Memorial Clinches Share of 17-6A Title With 5-0 Shutout Over Stratford

Eleven wins in a row had Houston Memorial on the doorstep of a district title, and the Mustangs walked through it Friday night with a 5-0 shutout of Stratford to clinch at least a share of the District 17-6A championship.

Junior righthander Grant Sperandio set the tone early. The Texas commit was sharp from the first pitch, striking out seven batters through three innings and keeping Stratford's offense off-balance throughout his outing.

Memorial got on the board in the bottom of the first when Tanner Prda lined a fastball the opposite way, one-hopping the wall in right-center for an RBI triple that scored Evan Mauritzen from second.

Stratford starter Zach Christie kept the deficit at one through four innings, but the Mustangs broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth. Boone McLaughlin ripped one past third and down the line to score Isaac Richardson, and Jack Earnest followed with a single back up the box that plated Hunter Edmunds and McLaughlin. Memorial led 4-0 heading to the fifth.

Jack Kafka came on in the seventh to record the final out by strikeout, closing out the 5-0 victory. With the win, Memorial locks up at least a share of the 17-6A title and stretches its winning streak to 12 games.