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The Spartans baseball squad got things started on Thursday in Kanab, taking on the Providence Hall Patriots. Emery scored in the first inning, but then their bats went cold as the Patriots earned a 6-2 victory.

The Spartans finished last season 12-19 overall, going 4-10 in region play. Last season, they made it through the first couple of rounds of the 3A State Championships but met the Canyon View Falcons, losing to them as the Falcons went on to win it all.

In the first inning, the Spartans came out and kept Providence Hall off the board, going very quickly through the top half. In the bottom half, Beau Stilson hit a single to the second baseman to get on base. Peyton Nielson was up next and was hit by a pitch to get on base. Trygg Jensen would hit into a fielder’s choice but would advance the runners, and the next batter up, Tyce Larsen, hit a fly ball to left field, scoring Stillson to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The next batter up was Ben Johansen, who would strike out, but not before Nielson would score on an error by the third baseman. The Spartans would end the inning with a 2-0 lead.

The Spartans and the Patriots would go scoreless in the second, but in the third, Providence Hall would tie things up. Emery would struggle on offense as the bats would fall silent. The Patriots added another run in the fifth and then three more in the seventh, closing out the Spartans 6-2.

Stilson would go 2-3 in the contest, scoring one run. Braxton Royse went 1-1, and Easton Stoker went 1-2. Nielson scored the other run in the loss for Emery.

The Spartans used three pitchers on the mound in this game. Stilson got the start, going three innings, giving up three hits with two earned runs and four strikeouts. Stoker went 3.2 innings with a hit, four earned, and 3 Ks, and Nielsen closed it out with a hit and a strikeout.

Emery will head back to the diamond on Friday for a pair of games. Up first is a meeting with the Morgan Trojans at  1:00 p.m. They will face Gunnison Valley shortly after that game ends at 3:30 p.m.