It was an eventful week for the Spartans as they brought their record to 12-15, taking on Westco, a doubleheader in Spearfish and competing in the Sturgis Tourney.
The Spartans kicked off the week against the Westco Zephyrs, where the game ended with an eighth inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Kaden Ferguson drew a walk, scoring one run, where he tied the game up at nine.
Spartan Caeson Clarke batted in the bottom of the eighth, where he doubled on a 0-1 count, scoring a run and winning the game for the Spartans. Jakob Callan started the game for Alliance, where he allowed eight hits and six runs over four innings striking two people out and walking one.
Ross then subbed in as the winning pitcher for Alliance, where he lasted four innings and allowed one hit and three runs, and struck out seven Zephyrs.
The Spartans tallied 13 hits, with Brantz Halouska, Jakob Callan, Caeson Clarke and Kellen Muhr all managing to get multiple hits for the Spartans. Jakob Callan and Brantz Halouska each collected three hits to lead Alliance to their Victory over Westco.
The Spartans then went to a doubleheader in Spearfish on June 15, winning their first game and losing their second. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Spartans came out on top with a score of 4-1. Landen Crowe earned the win for Alliance, where he surrendered one run on five hits, striking out two over seven innings. Garza went two for three on the plate to lead the Spartans in hits. In the Spartans’ second game, they caught a loss with a score of 1-5, where they watched the game slip away early and could not recover. Kellen Muhr took the loss for the Spartans, where he lasted four innings and allowed four hits, three runs and struck out three. Mario Garza and Kaden Ferguson each had one hit to lead Alliance.
The Spartans then traveled to Sturgis to compete in the Sturgis Tourney from June 17-19, where they won two and lost two. In the tournament’s first game, they shut out the Billings Expos 0-4. Nick Wright didn’t allow a single run. Wright was credited for the victory for The Spartans, where he went seven innings, allowing zero runs on four hits, and he struck out four and walked one. Caeson Clarke, Espen Lanik, Tony Escamilla, Kellen Muhr, Tyzen Brown, Ashton Ross and Mario Garza all had one hit apiece to lead the Spartans.
The Spartans’ second game of the tournament was against Winner/Colome Legion, where the Spartans fell behind early and ended up losing with a close score of Spartans one, Winner two. Ashton Ross took the loss for Alliance. He lasted four innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out three. Ross and Eli Blanco all had one hit to lead The Spartans. The Spartans didn’t make a single error in the field, where Eli Blanco had the most chances for a total of six.
On the second day of the tournament, the Spartans redeemed themselves with a big fifth inning, putting up five runs that led them to a victory over the Valor Vikings with a final score of Alliance seven, Vikings one. Jakob Callan was the winning pitcher for the Spartans, where he went for five innings, only allowing one run on four hits. He struck out six and walked one. Tyzen Brown went two for three at the plate to lead Alliance in hits. The Spartans didn’t commit a single error on the field. Mario Garza had the most chances in the field with seven chances.
The Spartans’ final game of the tournament was against Sturgis. The Spartans let the game get away early and couldn’t recover, taking a loss with a final score of Alliance one, Sturgis five. Kellen Muhr took the loss for Alliance, where he went four innings, allowing five runs on six runs and striking out two. Caeson Clarke led Alliance with two hits in three at bats. The Spartans’ record for the week was 4-3, where they came out with a winning record.