Spartans go 5-1 since the Valor Christian Collapse
TJ baseball has been on a roll since being blown out by Valor Christian. photo by Kevin Fleming
The first game of this six game streak was a win against the Eaglecrest Falcons. TJ was led on the mound by ace Brennan Henry who had a dominant performance. Henry allowed only a handful of hits, and was able to strike out four in the Spartan win. The key play in the game was suicide squeezed plays with both Junior D’Shawn Turner, and Senior Sam Thomas. The Spartans won the game by a final score of 5-4.
The varsity took the field against North to finish off a game that was postponed earlier in the month due to a horrid rain/snow storm. At the time the game was postponed, the Spartans were trailing seven to five. However, by the end of the rescheduled game, the Spartans outscored the Vikings nine to four en route to a 14-11 victory. The road to winning was not as easy as everyone thought. The Vikings scored four runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding eleven to five lead. The offensive leader was Sophomore Kyle Freeland, who contributed with two hits and four RBI’s. Junior Chris Needham also helped the cause by adding two hits of his own. The pitcher for the Spartans was Brennan Henry, and although he did not have a pretty stat line, he did pick up the win. “Whether I pitched great or not, I got the win, and that is all that matters,” commented Henry.
The Spartans played the following day against bitter rival East, and needless to say the game was worth the price of admission. Freeland had a gutsy pitching performance, but unfortunately for him his offense struggled to get hits and ultimately that is the reason for their demise. The defense struggled in the sixth, allowing four unearned runs. Freshman Trevor Thornton led the Spartans offense with two hits. Six other Spartans also recorded a hit each. East finally won the game 6-2. “We played well innings one through five, but the last two innings we struggled. We had a few defensive lapses, and I feel like that really hurt us,” said Freeland.
The Spartans next played the West Cowboys who proved to be no match for the Spartans, as TJ easily won the game 20-0. Sophomore Chris Van Dyke pitched great, throwing a one hit complete game. Van Dyke also contributed with the bat, knocking two home runs. Freshman Evan Walter also hit his first career varsity home run, and also a scorching triple. “It really felt nice to hit a home run, I’m also just glad that we got the victory,” commented Walter.
The fourth game in as many days for the Spartans could not have gone any better. The Spartans hosted the South Rebels, who just were not able to stop the Spartans in any facets of the game. The Spartans sent Junior Michael Michaelotti to the hill to make his first start of his career. Michaelotti was on top of his game, as he allowed only one hit through four innings pitched. Michaelotti also struck out six batters. “ We played a good game; this is what TJ baseball is all about. Hopefully this will give us momentum going forward,“ commented Van Dyke. The Spartans were able to get everyone into the game for the second consecutive game. Every single player also reached base at least once.
Playing their fifth straight game, many might think that the Spartans would be a little fatigued, but that assumption could not have been more wrong. The Spartans looked energized in their thrashing of Arvada High School, 10-0. The Spartans received a nice pitching performance by catcher-turned-pitcher Robbie Folk, who pitched three hit baseball through five innings. Folk also punched out seven at the plate. The Spartans offense looked magical, drawing seven walks as well as executing on stolen base attempts. Offensive leaders for the Spartans included Thomas, and sophomores Freeland and Van Dyke who all had two hits apiece. “Everyone seemed to be doing well; this was a good win for us,” said Van Dyke.
The Spartans will look to continue their winning streak when they play next at Gateway at 4:15 on Tuesday, April 27.
