The Union Spartans caught fire this week as they bested a pair of conference opponents on the baseball diamond. After stunning Lakewood on Monday in a wild game, the Spartans carried that momentum into a duel with Hobbton on Wednesday. With both teams riding on the coattails of a win, the Spartans once again reached into their bag of tricks and came away with an impressive 5-1 win over the Wildcats on Wednesday.

After Hobbton went scoreless in the top half of the first, the Spartans tallied a run in the bottom to take the early 1-0 lead.

For the Wildcats, zeroes were found all over the box score as they just couldn’t seem to get much going. They finished the game with six hits, but converting those into runs was proved to be difficult.

Things weren’t entirely much better for the Spartans.

For a large portion of the game, Hobbton stayed within striking distance, but four-run fourth inning in favor of Union proved costly for the Wildcats as the Spartans led 5-0 headed to the fifth.

Skipping ahead to the sixth, Hobbton finally broke into the score column when Grayson Rogers tallied the Wildcats only run on the game, but from there, nothing else was going as the final tally was achieved at 5-1.

For Union, the Spartans came away with five hits on the game.

Matthew Ballance had two to go along with two RBIs, followed by Nick Hopkins, Juan Garcia, and Cole Bass all having one hit apiece. Garcia also tallied the other two of Union’s four RBIs.

For the Wildcats, Rogers and Richard Warren had two hits each with Jordan Pearsall and and Ben Langston getting one each.

Wednesday night also marked Senior Night for the Spartans. Cameron Burley, Miguel Castillo, Britni Register, and Matthew Ballance were all honored as the class of 2019.

With the win, Union now sits at 6-10 overall and 4-7 in the Carolina 1A Conference. The Spartans will enjoy some time off before returning to the field on Friday against Spring Creek in the Princeton East Tournament.

For Hobbton, the loss moves them to 9-5 overall and 6-4 in the conference. They will be in action over the weekend in the South Johnston Easter Tournament where they will take on Clayton on Saturday.

Hobbton’s Junior Esquivel with a big swing.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_HHS-Junior-Esquivel.jpgHobbton’s Junior Esquivel with a big swing. File Photo | Sampson Independent

Union’s Juan Garcia looks to lay down a bunt.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_UHS-Juan-Garcia.jpgUnion’s Juan Garcia looks to lay down a bunt. File Photo | Sampson Independent
Union enjoys Senior Night with 5-1 win over Hobbton

By Daron Barefoot

Sports Editor

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].