With high hopes for the spring season, the Park Hill baseball team (0-5) is off to a rocky start after reaching a program record 21 wins last year.
The Trojans opened up play against Blue Springs (5-3) and fell 10-5 on the first day of the Metro Leadoff Tournament on March 19. The Trojans were in control early – leading 4-0 after the opening inning – but the Wildcats fought back and tied the game in the top of the fourth inning.
Blue Springs added one run in each of the next two innings to take a two run lead and then Aiden Brooks had an RBI single to narrow the deficit, 6-5. Blue Springs responded with two doubles and three singles to add four runs in the ensuing inning and Park Hill’s offense couldn’t spark any more runs.
The Trojans’ next contest was their most competitive one of the early season when Park Hill lost 11-9 to Smithville (3-2). The Trojans never trailed in the first four innings and were up 3-1 entering the fifth inning when the Warriors poured out 10 runs in the next two innings.
Trailing 7-3 entering the top of the sixth inning, Dayton Howard started the late comeback bid with an RBI single. That run led to five more runs in the inning and Park Hill was back up 9-7.
Joe Guastelo and Jaxson Grayson both had RBI doubles in the inning and another run was walked in. However, the Warriors answered with an offensive surge of their own: a triple, double and a hit by a pitch that led to four more Smithville runs.
Luke Moore opened up the seventh inning with a triple, but the next three Park Hill batters struck out and the Trojans came up short. Moore and Howard both had two hits and one RBI, while Guastelo had three RBIs.
The tournament continued two days later when Park Hill lost 11-2 to Staley (5-3) and 10-1 to Liberty (6-1) on March 21. In the Trojans’ fifth game of the early 2022 spring, they matched up with Rockhurst (4-2) on March 24.
Once again, Park Hill had a solid start to the contest, but a late offensive drought when its opponent had multiple trips across home plate was the deciding factor. The Trojans scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 5-2 margin and the Hawklets added five runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 6-5 lead. Garrison Mertz singled and eventually stole home for the Trojans in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at six.
Rockhurst regained the lead with a steal to home in the ensuing inning and poured out five more runs in the top of the sixth inning, while Park Hill went scoreless in the final three innings.
Jake Daneff was on the mound for the longest among the three Trojan pitchers in the game as he struck out six batters, while Jase Johnson and Mertz both struck out one batter. Park Hill had 10 hits in the game led by Howard and Moore who both had three hits.
Moore also had three RBIs with Chris Kemp and Daneff both ended with one RBI apiece. Park Hill will look to bounce back when it hosts Raymore-Peculiar (4-1) on March 30.