After a sluggish start with five consecutive losses to open up the season, the Park Hill baseball team (1-6) earned its first win of the season on March 31.
A strong four run first inning helped spark the Trojans’ first victory when they defeated St. Joseph’s Central (4-3) 6-3. Park Hill had four consecutive singles after it earned the first out of the opening inning to put two runs on the scoreboard.
Park Hill’s Garrison Mertz had five strikeouts in the Trojans first win of the season when they defeated St. Joseph’s Central 6-3 on March 31.
With Jake Daneff and Dayton Howard both earning RBIs in that stretch, Cole Guzzo followed up with a double – along with a celebratory dance move after reaching second base – and another Trojan crossed home plate.
Michael Vance hit a hard ground ball and reached first base on an error by the Indians’ shortstop and Guzzo scored to increase Park Hill’s lead 4-0 at the end of the first inning. Central chipped at the deficit with one run in the second inning and two runs in the third inning.
The Trojans’ defense kept the Indians off the scoreboard from that point on, while their offense added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Garrison Mertz started on the mound and struck out five batters before Jaxson Grayson had three strikeouts in two innings.
The next time the Trojans stepped on the baseball field, they were unable to use their first victory as momentum as Park Hill fell 8-4 to Liberty (10-2) on April 4. Park Hill’s next task is taking on Blue Springs (6-7) on the road on April 6.