Spartans Fall In Close Battle With St. Francis

ST. FRANCIS — Riding an impressive 10-game winning streak with a few weeks left in the regular season, the ROCORI Spartans opened a new week by hitting the road to face St. Francis on Monday, May 12 at St. Francis High School.

ROCORI, however, couldn't overcome a five-run inning from St. Francis in the second inning, attempting to climb back into the game late but ultimately falling in the nonconference matchup, 5-3.

The Spartans got on the board in the top of the second frame, plating two runs to grab a 2-0 advantage. After falling behind after two innings, ROCORI tallied another run in the top of the sixth but couldn't quite complete a comeback.

Cal Heying led the way for the Spartans at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBI to go along with three steals. Zander Folkerts added one hit, two runs scored and two steals, while Jace Griffin and Jake Stalboerger each tallied one hit a piece.

Stalboerger pitched the first 1.1 innings for ROCORI, giving up three hits and five runs. Nolan VanLoy tossed the final 4.2 innings of the game, giving up just one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out four.

With the loss, the Spartans fall to 11-3 overall on the season and remain 7-2 in Central Lakes Conference play. Next up for ROCORI is a conference battle on the road against Alexandria on Thursday, May 15 in a showdown between two of the top teams in the CLC.