Thanks to a couple of victories over top-ranked Bishop Blanchet last week, the Spartans will begin the Metro League playoffs on Monday against a Sound Division opponent, most likely West Seattle or Nathan Hale.
“We’ll be on the road no matter what,” said coach Jayson Gore. “We’re excited about playing. But it will be extremely difficult, considering the competition ahead of us. And we can’t look past teams like West Seattle and Nathan Hale, who are primed for an upset. Our focus is on the first inning of game one.”
After Colin Feldtman’s arm started the process last Wednesday with a 3-0 shutout of Blanchet. Then his teammates’ bats – coupled with Kevin McCormick’s keen eye and some clutch relief pitching – completed the sweep the following day with a 6-5 win that guaranteed the Spartans a playoff spot.
In the first Blanchet game, BHS took advantage of shoddy Braves’ fielding to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Will Martin’s sacrifice fly plated one run and a Brave error scored the other.
After Bainbridge starter Colby Morse breezed through the first three innings, he tired in the fourth, which would be his final frame. Bainbridge was fortunate to get away with yielding a single run as the Braves had four hits and left the bases loaded.
“Colby’s still a little tender after some arm problems,” Gore said. “He was about 80 percent.”
Blanchet took advantage of Morse’s absence to notch four tallies in the top of the fifth, the big blow a three-run double, as they took a 5-2 lead. Bainbridge narrowed the margin to one in the home half of the inning on back-to-back homers by Feldtman and Martin.
Connor Loudon worked the sixth, giving up two singles but bearing down with runners on second and third to induce an inning-ending groundout. Spencer Eager was equally effective in the seventh. Two singles and a wild pitch put runners on second and third, but Eager fanned the next two batters to keep the deficit at one.
Bainbridge wasted no time when they came to bat. Feldtman led off with an infield single and Martin blasted a double to left. Morse’s sharp single up the middle plated Feldtman and Tanner Bogardus received an intentional walk to load the bases. With the infield drawn in, a fielder’s choice cut down Martin at the plate and brought up McCormick.
The key moment came in the fifth. With the count 2-2, McCormick took the next two pitches for balls and the celebration was on.
The Spartans added a bit of window dressing Monday by overwhelming Nathan Hale 12-2. They scored five runs in the second and six more in the third to put the game away. Feldtman gave up just two hits and one earned run while striking out eight and not issuing a single walk.
The Spartans had 14 hits, one a home run by Martin. They also had a statistical oddity with three triples: one each by Morse, Feldtman and Mike Callahan. Callahan also had three RBIs.
