The Thomas Jefferson Spartans
and Skyline Falcons
brought hot sticks to the Class
4A District 7 tournament, but
the Spartans had enough extra
tinder Saturday to emerge from
a 29-hit slugfest with a 13-10 victory
and a berth into the regional
round.
Seventh-seeded TJ (14-7)
knocked out 15 hits at All-City
Field and collected 12 RBIs
while the No. 23 Falcons (12-8)
posted 14 hits.
“They are resilient,” coach
Tory Humphrey said of his
Spartans. “They battled all the
way. They never gave up.”
TJ broke it open 6-0 in the
bottom of the second inning
with seven hits, including
run-scoring singles from leadoff
hitter Kian Jost and shortstop
Tyler Thornton. Jost
drove in Danny Qiu, who singled
to left, and Thornton’s
shot to left scored catcher Max
Maloney, who reached on a
fielder’s choice.
The Falcons cut the Spartans
lead in half in the top of the
third on Steve Zaruba’s
bases-loaded two-run double
down the left-field line off
left-hander Dylan Smith.
Humphrey pulled Smith after
Skyline tied it 6-6 in the top of
the fifth. With Spencer Howell
on the mound, Gabe Knapton
hit into a fielder’s choice at
shortstop, driving home Jake
Olson to give the Falcons a
short-lived 7-6 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the
Spartans regained control for
good. Qiu led off with a single.
Falcons pitcher Garrett
Lendhart walked Maloney and
Jost, and Thornton hit a
two-run single up the middle
for an 8-7 lead.
The Spartans’ Michael Mankoff
made it 10-7 on a two-run
double. Smith brought home
Mankoff on a single to center
for an 11-7 lead, and Howell
drove home Smith on a flyball
error in right field. Qui finished
the Spartans’ scoring with a
double down the left-field line,
scoring Howell to make it 13-7.
After Howell gave up three
runs in the top of the sixth and
Skyline cut its deficit to 13-10,
Humphrey called in right-hander
Brent Nathan, a sophomore
who earlier Saturday helped TJ
seal a 3-2 win over Elizabeth by
throwing 19 balls in 70 pitches.
With two outs and two runners
on, Nathan struck out Knapton
to get out of the inning.
In the top of the seventh,
Nathan struck out the first two
batters and allowed an error
and a single before striking out
Mac Lundquist to seal it.
“I felt confident and my arm
felt good,” Nathan said. “I only
threw 70 pitches in the first
game. I knew I had to be ready.”
