Sparta baseball suffers losses to Altoona, Richland Center

The Sparta baseball team started the week with back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday. The team’s first opponent was Altoona on Monday, April 11 with a game against Richland Center the following day.

The Spartans were still looking for that first win of the season with Altoona making the trip to Sparta.

By the end of the third inning, Sparta saw themselves down 7-2. Altoona went on to score four more runs, while the Spartans only able to muster up two runs in the remaining four innings. The Railroaders defeated Sparta 11-4 for the Spartans’ third loss of the season.

Sparta was only able to snag six hits in the game. All the hits were done by six different players. Sparta pitching gave up 13 hits to Altoona. The Spartan pitchers also gave up three walks and only had one strikeout. The 11 runs given up would mark the third time Sparta has given up 11 runs in a game.

Sparta needed to turn things around quickly with a game against Richland Center the next day, as the team traveled to Richland Center for their first road game of the season Tuesday.

It was another fast start for a Spartan opponent with Richland Center up 3-0 after one. Sparta never had an answer. The Hornets would defend their home field with an 11-1 win.

The Spartan hitters didn’t see much success at the plate, only having four hits in the five-inning game. Sparta pitching gave up 14 hits to Richland Center batters.

Now 0-4 on the season, the Spartans are looking for some success and that first win. The team has given up 11 or more runs in all of their losses this season. The Spartans have been outscored 49-13 in those four losses.

The team looks to turn things around with a matchup against conference rival Onalaska this Thursday. The first pitch is at 4:30 pm.