Page Search
LEANDER ISD TOURNAMENT
vs. Leander Lions Thursday, March 6th
The boys would jump on a bus Wednesday afternoon and travel to Leander/Cedar Park for a morning game against the Lions from Leander High School. This would be the first of 6 games in 3 days for the Spartans. Stratford would strike first in the top of the 2nd inning for a 1-0 lead. Junior left-handed hitter/first baseman Zach Christie would single with 1 out to set the table. After 3 wild pitches by the Lions, starting pitcher Zach would rumble home to give the Spartans the lead. Junior right-hander
Drew Emery was on the mound to kick off the last tournament of the year for the boys. The big Junior pitched well to open the weekend’s action and gave his offense a chance to win the game after falling behind after 3 innings. Emery pitched around a couple Spartan miscues during his 4 innings of work. He would strike out 3 and only allow 2 earned runs. This would keep the offense within striking distance, and in the 5th inning, the offense would wake up. Junior Will McCarroll would begin the inning with a walk. Senior second baseman Rylan Reichenau would send the second pitch he saw to the centerfield wall for a triple, scoring McCarroll and tying the game at 2. Senior Owen Bennett would then drive in Reichenau with an RBI ground-out to give Sparty a 3-2 lead.
Chris Johnson would start the trend again with a single center. After a Blake Barry walk to put runners on first and second, Junior Brandon Phillips would come on to run for Johnson. A series of wild pitches would once again plate a run for the Spartans when Phillips would trot home to make the score 4-2. Senior Nick Gioco would be called on by Coach Hall to relieve Emery in a bases-loaded situation with ZERO outs. Leander would close the gap to 4-3 in the home half of the 5th when the field umpire had a minor lapse in judgement on a balk call that was laughable. Nonetheless, Gioco wasn’t here for reindeer games…Nick proceeded to induce three consecutive outs on an infield fly out and two straight ground-outs to the pitcher to keep the score 4-3 with an inning left to play. Zach Christie would be called on to close out the game once again by Coach Hall…and once again Christie delivered. A scoreless bottom of the 6th gave Stratford the win and 1-0 start to the tournament.
Highlights
vs. Hutto Hippos, Thursday March 6th
The second game of the day was against the Hutto Hippos from Hutto, Texas. The game shaped up to be a low-scoring affair with two big right-handers going at it on the mound. Senior right-hander Caden Cooper delivered as always. Caden shut down the Hippos all afternoon, scattering 3 hits over 5 innings while striking out 7 and walking zero.
The Spartans were able to push across their lone run in the top of the 6th inning. Junior Brandon Phillips led off the inning with a line drive single to right. Junior Luke Zilafro would advance Phillips to 2nd with his one line-drive single to left field. Chris Johnson’s RBI ground-out to first base plated Phillips on a heads-up piece of base running with Phillips scoring from second base.
This would prove to be all the Spartans' pitching staff would need on this early afternoon in Leander. Senior Owen Bennett was called on to shut the Hippos down for the 6th and 7th innings. That he did! Owen’s filthy array of pitches would only allow 1 runner to reach base over the last two innings while striking out 3 to preserve the 1-0 lead. After two wins on Day 1, the Spartans would head back for some dinner and get ready for 2 more games on Friday.
Highlights
vs. Austin High School Maroons, Friday March 7th
Game 3 of the tourney took the team to Vista Ridge High School to face the Austin High Maroons. Stratford would jump out to a quick 6-0 lead after the first inning. The Austin High pitcher struggled to find the strike zone early on. Three walks, 5 hits, and 5 runs while only recording 1 out would send the Maroon starter to the showers early. Hits by Junior Matthew De Jager, Junior Zack Christie, Junior Will McCarroll, and Junior Jack McAfee, along with RBIs from Senior Sammy Salas and Senior Peter Vescovo, would produce a 6-0 lead after the top of the 1st inning.
Senior Burke Malloy got the call to the mound to begin Game 3 of the tournament. The right-hander went 4 strong innings, only allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 4 Maroon hitters. The Spartans would add a single run in the 2nd inning when De Jager singled to lead off the inning. After Zach Christie advanced De Jager to second on a ground-out, McCarroll would deliver a 2-out RBI single to center to make the score 7-2, Sparty. Once again our boys would add another run in the third when Senior Ranes Denman led off the inning and reached base on a Maroon error. He was brought home on a ground-out by Brandon Phillips, making it 8-2.
It would remain that score until the nerve-wracking bottom of the 6th. The Maroons added 4 runs in the 6th and would load the bases with 2 outs, down 8-6. Coach Hall once again called on Senior Owen Bennett to shut down the threat. With the bases loaded in a 2-run ball game with 2 outs, Bennett ran the count to full and induced a deep fly ball to left field that Peter Vescovo tracked down deep in the corner to record the third out and seal the third win of the tournament for the Spartans. It was a very exciting game until the very last out!
Highlights
vs. Vista Ridge High School Rangers, Friday March 7th
Friday’s nightcap against the home team Rangers from Vista Ridge High School would prove to be full of energy from both sides. Once again the Spartans would be the visitor and would strike first and quick. Sophomore Ryan Lamon would lead the game off with a double down the left-field line. Junior Brandon Phillips would draw a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Junior Luke Zilafro hit a ball to shortstop about as hard as a human can do only to find it end up in the glove of the defender, who would double off Lamon at 2nd. It was bad luck, but the Spartans weren’t done. Senior Chris Johnson would answer with a 2-out RBI single that would score Phillips to jump out front 1-0.
In the top of the 2nd, Sparty would add to its lead. Senior Rylan Reichenau would single on the first pitch to lead off the inning. After a Reichenau steal of second, Junior Will Tacker advanced the runner to third with a ground-out. The Rangers starting pitcher would balk after too many nerves, scoring Reichenau from third, making it 2-0. Sophomore starting pitcher Quinn Fitzpatrick kept the radar guns working on this Friday night. After his first inning of 92-95mph fastballs and knee-buckling off-speed pitches, the Rangers decided patience was the best chance against Quinn. The Vista Ridge lineup began to piece together a few base runners against the big Sophomore. In the third inning after a couple of hits and an untimely error, the Spartans found themselves down 2-4 in a blink of an eye.
Coach Josh Hall went to get the ball from Fitzpatrick and called on Junior Will McCarroll with 0 outs and the bases loaded, down 2-4. McCarroll responded with 2Ks and a weak ground-out back to the pitcher. The visiting dugout and the opposing fan base were none too happy with that result and the excitement that Sparty showed coming off the field.
In the top of the 4th, an answer for Stratford would come in an emphatic way. Owen Bennett would lead off with a walk, followed by a Reichenau single deep down the right-field line. With Bennett and Reichenau on base, Tacker would come through with a hard double down the right-field line, scoring both runners and knotting the game up at 4. Senior Gavin Mundwiller would get in on the hit party with a single to right to put runners on first and third with ZERO outs. The Rangers pitcher would commit a pick-off error, scoring Tacker, making it 5-4. Phillips would single to center and advance Lamon to second (reached on a fielders choice). Runners were at 1st and 2nd, and there was 1 out. A Zilafro ground-out advanced both runners to 2nd and 3rd for Chris Johnson. He would draw a walk to load the bases with 2 outs. Senior Blake Barry would then wear a fast ball to the arm for an RBI hit-by-pitch to make the score 6-4.
Junior Zach Christie was called upon again by Coach Hall to shut down the Rangers for the final 3 innings. To add to the excitement of the evening and barking from the opposing fans…Christie wanted to make things interesting, so he hit the first two Rangers to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. All part of the plan. The next batter would foul out to first baseman Blake Barry, followed by a strikeout looking for the second out. With the tying runs on base and 2 outs…and the opposing fan base and dugout constantly razzing the boys in green, Christie struck out the next batter to end the inning and the Ranger threat in the 4th, keeping the score 6-4.
The score would remain the same after the 5th inning with Christie again setting down the Rangers 1-2-3. Stratford would add an insurance run in the 6th to make it 7-4. Lamon led off the 6th with a single to left. Phillips and Zilafro back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Chris Johnson’s sac fly to deep second base sent Lamon home to make the score 7-4 going into the bottom of the 6th with 3 outs needed to secure the 4th win in 2 days. The Rangers would get a runner on and then follow with 2 quick outs induced by Christie. A 2-out single would bring the tying run to the plate to face Christie. The Junior left-hander proceeded to quiet the dugout, coaches, and fans with THREE strikes while the batter never moved his bat from his shoulder. THREE STRAIGHT STRIKES LOOKING. Game Over. It was a great come-from-behind victory for the Spartans to bring their weekend record to 4-0.
Highlights
vs. Laredo United Longhorns, Saturday March 8th
The final day was here and Game1 of the day was set up to be a good one. A state-ranked Laredo United squad looked to be a great matchup on paper. That was not to be the case on this day. Sparty would come out of the dugout fired up from the first pitch. Facing a crafty left-handed pitcher was nothing new for this group. In the top of the 2nd, Stratford would strike first…in a BIG way. Senior Blake Barry stepped up to the plate…after seeing 3 pitches from the United starter, Blake took a mighty swing and deposited the fast ball over the leftfield fence for his 2nd BOMB of the year to make the score 1-0 Green and IGNITING the Spartan dugout. Senior Rylan Reichenau had to follow that and did so with a sharp line-drive single to left. Junior Will McCarroll wasn’t going to be left out and followed with a single to the left side of the infield to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Then it was back to the top of the lineup with Sophomore Ryan Lamon…who would remain hot. Lamon would lace one to left and bang it off the top of the fence to score Reichenau and McCarroll, making the score 3-0. The Spartans were making a statement with their bats early with extra base hits over and off the wall! With Lamon on second, Junior Brandon Phillips walked. A ground-out put runners on 1st and 3rd. A Laredo United error scored Lamon from 3rd, making the score 4-0. Senior Chris Johnson shot a line drive to right field to make the score 5-0 at the end of the 2nd inning.
The top of the third once again saw the Spartans add 6 more runs with an offensive outburst. Singles by Barry and Reichenau and a walk by McCarroll would load the bases with no outs. Brandon Phillips would smoke a double to the left centerfield gap to clear the bases and score all three runners. Junior Matthew De Jager followed with a triple to the right fielder, scoring Phillips. Why stop at 1 triple…Chris Johnson can run too! Johnson’s line drive to the left fielder would also produce a triple, scoring De Jager. After three innings, the Spartans led the Longhorns 11-0.
Senior left-hander Ford Givens fed off the energy all game and it showed. He was unhittable, literally, during his 3 innings. Givens never allowed the Longhorns to get into a rhythm at all. He would strike out 4 over 3 innings, only allowing 1 base runner via a walk. Senior Pacer Daniel came on in relief with 2 innings of no-hit baseball and struck out 3. Together the two seniors combined to throw the Spartans' second combined NO HITTER on the short season! What a great offensive and defensive performance to run their weekend record to 5-0 with the finale still to come.
Highlights
vs. Rouse High School Raiders, Saturday March 8th
The tourney finale would be against the state-ranked Raiders from Rouse High School in Leander. As in a lot of games in the last two weeks, the Spartans would find themselves the Visitors and leading off the game. Stratford jumped out to a LOUD 1-0 lead when Senior Chris Johnson registered his first BOMB of the year over the right-field fence to make the game 1-0. Rouse would answer back quick with 2 runs in the bottom of the first to jump back out in front.
Sparty would answer back in the top half of the 2nd to tie the game at 2. Junior Zach Christie reached on a hard single to right and advanced to second on a ground-out. Christie’s speed would see him steal third and score on the next pitch that got away from the Raiders' catcher, making it 2-2. That would be all the runs the Spartans could push across on this day. Rouse proved to be too much on this final game of the weekend. Junior Jack Henry Carl deserved a better fate on this day. The big lefty was squeezed all day on calls behind the plate and was not helped out much by the Spartan defense. Carl gave Coach Hall and his squad three quality innings of work, striking out 2 and battling through defensive miscues each inning. The Spartans' bats wouldn’t wake up to answer 8 more Raider runs on this day and this one would end 2-10 to close out the weekend.
All in all a great weekend of baseball for this 2025 edition of The Varsity Stratford Spartan Baseball Team. Great baseball was played all three days with lots of lessons learned and great things to take away that will help this team the rest of the way.
Highlights
Team Bonding Event Friday, March 7th
The team stayed at a hotel in Cedar Park, and during their stay, they were also joined by the NBA G-League Sioux Falls Skyforce Basketball Team (Miami Heat Affiliate). They were in town to play an NBA G-League game against the Austin Spurs (San Antonio Affiliate). At breakfast one morning, Luke Zilafro’s mom, Jodi Zilafro, was chatting with the Skyforce manager and he extended an invite for the boys to come to the game Friday night free of charge and enjoy the action. After their Friday night game, the boys raced over to the HEB Center and joined the Sioux Falls team courtside and cheered them on. Many reported they were the only people in the arena cheering for the Skyforce!! The game went into overtime with the Skyforce winning 108-101, and the boys got to watch some great NBA G-League action! It was an awesome experience for all!
This week for the Spartans!
DISTRICT OPENING WEEK