FLEMING ISLAND - St. John Country Day’s Seth Alford drove in four runs to back strong pitching by Austin Stratman as the visiting Spartans topped Fleming Island 6-2 on April 4.

Playing against a respected class 6A opponent did not phase the Spartans, who improved to 12-2 and are ranked second in Florida’s Class 2A.
“Night in and night out, we are going to play really good teams, and Fleming Island is one of them,” said SJCD head coach Tom Lucas. The Spartans will host one of Georgia’s top teams in Cavalry Day School on April 5, and then travel to Cary, North Carolina to face several of the United States’ top high school teams in a tournament April 12-14.
Alford staked the Spartans to a 2-0 lead before Stratman ever took the mound with a two-out double in the first inning. The senior third baseman’s drive to the base of the left-center field fence scored Kody Daneault, who had driven in Kyle Boylston with the game’s first run. Alford doubled deep to left center again in the fifth, driving in pinch-runner Connor O’Steen to extend the SJCD lead to 4-2. Lastly, in the top of the seventh, with two outs and two strikes, Alford pulled a low line drive down the third base line, plating Daneault and Kolt Myers to give the Spartans a comfortable 6-2 lead.
“He has elite bat speed,” Lucas said of Alford, a University of North Florida commit. “He can hit 93, 94 miles per hour pitches. To take our lead from two to four, that was big.”
The support was more than enough for Stratman, a 6’1” junior. The left-hander handcuffed the hosts for five innings, allowing only two runs and three hits while striking out eight. Stratman hit Miguel Cruz with a pitch in the third inning. Cruz came around to score on a wild pitch, cutting the Golden Eagles’ deficit to 3-1. Josh Murray lined a single to center field in the fifth, stole second, and came from there all the way to the plate on a wild pitch. Lucas praised Stratman’s effort but did rue the wild pitches.
“His stuff was really good,” said Lucas. “He has got a fastball that really runs, but he needs to eliminate the free stuff. His misses were just too big.”
Gavin Coffey, a side-arming freshman, came in and set down the Golden Eagles in the sixth and seventh to preserve the win. Fleming Island made things interesting in the seventh, getting two hits and three baserunners. But Daneault gunned down Declan Dunleavy trying to stretch a single into a double and Coffey induced Ryan Kiley to pop out in the infield to end the game, stranding two base runners.
“They just got timely hits tonight,” observed Fleming Island head coach Mike Martino. “We had opportunities, but we did not get any timely hits.”
Martino wanted to hold senior ace Keegan Lockland back and only use senior pitchers Aaron Hawkins and Jonah Friedman for only one inning apiece so that they would all be available to pitch against rival Clay on April 5. He was impressed with the way his starter, sophomore Chris Reali, competed. After walking four batters and surrendering three runs in the first two innings, Reali allowed only one run and struck out five over the next three innings as the Golden Eagles cut a 3-0 deficit to a single run.
“I think we were a little nervous at the start,” Martino said. “Once Chris settled down, he was fine. He showed what kind of pitcher he is going to be, which is one of the best pitchers in North Florida.”
Murray had two hits for the Golden Eagles, who fell to 10-5, and lined out in his other at-bat