Spartans Continue Hot Streak

The 11U SP Baseball Academy Spartans flashed their skills with the bat and the glove during a 18-6 win over the Lake Shore Gray Sox on July 15.

With 19 hits and no errors, the team pushed their record to 18-10-1.

Caleb Murfield went 4-for-4 with four RBI’s, Jonah Lucas batted 4-for-5 with two RBI’s, and the team also had contributions from Conrad Maillard (three hits), Alex Merlino (two hits) and Logan Moran (two hits). Cooper Mengel provided a spark with his pitching and his offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI’s at the plate and surrendering no runs and just one hit in 2.1 innings on the mound.

Asked about the win, coach Chad Moran said, “We can always get better. We just tell them to play within themselves, play the game within the game, and focus on them and good things will happen.”

Good things continued to happen for the Spartans later that week. The team won the prestigious HCYP Summer Clash tournament in Ellicott City over the weekend of July 18-19. An 8-0 victory over the Canes (Virginia Beach) and a 9-8 nail-biter over AYRA Athletics put the Spartans in the final against the state’s top-ranked team, the Olney Pirates. In seven innings, the SP Baseball Academy Spartans pulled out the 12-11 win.

The team has excelled in tournament play this summer. They won the 11-team STATS Veterans Tribute tournament in Elkton, Maryland, against teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The Spartans were runners-up in the eight-team STATS Spring Shootout tournament, also in Elkton, losing the championship to Pennsylvania-based 3 Up 3 Down. The Severna Park 11U team also went 4-0 in pool play during the Fruitland End of June Sizzler tournament, making it to the semifinals.

The Spartans are Murfield, Lucas, Maillard, Merlino, Moran, Mengel, Andy Blanck, Logan Clarke, Jonah Downey, Brett Hudson, Silas Lane, Easton O’Brien and Fletcher Warner. They are coached by Chad Moran, Jeff Mengel, Eric Clarke and Cory Hudson.

The 11U SP Baseball Academy Spartans are independent from Green Hornets, which is suspended due to COVID-19. The team has two more tournaments left this season.