Baseball is Unstoppable

The Thomas Jefferson baseball team defeated the East Angels and the Eaglecrest Raptors over the past weekend.

Photo by Mia Nogueira

The Spartan baseball team seems nearly unstoppable at this point in the season and looks to be in top form with only three regular season games left. In the rivalry grudge match against the East Angels, the Spartans proved their dominance and displayed for all of the state to see that this year’s team is one to be reckoned with.

As has been the case throughout the season, excellent pitching was the key to the Spartans’ victory. Senior Kyle Freeland pitched an absolute gem in this one, allowing only two runs in six innings and racking up 12 strikeouts against a tough East batting lineup. With these 12 additional strikeouts, Kyle is now only 13 strikeouts and three games away from passing the State record for strikeouts in a single season, which would be a momentous accomplishment for Kyle and TJ Baseball. The final score for this game was a TJ win at 15-2.

In the game against Eaglecrest, the story of the win comes from the Spartans’ work at the plate instead of on the mound. The team came up big early, driving in 9 runs in the first inning alone. Seniors Kyle Freeland and Austin Hearne were each responsible for three of the Spartans 19 total runs and both hit one out of the park to seal the deal against the Raptors. Also, Freshman standout Cooper Bowermaster had an impressive game at the plate, with two runs and two RBI’s. This one ended early with an absolutely commanding final score of 19-9.

“It feels great to be winning this big against two very good 5A teams. It just means we need to continue to work hard and prove our worth for playoffs, so the game against GW [George Washington] is certainly a must-win,” said Senior Mitch Mankoff. The game will be on Friday, April 29th at 4:15 pm. With only three regular season games left, it is important to catch the guys in action before the season is over, so be sure to see this one.