Resilient Trojans fall in quarterfinals, set new precedent

After winning their first district baseball championship since 1997, the Park Hill Trojans took it a step further last Tuesday as they advanced to the state quarterfinals with a win against Truman 5-3 to record the school’s first ever playoff victory. After giving up three runs early, pitcher Daniel Jessen held Truman steady the rest of the way allowing Park Hill’s offense to take over including two key RBI’s from James Vega.

The win led them to a quarterfinal matchup with Rockhurst (21-3) on Friday. Blue skies and eighty degree temperatures added to a near-perfect baseball atmosphere for an unprecedented crowd turn-out lined around the field. Coach Greg Reynolds talked about the mindset the Trojans looked to take against an intimidating Rockhurst team.

“They’re exactly like we are. They make errors. They put the ball in play. In baseball it doesn’t matter how big or what the name of your school is,” Reynolds said. “It just matters if you have nine or ten quality guys to put on the field each day.”

With Park Hill down 2-0 in the second, Adam Vanderpool hit a solo home run to make it 2-1. A two run homer in the fourth made the score 4-1 in favor of Rockhurst before Vega evened it up with a three run homer in the fifth. The Trojans kept finding themselves battling back, something they’ve held to their advantage all season. Rockhurst gained critical runs in the sixth and seventh to put Park Hill down 6-4 going into the last inning.

Leading off with the top of the lineup, Trojan fans hoped for another comeback. Nick Hughes walked to start the inning followed by two quick outs. Vanderpool ripped a double to right-center field scoring Hughes from first to make the score 6-5. With runners on first and second and two outs, Alex Otto’s shot to centerfield didn’t quite have enough power as the ball was caught for the final out of the game.

“We’ve come back a lot of different ways with a lot of different guys this year. The last couple games we’ve had guys hit home runs late in games that haven’t hit one all season. You can’t keep doing that, eventually you’ll get stung,” Reynolds said.

The mood was somber as 11 seniors ended their high school careers, but there were little words needed between Reynolds and his team in their post-game gathering to express their accomplishments.

“These guys know how to play the game. There’s nothing I can tell them. I’m proud of them and I told them that. These seniors took us to a spot we never thought we’d be and they did it because they listened, followed directions and showed discipline,” Reynolds said.

The slate is nearly wiped clean next year as the Trojans return five lettermen, two of them starters, from this year’s team.

“I hope it’s a carry over. Baseball is like a lot of sports where it’s always a learning experience with new players coming in. Our job as a program is to not have a letdown,” Reynolds said.

Spring Roundup: May 24-28

Park Hill Boys Tennis
Coach Ryan Kalis said last week that he felt his players would fair well at the state tournament this past weekend based on their experience, but also depending on their draw of competition. The latter didn’t play to their advantage as both Sam Barth in singles along with Mike Merchant and Brian Hillix in doubles faced stiff competition in their initial matches. Barth started off against eventual sixth place finisher Andrew Edmonds of Rockhurst and fell in consecutive sets 6-4 and 6-3. He went on to loss in the next round Greg Marifian of SLUH which resulted in his early exit from the tournament. Although also facing a first round loss to Rockbridge 5-7, 7-5, and 6-2, Merchant and Hillix battled back in the consolation bracket by winning consecutive matches by scores of 6-1, 6-1 and then came from behind to win 6-7, 6-3, 6-1. The opportunity to play for fifth place fell short as they lost to Lafayette 6-3, 6-3. As a team, Park Hill finished the season with conference, district, and sectional titles before falling to eventual state champion Rockhurst in the quarterfinals.

Park Hill Boys Track
Park Hill’s throwers performed well at the state track meet this past weekend, helping the Trojans accumulate 13 points for a 21st place finish out of 55 teams. Jack Pearl placed fourth in the discus and Nick Smith finished third in the shot put. Adrien Esaw who has performed well in the 300 hurdles all season concluded his year with a seventh place finish. The 4x800 relay team of Fernando Garcia, Nathan Koehler, James Leach, and Ricardo Garcia finished 12th with a time of 8:05. Park Hill concludes a season which featured a conference championship along with as district runners-up.