As the young baseball season keeps rolling, the Spartans hit a minor speed bump in losing to Vianney. After starting the season with a win over the No. 6 team in the state, Parkway Central, the team found itself on the short end of a 7-5 game, in which the score seemed to bounce back and forth.

At the beginning of the bottom of the fourth, the score read 1-0 Francis Howell Central; however, a four-run bottom to the inning rendered a comeback scenario for the Spartans. With the score standing at 4-1 Vianney, the Spartans started their comeback, scoring two runs in the next half inning. The score stood at 4-3 until the bottom of the sixth inning, where Vianney took a more commanding lead after scoring three more runs pushing their advantage to 7-3. In the top of the seventh inning, the Spartans had but one chance to extend the game, and, although they were able to squeak out two more runs, they lost the game 7-5. Senior Kevin Griffith started the game on the mound and pitched five strong innings, leaving the game with the score at 4-3.

As the season progresses, the Spartans look to continue their growth as a team. Their young roster is taking this time to grow as players, but they feel that the team chemistry is great thus far.

“I didn’t think that the team would play as well as we do together,” said sophomore centerfield Zach Isham. “With so many younger players seeing game time, I thought the seniors and juniors would be angry and make it harder on us, but they have been great so far, and I think that is why we have been somewhat successful so far.”