KANSAS CITY – It hasn’t been perfect baseball, but Park Hill (10-16) has found its groove and is fighting closer to .500 as the postseason approaches.
Park Hill senior Travis Porter had one hit, one RBI and scored three runs in the Trojans’ 18-0 victory over Lincoln College Prep on April 17.
Park Hill had a rough beginning to the spring, having lost 10 of the first 12 games. Although the Trojans are still six games under .500, they have posted an 8-6 record since then and have won four of the last seven.
In the 14-game stretch since going 2-1 in the Laker Wood Bat Tournament on April 5 and 6, Park Hill has failed to win or lose more than two games in a row at any point. The Trojans’ offense has struggled in their recent defeats, scoring two or fewer runs in each of their last six losses.
In the Benton Baseball Tournament, Park Hill bounced back from a 5-1 first-round loss to Savannah (16-7) on April 15 with back-to-back wins over Chillicothe (13-7) and Lincoln College Prep (11-9) to claim third place on April 17.
The Trojans’ bats were rolling with 27 hits and 33 runs, beating the Hornets 15-5 and having a no-hit, 18-0 win over the Blue Tigers. Caelin Bradford struck out three batters and Spencer Beltram had one strikeout in the three-inning win.
Kaeden Pak went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, which included two singles in the 17-run downpour that Park Hill had in the second inning. Aiden Allen, Brandon Jones and Marig Miller all had two hits.
Park Hill came back down-to-earth in its next game, an 8-2 loss to Staley (18-7) on April 24. The Falcons slowly went up 8-0 with at least one run scored in five of the first six innings with the Trojans’ only runs being scored in the final inning when Bryson Augustyn had an RBI single and Pak was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Park Hill set the tone for the 10-5 win over Battle with Columbia Independent (7-17) with eight first inning runs on April 27. The Trojans took advantage of the Spartans walking five batters in the first inning, along with Augustyn having an RBI single, Pak having a 3-RBI triple and Ryan Quigley scoring on a passed ball.
Park Hill came up short 7-2 to Webb City (18-7) on April 27. The Trojans have four of their last five regular season games in a five-day span, starting with a home matchup with Blue Springs South (11-13) on May 1.