Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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Following Coach Koch's directions, Junior Mike Strultolino leaves third base in a cloud of dust alter sliding. Coach Koch did a great job, said Mike. He did a lot better than every- one expected. With Third Baseman Craig Singley and Pitcher Kent Hudson looking on, Junior Jeff Fondon throws the Spring Woods runner out at first. We had a great time this year, said Kent. We helped each other out a lot during the games. Taking the throw from the catcher, Second Baseman Jett Fondon attempts to tag the Tiger runner out. The Spartans lost to Spring Woods 7- 5, Throwing a strike to catcher John Ault, Senior Kent Hudson pitches to a Westchester batter. The Spartans ended up winning the game by a score of 5-4. ! . . .Q ..-V , ,, ,,c.....m-.....sf.w1 Mm .,., of ' VM- 'r-M' ww K M ,, K .W -K a K, Waiting lor the ball, Junior Mike Struffolino takes the throw from third baseman Craig Singley, easily beating the runner. varsity baseball 141

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7 .X V... ...F ., -kit.. ass- .. .. -. .- ..t.r..,,,,,, .. X.. N, r if piffi 1.s:f,fx.z,, ,. ..f . - ms g., . Wx-'F -ws? is - wr, . get 7, f. Koch takes control Despite playing with a relatively young team, the Varsity Baseball team finished the year with a 13-12 record. With new coach Gary Koch, the team was picked to finish next to last in district, but instead ended up 7-7 in third place. The Spartans also beat Westchester two out of the three times the teams met, and upset Hastings, who was undefeated in the first half of district, 2-1 in their second meeting. Senior Shortstop Bryan Luciani was the leading hitter for the season 1.3465 and district 1.4225. Chris Larkin was second in hitting for the season 1.3445 and third in district 1.297, and Jose Garriga was the third hitter for the season 1.3335 and second in district 1.3675. Senior Kent Hudson was the leading pitcher with a 5-4 season record, a 3-2 district record, and a1.81 ERA, Sophomore Colby Ward was second with a 1-5 season record, 1-2 district record and a 3.26 ERA, and Junior Greg New was third with a 6-2 season record, 3-2 in district, and a 3.27 ERA. lt was a very interesting year, said Varsity Coach Gary Koch. They learned a lot, and l learned a lot. There was a great deal of improvement. l'd say the high points of the season were going 4-1 over the Easter break and winning our last two games. The first round district scores were as follows: Spring Branch, 3-4, Elsik, 5-0, Westchester, 5- 4, Northbrook, 3-4, Spring Woods, 2-Og Hastings, 9-11 g and Memorial, 2-1. The second half scores in district were as follows: Spring Branch, 1-11, Spring Woods, 5- 7, Westchester, 3-8, Elsik, 5-Og Northbrook, 3-105 Hastings, 2-1, and Memorial, 4-3. lt was a pretty good year, said Senior Kent Hudson. We did better in the beginning of the year than we did later. A lot of times we would get the pitching and not the hitting or the hitting and not the pitching. We weren't very consistent. We didn't have all the talent that last year's team had, but we had better pitchers and hitters. We had a good time, and Coach Koch was a good all around coach. I'd say the best part of our year was beating Westchester two out of three times, said Junior First Baseman Mike Struffolino. We did a lot better than everyone expected us to do, and Coach Koch helped us get there. I think we'll have a great team next year. lt was a good year, said Junior Greg New, but it could have been better. Coach Koch did a greatjob. Next year we'lI have a good team because everyone will be back. We proved to everyone that Coach Koch can coach on the varsity level, said Brian Luciani, Co-Most Valuable Player of the team. We had ou toughest games against Spring Branch. They physically intimidated us, and we got clobbered. The high point of our season was beating Hastings. We were very proud to finish third. We were as good as I expected, said Jose Garriga, the team's other Co-Most Valuable Player. Coach Koch was a good coach because he let you play the way you wanted to play. The high point of my season was hitting a homerun. You have to hit one to know how it feels. 1copy continued on page 142 140 varsity baseball

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Spartans take third The year went better than we thought it would, said Catcher Chris Larkin. The best part of our year was beating Hastings the second time. We had played them close the first time, and the second time we came back to beat them. Next year we will be good. We should be picked first, second, or third. Taking a big swing at the bali, Junior Chris Larkin takes his turn at bat against Spring Woods. We had a good season this year, said Chris, and we did a lot better than we expected. Catching a pop up in foul territory, Junior Mike Struffolino moves the Spartans one out closer to victory. The Spartans beat the Rams 5-0. 142 varsity baseball W.. M ,WW ,iw .aw W W f Ja 'fr ' .M 49-ff M' it . . ,. . , y , V, W 1 ,Q A ta. Y . M as rv' -' y,,t.1Q,', Q,Q.i+.4f JZQQL: tt' r. . . f C. i r at I ' VV W .. W VV . in W f ...if pw' I A an 1+ Maw: : r MW, . ff rrff , ,, . W... .,,t .. ,,.,,i.j 5 N 5 r 5' 1:.MiWi H I 'rw' . 5 , f. W V y,,,,i tr. Vwygiygy rr . 'MQW ' ' . .. ,rw ., i' . , ' z, r I ' A ' ' V ik' it rs,, Q r wr JH , t, ' 'K' Q.. A . - E.. ef A