District Notebook: Pitchers’ Hitting Helps Hazelwood Central Win Class 5, District 6

By Jim Wieners

Some people in baseball circles say “pitching wins championships” but senior pitchers Melchizedek Williams and Dimitri Frank also contributed with their bats as Hazelwood Central won Class Five, District Six, their 15th district or regional title since 1977 and their third since 2006.

Hazelwood High, a predecessor to Hazelwood Central won four district or regional titles (1958-1974) and their 1974 state title was Hazelwood High’s last. Meanwhile Central won state titles in 1981 and 1982 while finishing second to St. John Vianney in 2006.

In a 4-0 district semifinal win, May 15 at home, over McCluer Williams struck out eight Comets but his bat drove in two runs and hit base running led to two more Hawk runs. In the 7-6 district final win over McCluer North May 17 at Hazelwood West Frank not only pitched a complete game but also hit a two-run homer. Hazelwood Central scored two runs in the first inning and four more in the second but scored the eventual game winner after McCluer North, which scored four runs in the third inning, tied the game at 6-6 with a fifth-inning run.

Hazelwood Central played their Sectional at Parkway North May 23 with the winner playing Fort Zumwalt North or Fort Zumwalt West in the Quarterfinal Thursday, May 25, at 4 p.m. That winner plays at Car Shield Field (formerly T.R. Hughes Ballpark), O’Fallon, Mo., June 2 in a 4 p.m. semifinal and June 3 at 11 a.m. (third place) or 1:30 p.m. (championship).

   GIRLS SOCCER — McCLUER NORTH defeated Hazelwood Central 2-1 and top-seeded Ritenour 4-3 in double overtime to win     Class Four, District Three at the Ritenour North Athletic Complex. Freshman Skyla Koch scored three times in district play, two of them against Ritenour including the game winner in the second overtime while sophomore goalkeeper Allison Starke had 16 saves in districts, six against Hazelwood Central and 10 against Ritenour. The Stars hosted Francis Howell Central May 23 at the James Eagan Civic Center Park and the winner plays Saturday, May 27, time determined after the Sectional, against Jackson or Eureka in the Quarterfinals.

Saturday’s winner heads to Swope Soccer Village, Kansas City for a 2 p.m. Class Four Semifinal June 2 while on June 3 the Third-Place game is at 10 a.m. while the Championship game is at 2 p.m.

   TRINITY CATHOLIC shuts out Northwest Academy of Law 10-0 and Crossroads College Prep 8-0 to win Class One, District Three at Sumner High‘s Tuskegee Airmen Field, their third straight district title. Trinity played a May 24 Sectional at home against The Principia and the winner goes to Swope Soccer Village for a 4 p.m. Semifinal game against Maplewood-Richmond Heights or Perryville-St. Vincent May 31 and then plays June 1 at 12 noon (Third Place) or 4 p.m. (Championship).

Sophomore Casey Clark scored three goals against Northwest Academy and Crossroads and three of the five assists were against Northwest Academy.

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