Lions Sports Update (3/4)

BASEBALL
After spending the previous week of tryouts indoors due to the cold weather, the St. Mark’s varsity baseball team began a hectic first week of the season. On Monday, the Lions welcomed THESA to Ruff Field. Deven Pietrzak pitched the first inning and was replaced by fellow hurler Lucas Petrikas, who gave up one unearned run in four innings of solid relief work. Unfortunately, the St. Mark’s bats were stifled throughout the contest as they managed only one hit on Jackson Ostella’s single. Darkness ended the game prematurely in five innings, resulting in a 0-1 loss for the Lions. The following day, the Lions traveled over to Shelton to play on the Chargers’ superb all-turf field. The scoring broke out early in the first inning with Jack Frary’s double to LF, scoring Jake DeBoever and John Stephen Hohmann. Both Frary and DeBoever had four hits each in the contest, with Frary collecting an impressive 3 runs scored and five RBIs. On the mound, Deven Pietrzak, Whit Turner, Henry Sun, and Jackson Ostella kept Shelton’s offense in check, surrendering two earned runs in the 21-7 rout of the Chargers in five innings. 

On Friday, the Lions hosted Austin St. Stephen’s in its first SPC counteraction of the season. Lucas Petrikas was absolutely dominant on the mound, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out seven in six terrific shut-out innings. The Lions bats scored five runs in the victory, led by Jack Frary (two hits, 1 run scored), William Everitt (two hits, one run scored), and John Stephen Hohmann (one hit, two RBIs).  The next day, the battle-tested Lions squared off against Austin St. Andrew’s. St. Mark’s posted an early lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second after some timely hitting and errors by the Highlanders. However, St. Andrews tied the game with three runs of their own in the top of the fifth after a series of walks and hits helped them get back in the game. With bases loaded and two outs, Deven Pietrzak turned the game over to right-handed reliever Spenser New, who got a first-pitch comebacker to the mound that fortunately ended the threat. New surrendered just one run in 2 1/3 innings of quality work while key hits by Hudson DaRosa and Jake DeBoever sparked a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth that punctuated a thrilling 6-4 victory. St. Mark’s improved to 3-1 on the season (2-0 in SPC counterplay), and the Lions have another busy week ahead with contests at Bishop Lynch on Tuesday, at home vs. Pantego Christian on Thursday, and at Cistercian on a friendly on Friday.
 
LACROSSE
St. Mark’s varsity lacrosse team opened up the season with a preseason scrimmage, followed by a busy week with three games.  The ceremonial kickoff to the year allowed us to play a solid Cascia Hall squad (Tulsa, OK) that traveled down to Dallas.  The Lions played fast and aggressive all day and earned an 18-6 victory.  In a “5th quarter,” many young Lion lacrosse players got their first taste of high school lacrosse and played Cascia to a 3-3 tie.  The actual kickoff to the season came in a trip up north to take on the Lovejoy Leopards.  The Lions came out of the gates hot and built a 5-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of action.  The rest of the way was a back-and-forth battle, but the early lead provided the cushion the Lions would need to win. St. Mark’s won the game 11-5.  SPC play came early this year, and the Lions traveled to Houston for two 4A counter games against Kinkaid and Houston Christian.  The Kinkaid game was a defensive battle, and the Lions emerged victorious 5-3.  Willi White ’27 was stout in the cage, recording 13 saves vs. 3 goals allowed.  The entire defense was excellent in support.  The following day, the squad took down Houston Christian 13-5, a game in which all members of the program made substantial contributions.  Up next is another busy week with a home game against Rockwall (Tuesday, Mar. 4 at 7:30), an away contest at Jesuit (Thursday, Mar. 6 at 7:30), and then a home game against McCallie from Tennessee (Saturday, Mar. 8 at 2:00).

TENNIS
The first week of the spring varsity tennis season got underway on Feb. 25 with a scrimmage against Parish Episcopal School. The Lions had a great start with a clean sweep in Line 1-3 singles and Line 1-2 doubles defeating Parish 5-0. Our first official match at the newly constructed Albert G. Hill, Sr. Family Tennis Center was on Feb. 28 against St. Stephen’s from Austin, the reigning 4A SPC champions. The Lions were up for the challenge, putting in a strong performance against a solid St. Stephens team, but unfortunately, they lost 1-4. Line 1 singles freshman Bryan Li had a fantastic win in his debut over his opponent 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Less than 24 hours later, the Lions were out at the Hill, Sr. Family Tennis Center to take on St. Andrew’s from Austin. Lines 1-3 produced convincing results, with Lines 1-2 doubles having to show their resolve and fortitude to earn a hard-fought straight sets victory, with the Lions winning 5-0.  This week, the Lions host Jesuit on Tuesday and 

TRACK & FIELD
The St. Mark’s varsity track & field team opened their season this past Friday & Saturday at the Split H Relays, hosted by The Hockaday School. Under sunny skies, the Marksmen showed a good deal across the board.  The total team earned 18 PRs (personal records),  which is great for this early in the season.  The 4x400 Relay Team of Max Bean, Riggs Bean, Tripp Schoellkopf, and Mateu Parker led the way, with a first-place time of 3:30.33.  Other notable performances were Noah Roby and Harmon Pope in the 1600m (both with PRs), Brady Wyatt with a PR in the Shot Put (good for 2nd place), Eric Zhang with a PR in the Discus (also good for 2nd place),  Ace Wilburn in the Pole Vault equaling his PR for 3rd place, and Mateu Parker with a 2nd place in the Long Jump. This week, the Lions have a Double-Dual Meet with Jesuit, Ursuline and Hockaday on Wednesday at 5:15 pm.
 
GOLF
The golf team will compete in the Lost Pines Tournament on March 2nd and 3rd.