Baseball Game Preview: Stafford Spartans vs. La Marque Cougars

Stafford has gone a perfect 10-0 against La Marque recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. Stafford will host La Marque at 6:00 p.m. Stafford is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.4 runs per game this season.

On Friday, Stafford needed a bit of extra time to put away Sealy. They came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 18-13. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Spartans.

Dana Williams made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 4-for-6. He is becoming a predictor of Stafford's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 7-2 (and 1-2 when he doesn't).

Isaiah Ukpe

Hits (Career)

03/21/25 @ Sealy	3
03/08/25 @ Fort Bend Elkins	1
03/06/25 @ Fort Bend Bush	1
03/01/25 vs Bay City	1
02/17/25 @ Brazosport	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Isaiah Ukpe, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of David Faltysek, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.

Stafford was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .476. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .346 or higher in four consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for La Marque's offense. They came up short against Almeta Crawford on Friday, falling 26-0. The game marked the first time this season in which the Cougars were not able to get on the board.

La Marque dropped their record down to 1-5 with the defeat, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Stafford, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.

Stafford took their win against La Marque when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 18-1. Does Stafford have another victory up their sleeve, or will La Marque turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.