Lions Sports Update (4/22)

BASEBALL
The varsity baseball team opened its week of Ft. Worth-based counter contests on Tuesday, hosting perennial North Zone powerhouse Ft. Worth Country Day. After a misplayed ball in the OF staked the Falcons with a three-run lead in the first, the Lions settled down and played an intensely competitive game. Starting pitcher Deven Pietrzak bolstered the defense, throwing an impressive 70 strikes on 104 pitches while battling the potent FWCD offense. Jackson Ostella led the offense with one hit and two RBIs, while Jackson Williams and Jake DeBoever collected hits as well. The patient Lions offense manufactured four runs on the day but fell short as the game concluded in a 6-4 win for the North Zone-leading Falcons. St. Mark’s traveled to Trinity Valley on Thursday for a 6:00 pm start. Although heavy traffic delayed the Lions and limited their warm-up time, the players were unphased and jumped out to an early lead after William Everitt’s smashed double to LF plated John Stephen Hohmann. Jake Deboever (2H, 2 RBIs, 2 stolen bases) broke the game open with a two-run double to LF in the top of the fourth, scoring William Everitt and Alex Dahlander. In a brilliant performance, Lucas Petrikas (7IP, 3H, 0ER, 0 BB) struck out twelve Trojan batters as he cruised to a complete game victory, with St. Mark’s downing Trinity Valley 6-1. At 8-8-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the North Zone, the Lions will finish counterplay with an essential matchup at Greenhill on Tuesday (5:00 pm) and a continuation of a suspended game at home vs. Cistercian (12:00 pm on Saturday), where it will pick up in the top of the 10th inning with the score knotted at 5-5.   

TENNIS
The varsity tennis team hosted Ft. Worth Country Day for a counter match on April 15 at the Albert G. Hill Tennis Center. Overall, it was one-sided for all three lineups, winning comfortably in straight sets. Freshman Bryan Li overcame a competitive and resolute opponent, showing his class and composure. Line 2 doubles showed great intent and purpose in defeating their opponents in straight sets. A disappointing display from Line 1 doubles, having taken the first set relatively comfortably, only to split the sets and have the match decided on a 10-point tiebreaker, which they lost. It was a moment for reflection and side-line conversations that hopefully resulted in lessons learned. The Lions then traveled to Ft. Worth on April 17 for a counter match against the Trinity Valley School. Overall, a match that proved extremely competitive for the Lion line 1 singles and doubles matches. A fantastic effort from freshman Bryan Li, who went toe to toe with an accomplished and experienced D1-bound senior, eventually losing 6-7, 2-6. The match of the day undoubtedly went to line 1 doubles, who leveled to one set each after being a set down. Then after finding themselves 5-2 down in the deciding set, they clawed their way back to 6-6 and then went on to win it in tiebreaker 7-5! The energy was electric, and the students were thrilled as the overall match was tied at 2-2. Kudos to Tejas Allada and Kian Foshee for showing great grit in battling out the victory. Overall, it is a busy week for varsity tennis, who are now preparing for their final in-season counter match at Greenhill on Tuesday, April 22, at 5 pm.  

TRACK & FIELD
This past weekend, the SM track & field team traveled down to St. John’s in Houston for the Nick Finnegan Spring Invitational.  It was another “mixed bag of results” for the Lions.  There were a few bright spots.  The highest finisher for the Lions was Tripp Schoellkopf in the 400m, with a second-place finish in a PR of 51.12.  Harman Pope achieved three PRs throughout the two days.  He started Friday with a PR in the 3200m (10:03.77) , then came back the next day to PR in the 800m (2:02.24) and finished up with a PR in the 1600m (4:35.33).  However, it was a rough outing overall for the Lions over the two days.  This week, the Lions have a Throws/Jumps Carnival at Hockaday on Friday, April 25, which should help the Lions rebound a little before the SPC Meet.  The rest of the team will have 2 weeks to prepare for the SPC Championships, which Awty International School in Houston hosts on May 2 & 3.  The team hopes it can get healthy and regroup before the Championships. 

LACROSSE
The varsity lacrosse team was off from games last week.  This week, the squad will travel to Austin High School for a game on Wednesday, April 23, before learning of their state playoff seed this weekend, which will determine when and where their first-round game in the THSLL playoffs will be played. 

GOLF
On Tuesday, April 15, the St. Mark’s golf team competed in a match at Bent Tree Country Club in Addison featuring two of the strongest private school boys’ golf programs in the metroplex, St. Mark’s and host Trinity Christian Academy. The 6v6 event featured a modified Stableford format where players received 1 point for a par, 3 for a birdie, 5 for an eagle, and -2 for a double bogey or worse. Sophomore Nolan Wartman had the best competitive outing of his St. Mark’s career and posted a 74, earning the team 15 points. Junior Duff McKay barely missed out on an early eagle that rimmed the cup but had a great day overall, earning his third consecutive competitive round in the red (69) and an additional 22 points on the scoreboard. In the end, however, TCA’s home course advantage proved to be a significant factor, as several management errors doomed the Lions and afforded the Trojans a 78-51 victory. The final competitive event for the golf team is the SPC Championships at the Golf Club of Houston on April 29 & 30.