By Jose Briseno- Castle Country Radio
Today marked a new beginning for the Emery Spartans as they played their first game on their brand new baseball field. The Spartans put on a show for their fans in attendance as they inaugurated their field with an 11-0 throttling of Providence Hall.
Emery got things start in the bottom of the first inning, wasting no time to catch fire early. Tyler Stilson was able to reach base before Wade Stilson drove a ball for a ground rule double. Gannon Ward then stepped up and hit a sacrifice fly that scored Tyler Stilson from second and advanced Wade Stilson to third. The next batter, Jace Mangum hit another sacrifice fly to bring in Wade and give the Spartans a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
After being held scoreless in the bottom of the second, the Spartans exploded for an eight-run third inning. Wade Stilson, Gannon Ward and Jace Mangum all reached base to load the bases with no outs before Ryker Jensen reached base on a fielder’s choice to drive in a run. Ward then stole home on a throw back to the pitcher to score the second run of the inning. Oakley Alton then drove in a run before Sean Rogers roped a two-run triple. Gannon Ward stepped up for his second at-bat of the inning to hit a two-run double to right field to score the eight run of the inning. The Spartans led 10-0 after the third inning.
Trevin Wakefield scored on an error as Oakley Alton attempted to steal second base to make the score 11-0 after the bottom of the fourth.
The lead would prove to be enough as the Emery pitchers never waivered in the five run affair.
Tyler Stilson got the start on the bump for the Spartans. Stilson threw a solid four innings and only allowed three hits. He had five strikeouts and did not give up a single run or walk to the Patriots. In the fourteen batters he faced, Stilson threw just 51 pitches and an efficient 34 strikes to 17 balls.
Gannon Ward replaced Tyler Stilson to close out the game. In the top of the fifth, Ward efficiently retired all three batters consecutively on just seventeen pitches. He also had a strikeout today as he finished the 11-run route of Providence Hall.
With the win, Emery moves to 8-7 on the year and remain at 3-3 in Region 12 play. Upcoming for the Spartans, next week they will remain home on Monday, Apr. 11 to hose the Richfield Wildcats in a Region 12 doubleheader. First pitch will be thrown at 2:00 pm from the new Spartan Baseball Complex.