An emotional losing battle with White River at the Sumner High baseball diamond for first place in the South Puget Sound League 2A early last week seemed to be the start of a bad trend for the Spartans, who lost three of four games last week.

Sumner initiated the week hosting league-leading, 6-0 WRHS April 12. The Spartans stood toe-to-toe with White River, but a gutsy, seven-inning pitching performance by the Hornets’ Trevor Lubking and a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning by Caden Pugmire, spelled Sumner’s 6-4 demise.

The Sparts took their heartbreak out on a woeful Steilacoom contingent the next day when they visited the Sentinels and bludgeoned their host 15-8. Against Steilacoom, Sumner’s Jacob Farnworth put a charge into one, spanking a grand slam homer.

Then as the weekend rolled around the wheels began to come off the Spartan battering ram on an ill-fated road trip to Franklin Pierce and Fife. Sumner strong man Brad Falk got one of the paltry four hits off Cardinal pitcher Antonio Turner when he bashed a home run, but it wasn’t enough as Sumner committed three errors, which magnified the 11 hits the Cards got off of Sumner pitching as SHS dropped that Friday affair 7-4.

Saturday, Sumner traveled to Fife and lost one that they chould have won. The miscue flood gates opened as Sumner committed a half-dozen errors and it was to much to overcome as the Sparts dropped their third SPSL 2A outing of the week, 4-3, and watched their once untarnished league accounting spiral to 5-3 and 9-5 overall.