After beating Montbello, TJ faced a tougher test against the Standley Lake Gators.
TJ baseball in the dugout between innings. Photo by Ed Gloor
On Tuesday, April 10th, TJ got a major boost from starter Brandon Gonzales and beat the Montbello Warriors 6-3 to move to 5-0 in the DPS League.
The game was originally supposed to be played at TJ’s field, but a water pipe burst and the game was forced to All-City Field. Junior Utility Man Issac Manzanares said, “We were in the mind set to play at our field, then everything changed. That’s why we didn’t swing the sticks too well in the beginning.” Manzanares was right because TJ was down 3-2 after the fourth inning and needed some inspiration to get the offense going. The fifth inning went completely scoreless and the odds were beginning to turn against the Spartans.
Sophomore Sean Kelley was pitching for TJ and shut down the Warriors in the fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the sixth inning TJ finally showed some heart and scored four runs to get to 6-3. Senior Evan Walter didn’t have his best game of the year but still brought in another RBI for the season. Sophomore Center Fielder Sam Reed was the offensive hero for TJ brining in 2 RBIs with one hit. Junior James Dipaulo closed the game for TJ’s seventh overall win and fifth in League.
TJ’s next game was against Standley Lake, and the Spartans failed to find any offense and lost by a final score of 1-0.
Standley Lake’s Seth Spiva pitched masterfully against the Spartans by going almost the complete game only to come one out short. He allowed four baserunners all game with two hits and two walks. Every time TJ found themselves starting something, Spiva would get a big strikeout or groundout. The Spartans played very ineffective small ball and couldn’t muster any runners to cross homeplate. Junior catcher Zack Robinson said, “We had two really close plays at the plate and didn’t get either call. It’s a game of inches.”
TJ’s next game is against North on April 16th, at North. North is 10-3 on the season and the Spartan’s closest competitor to win league.
Mar. 8 L vs. Golden 10-4
Mar. 10 W vs. Gateway 16-3
Mar. 13 W vs. Aurora Central 19-0
Mar. 17 L vs. Creek 10-0
Mar. 20 W @ South 15-2
Mar. 22 L @ Ralston Valley 15-10
Mar. 23 W @ Denver West 21-9
Mar. 30 L @ Eaglecrest 7-4
Apr. 4 W vs. Lincoln 15-5
Apr. 6 W vs. Kennedy 15-5
Apr. 9 L @ Lakewood 14-0
Apr.10 W vs. Montbello 6-3
Apr. 13 vs. L Standley Lake 1-0
Apr. 16 @ Denver North @ 4 p.m.
Apr. 20 vs. Denver East @ 4 p.m.
Apr. 24 @ Northglenn @ 4 p.m.
Apr. 27 @ George Washington @ 4 p.m.
May 5 @ Prairie View @ 11 a.m.
May 7 vs. Mountain View @ 4 p.m.
