The Orinda Spartans played a long weekend of tough competition. The Spartans hosted the undefeated Tassajaro Crushers in a doubleheader on Saturday and took on the second place Brentwood Blast in a doubleheader on Sunday.
The Spartans could not compete with the Crushers and fell 9-4 and 13-4 but rebounded for a split on Sunday winning10-9 and falling 14-12. After the weekend the Spartans are 13-8 on the season with only one regular season game to go.
On Saturday, in the second game, the Spartans took a 4-0 lead into the fifth inning in game two. Orinda scored early when Will McConnell singled, followed by a titanic blast off the bat of clean-up hitter Andrew Deaver, for an early 2-0 lead. Two innings later, Tyler Larsen drove in two runners in with a double off the right field wall to multiply the Spartans lead by two, 4-0.
Kronenberg started on the hill for Orinda and held the Crushers scoreless for four innings, allowing three hits and three walks in the process. Momentum shifted following a dispute between managers, the umpire and a player. The Crushers scored four times in the inning to tie the game.
The wheels fell off for the Spartans in the final two innings as the Crushers rallied for seven runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to steal a 13-4 victory.
Orinda played well on Sunday, in spite of Brentwood's outstanding second place league record. In game one, Zachary Wong started for the Spartans. Wong threw five full innings, while allowing only one run and four hits in the process. He did not walk a single batter and struck out five.
In the bottom of the second inning, Wong singled up the middle with two outs and Anderson tripled off the wall in left center field to drive in Wong. Nyman then singled home Anderson to give the Spartans the early 2-0 lead. When the Blast scored their only run off Wong in the third inning, the score was 2-1. But right fielder Danny Ritelli started a rally in the bottom of the fourth that doubled the Spartans lead, 4-2.
The score was 4-2 as the Spartans came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning when they appeared to blow this one open with five runs on eight hits to take a commanding 9-2 lead heading into the seventh and final inning. The Blast came back in the seventh and scored seven runs to tie the game 9-9.
Stehr opened the bottom of the seventh with a lead-off walk. Hoxie hit the first pitch he saw into left field to drive in Stehr for the winning run. The final score was Orinda 10, Brentwood 9.
After five innings in game two, Orinda held a very comfortable 12-5 lead. But the Blast staged an impressive comeback in game two, scoring three times in the sixth and six more times in the seventh to take a 14-12 lead.
The Spartans next play on Wednesday, when they face off against the Lafayette Generals in their final league game of the season, at 5:30 p.m. at Wagner.
The Spartans could not compete with the Crushers and fell 9-4 and 13-4 but rebounded for a split on Sunday winning10-9 and falling 14-12. After the weekend the Spartans are 13-8 on the season with only one regular season game to go.
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA