Being an underdog in the postseason didn’t stop the Park Hill baseball team (8-19) from pulling off the upset win to survive and advance.
Park Hill’s Aiden Brooks claps in the first inning after hitting a double in the Trojans 3-1 upset win over Staley on May 16.
Entering the Class 6 District 8 Tournament as the No. 6 seed, Park Hill matched up with No. 3 seed Staley (22-14) – who defeated the Trojans 11-2 earlier in the season – at Creekside Baseball Complex on May 16. The Trojans rattled off three runs in the first inning and were able to hold off the Falcons when Jake Daneff only allowed three hits in the six innings he pitched.
Jackson Kline was the first batter in the contest and advanced to first base after being hit by a pitch. Luke Moore sent Kline home with a single, followed by an Aiden Brooks double to put Moore on third base.
Park Hill kept its foot on the gas with back-to-back RBIs by Daneff and Garrison Mertz. Daneff had a line drive single, and Mertz grounded out to give the Trojans an early 3-0 lead.
Park Hill only had two more hits the rest of the way – from Chris Kemp and Kline – but its strong defense did enough to keep Staley off the scoreboard, outside of one Staley run in the bottom of the third inning. Jase Johnson closed out the game on the mound in the final inning, striking out two batters and allowing no hits.
The Trojans advanced to take on Liberty (28-9) in the semifinals. The two Class 6 District 8 teams played three times in the regular season with the Blue Jays winning every matchup by an overall margin of 26-10.