ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
Richfield came to town on Monday to take on the Spartans in a doubleheader. Emery made its presence felt in Game 1, scoring multiple runs in every frame. Ty Stilson led off the bottom of the first with a triple and Wade Stilson brought him home on his RBI double. Gannon Ward and Jace Magnum then hit RBI singles, making it 3-0 before the first out was recorded. Trevin Wakefield followed suite as the Spartans struck for four runs in the first.
That would be all the support Wakefield needed as we was excellent on the mound. He pitched five innings of two-hit ball, gave up one unearned run and struck out four batters. The offensive attack continued from the Emery side with three runs in the second, two in the third and three more in the fourth. Emery closed out the game in five innings with a 12-1 beatdown over the Wildcats.
Ty had a superb day at the plate, going 3-4 with two doubles and a triple. The RBI leaders were Ward and Magnum with three apiece while Wakefield helped his own cause with two ribbies.
The teams then regrouped and prepared for the second contest. Richfield came out with a vengeance and quickly scored four runs. Not to be outdone, the Spartans strung five singles together in the bottom half and matched the Wildcats’ total to even up the score. Each respective pitcher then settled in on the mound as the game headed toward the later stages.
In the fourth, the bottom of the order came through for the Spartans when Easton Nielson hit a one-out triple to center. Ty then made a production out with an RBI groundout to give Emery the edge, 5-4. It was Richfield’s turn to counter punch as Ross got a hold of a 2-1 pitch and sent it over the left field fence for a home run, tying the game at five.
Fast forward to the bottom of the sixth where Emery had runners on the corners with two outs. Nielson stole second to put himself in scoring position before Ty came through once more with a two-RBI single. Ryker Jensen came in to close out the seventh and pitched around a leadoff single to pick up the save. The Spartans pulled off the comeback to sweep the Wildcats 7-5.
Oakley Alton picked up the win on the mound. He pitched six innings and gave up five runs off seven hits and four walks. He certainly regrouped after a rough first inning and gave his team a chance to mount a comeback. At the plate, Jensen went 2-3 with an RBI as did Wakefield. Nielson finished 2-3 with a triple while Ty went 2-4 with three ribbies.
After a home, non-region game with Union (7-8) on Tuesday, the Spartans (10-7, 5-3) will travel to Richfield (6-12, 1-4) on Wednesday for the series finale.