Coming out of a rough stretch that saw seven losses in its last eight tries, the Park Hill South baseball team (17-12) has now won four of its last five games.
A 4-3 victory over Park Hill (7-16) on April 23 snapped a four-game losing skid for Park Hill South before the Panthers fell 3-0 at North Kansas City (9-12) on April 25. The Panthers bounced back and won back-to-back games against Red Division opponents when they took down Staley (17-12) on April 27 and St. Joseph’s Central (9-12) on April 29.
Against Staley, Park Hill South erupted in the bottom of the second inning – having six hits and eight runs – and then held off its opposition to win 8-3. The Falcons had one error and walked four Panthers in the inning, as well.
Evan Demint had an RBI single to ignite the impressive inning, which was followed by a Trey Weith RBI single and a 2-RBI triple from Collin Morris. Hayden Klein and Luke Fricker capped off the inning with a pair of base hits that led to the seventh and eighth runs.
Park Hill South never trailed against St. Joseph’s Central en route to a 7-4 victory. The Panthers started the day off with three runs in the opening inning to take an early 3-0 margin.
A single from Fricker sent Dylan Graebener and Michael Good across home plate. Brody Hufft also had an RBI single and Fricker scored in the inning.
The Indians scored one run in the bottom of the second inning and the Panthers matched that in the top of the third inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Park Hill South added two runs off a triple by Weith and a Morris ground out RBI.
Aiden Simpson helped Park Hill South turn seven losses in an eight-game stretch into four wins in the Panthers last five games.
Graebener had an RBI double in the top of the sixth inning to push the margin to 7-1 before the Indians scored three runs in the final two innings, but it was too little, too late. Weith and Fricker both had three hits – while Fricker added three RBIs – and the Panthers had nine hits.
Park Hill South rattled off its third straight victory in shutout fashion, taking down Oak Park (16-10) on the road, 3-0, on May 2. The Panthers will have three games ahead of the Class 6 District 8 Tournament, starting with a matchup with Lee’s Summit (15-11) on May 4.