trailing 0-2 after the first inning. Carsten Vasut would settle down quickly and quiet the Panther bats, as he fanned 7 hitters in 3.1 innings of work on the mound. The Stratford offense woke up in a big way to score the next 11 runs, taking advantage of 10 walks in the process. Jackson Holz (2-2, 2 RBIs, 3R, SB) and Luke Tamez (2-3, RBI, R, SB) ignited the offense, and Izaiah Delatorre pitched a scoreless final inning of relief to complete this run-rule victory 11-3.

vs. Katy Paetow – Saturday, March 8

Next on the schedule was another Panther foe, this time from the host school, Katy Paetow. The Spartans jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first as Caden Stone drove in the first run of the game with a sharp single to left field. Peter Hebert was dominant on the mound once again, allowing 0 runs on 1 hit, while striking out 7 Panthers in 4.1 innings. Stratford led 2-0 heading into the top of the 6th and needed to tack on some insurance runs. John Nugent led off the inning with a double, and Jackson Holz drove him home with a 2-out line drive to left field. Carter Saunders followed with an RBI single of his own to stretch the Spartan lead to 4-0. Jack Hope came in to close out the game and was sharp in his 1.2 innings of work (0 H, 0 R, 2 Ks) to complete the 4-0 shutout and extend the winning streak to 5 games!

District play opens on Monday with a doubleheader at Cy Creek starting at 11:00 am. Go Spartans!