The Emporia High Spartans hosted a late season tournament over the weekend bringing in a handful of teams from around Kansas. The two teams they faced were Mill Valley and then St. Thomas Aquinas.

Game one was against Mill Valley, and Colton Eubanks got the start on the mound. Both teams couldn’t get anything going in the first two innings as both were held scoreless. Then the Jaguars broke through in the third and fourth innings, scoring three runs in both innings to take a 6-0 lead. The Spartans got a run back in the bottom of the fourth after Luke Marshall scored on a Jaguar error, but it would be the only run scored for the Spartans.

The Jaguars added six more runs in the sixth inning to close out the first game 14-1. Eubanks was tagged with the loss after three and a third innings pitched, allowing six runs (two earned), four hits, walking three, and striking out four. The Spartans had three hits all from the top of the order as Oliver Kline, Micah Gray, and Grady Howe had a hit each.

Game two against St. Thomas Aquinas saw Chase Harrington get the start for the Spartans. After a scoreless first inning from both teams, the Saints broke through for two in the second inning, three in the third, and two more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. The Spartan bats were held to one hit on the day, courtesy of Howe, and four walks, and couldn’t scratch a run across. The Saints scored four more runs in the sixth to run rule the Spartans 11-0.

Harrington got the loss after two and a third innings of work, allowing five runs (one earned), three hits, walking one, and striking out two. Despite the losses, there were some good takeaways from the games.

“There were some bright spots despite the scores. I thought Friday night Colton pitched another quality game only giving up 2 earned runs,” Head Coach Anthony Markowitz said. “I thought we competed at the plate and had quality at bats, just struggled to score against a good team.”

The Spartans did play two teams that were 21-4, Mill Valley, and 17-6, St. Thomas Aquinas, so it was two tough opponents. They had a good approach at the plate, but couldn’t fully take advantage of their opportunities against either team. Something Markowitz explained needs to be worked on.

“I don’t think we should necessarily look at anything drastic that needs to be addressed. We need to continue to get better and scoring runners when we have them in position,” Markowitz said. “We had good at bats for the most part, but we will have to get big hits against good teams to win.”

With the losses, the Spartans fell to 8-12 on the season and has two more series against Topeka High and Wichita Southeast. They host Topeka on May 12 and travel to Wichita Southeast on May 15 to close out the regular season. Markowitz gave his thoughts on the final stretch and what his team needs to do to finish strong before regionals.

“Just continue to get better all around. Other than giving up free bases in game two [against St. Thomas Aquinas] there were bright spots. We just have to compete and get big hits heading into regionals,” Markowitz said.