Stratford Sophomore Spartans vs. Cypress Ridge Freshman Rams, Wednesday, April 16th

Giving 6 different players a chance to pitch, the Stratford Sophomore Spartans came up with a big win against Cy Ridge. The first pitcher was Sophomore team captain, Westy Bennett, who did his job with only 9 pitches for a very quick 3-up and 3-down inning, including great defense on 3 ground outs in the field. Stratford got on the board in the bottom of the 1st when a walk by Clayton Croley and a ground ball reached on error by Callen Corley scored in Croley. (And no fans, that is not a typo, but try not to get C. Croley and C. Corley confused when reading GameChanger.) The first relief pitcher in the 2nd inning was Andrew Williams, who also pitched only 9 pitches for another 3-up and 3-down inning in part due to great pitching and great defense with three straight outs in the field, two made by 2nd baseman Corley.

The bottom of the second inning was when Stratford’s offense really came alive, scoring 6 runs! The inning began when Joel Torres was hit by pitch, and then Jackson Seel crushed a ball to left field for a double. After a Cy Ridge pitcher balk scored in Torres, Carlos Perez hit a line drive to the left field gap for a single, scoring in Seel. Then a Croley walk and a George Fletcher hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Luke Carl, who singled to left field, scoring in both Perez and Croley. Then a ground out by Corley scored in Fletcher and advanced Carl to third.

Finally, the 6th and final run of the inning was when Lance Picott singled to deep left field, scoring in Carl. At the top of the 3rd, the Spartans' next relief pitcher was Nate Sandidge, who only needed 5 pitches to end the inning, assisted by a beautifully executed 4-6-3 double play by Corley, Seel, and Torres. The Spartan offense continued in the bottom of the third tacking on 2 more runs. Torres began the inning by getting hit by a pitch again. With a runner on base, Seel had his second double of the day. Perez followed that up with a sac fly to left field that scored Torres. Croley continued his strong day at the plate with a single to right field, scoring in Seel.

By the top of the 4th, when Jack Lasseigne swiftly got 3 strikeouts in relief, the score was Stratford 9 and Cypress Ridge 0. Stratford added one more run in the bottom of the 4th when an error on a double play scored Luke Carl. Hudson Good came on in relief in the top of the 5th, and unfortunately, the Cy Ridge offense finally woke up and scored 2 runs, but with an 8-run lead, it was not too impactful. Gus Green also came on in relief in that inning and secured the final two outs. Despite the 8-run lead, the Stratford Spartans were not satisfied and scored two final runs in the bottom of the 5th, for a final score of Stratford 12 and Cy Ridge 2.

Stratford Sophomore Spartans vs. Cypress Ridge Freshman Rams, Wednesday, April 16th

In the Spartans' final home game of the year, another team effort in the second game against Cy Ridge led to a dominant victory. Starting pitcher Luke Carl only faced 3 batters in the first inning, thanks to great pitching and the defense of Gus Green and Jack Lasseigne, who completed a clean double play. The Spartan offense came out strong in the bottom of the first inning. The inning started with a few errors by Cy Ridge, allowing 2 Spartans to reach base, so when Jackson Fleming singled on a line drive to center field, he was able to score a run. Then a single by Westy Bennett scored Fleming. Immediately after Bennett, Jack Lasseigne doubled to left field. Hudson Good then walked, which loaded the bases for Nate Sandidge, who had a clutch bases-clearing double to score Bennett, Lasseigne, and Good.

After the first inning, the score was Stratford 6 and Cy Ridge 0. Clayton Croley was the second relief pitcher who had 3 strikeouts to end the top of the 2nd inning. The Stratford Sophomore Spartans continued the 2nd inning as dominant as they were in the 1st by scoring an additional 7 runs. Connor Roe, Gus Green, Westy Bennett, Hudson Good, Nate Sandidge, Carlos Perez, and Andrew Williams all had hits leading to the 7 runs. After only two innings, the score was 13 Stratford and 0 Cy Ridge. Jackson Seel was the next relief pitcher in the third inning, throwing 3 strikeouts and allowing no runs. The bottom of the third inning added two more runs for the Spartans when Jackson Fleming singled, Gus Green reached base on error, and Jack Lasseigne singled to right field, scoring Fleming. Finally, a fly ball by Nate Sandidge scored Green. Joel Torres was the next relief pitcher in the 4th inning with a clean three-up and three-down inning. The Spartans added 2 more runs in the bottom of the 4th with singles from Green and Bennett, and errors were committed by Cy Ridge. Bennett led the team with 4 RBIs on three hits on the day. Stratford had no shortage of power hitting as Perez, Lasseigne, Sandidge, and Bennett all had doubles. Clay Emery was the final relief pitcher in the game. The final score was Stratford 17 and Cy Ridge 2.

Stratford Sophomores are now 10-1 in District play and hope to continue their winning ways against in-town rival Memorial. Bragging rights are not the only thing on the line, as the winners of the games will be District Champions! So come out to MHS this Wednesday at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm to root on our Sophomore Spartans! Go Spartans! Beat Memorial!