Trent Schulte found himself in a tense spot on the mound when — in the bottom of the seventh, with two outs and the bases loaded — there quite suddenly existed the very real possibility that Bainbridge might lose the game they’d been so easily winning.

The Spartans were up, but not by enough to relax, at that point in Saturday’s game, their first of the postseason following a two-game bye courtesy of their top spot seed. Even just one run could bring the Bishop Blanchet Braves back into the game, and three would tie the score.

Hats off to Schulte, ladies and gentleman.

The senior Spartan stayed calm, got the out, and led the team to a 4-2 win which advanced them to the next round of the playoffs Tuesday.

The Spartans entered the blisteringly hot field at Steve Cox Memorial Park with a 17-2 overall season record, the best in the Metro Mountain Division, a 15-game winning streak and a definite air of that famed Seattle-esque “Why not us?” spirit.

They had suffered only one conference loss throughout the year.

Over the past two seasons, the island squad had creeped one game closer each time to the championship game and all signs Saturday were pointing to a cinematic season finale as they breezed through the Braves and proved themselves the better team at every turn.

Schulte was the BHS man on the mound throughout the entire game, working together with catcher Truman Miller who called the throws. The duo proved quite dynamic. With Miller’s help, Schulte found the strike zone early ­— he practically set up camp there — and ended the day with eight strikeouts.

The Braves managed to sneak through only three hits.

Bainbridge led early (2-0 in the first) and Blanchet would not break onto the board until a surprise home run in the sixth. Then, in the seventh, a single, a walk and an error left the bases loaded and Schulte feeling the squeeze.

Another walk brought the Braves back into things and the score settled at 4-2 before the island pitcher could get things back in hand.

Runs were scored by Carter Kraus, Max Thomas, David Wellbrock and Evan Ferguson.

Spartan Head Coach Simon Pollack said that he never doubted Schulte and hadn’t even thought to warm up another pitcher.

“It was going to be him,” the coach said. “He wasn’t going to come off the mound, even though he was up there on the pitch count.

“I never questioned his ability to finish out the game,” Pollack added. “This is our bulldog out there — that’s our guy.”

Pollack said that there were some regrettable mistakes early in the game, perhaps a side effect of the team’s long break between games due to the Spartans’ seeding.

“In the first couple of innings, we failed to score runners when they were on second and third and failed to capitalize on a lead-off double,” he said. “That kind of stuff can’t happen.

“Those are some of the little things that occur when you go a week and a half without playing,” he added.

It’s difficult, Pollack said, to find the right spot between over practicing and under preparing.

“It gets so monotonous in practice and the hard thing to do is to keep up the competitiveness and, frankly, I’m glad that we played a hard game right now,” he said. “I’m glad that we came back and played a tough game against a good opponent so that we come out with better focus next time.”

One of the Spartans’ greatest advantages in Saturday’s game actually came from off the field, he added.

“We traveled really well,” Pollack said of the island team’s fans, who filled the home team side of the stadium considerably more so than the opponents’ section.

“Props to our fans for sure,” the coach said. “I wish I could give them a clap. Our fans traveled really well. It was fun to have everyone out there.”

Schulte agreed, saying that the supportive presence makes a big difference on the mound.

“I loved it today,” he said. “Being able to come in, get a lot of high fives, sit down [and] refocus and then going back out there and just knowing they’ve got my back on the bench was huge, and then, obviously, a big thank-you to all the parents who come out and support us and anyone else from the island.”

The tight spot in the seventh had been a good test, Schulte said.

“I have to think to myself, ‘The guy on the first, the guy on second, doesn’t matter. We’re up by three runs. Calm down,’’” he said. “To myself I’m just thinking, ‘Throw a strike. The guy at the plate is the one that matters.’”

The senior said that the team was definitely ready to make a run for for the state title this year, and Pollack agreed, saying that there was no reason it shouldn’t be the Spartans’ year.

“We’re going to lose sometime, but it won’t be this year.”