Parkway Central Baseball Tops Westminster With Late Rally

In a sixth inning comeback, Zack Lazenby drove home senior, Blake Hefner to tie the game. Lazenby scored on a base hit from Johnny Naughton to lead Central over the Westminster Wildcats 4-3.

“I got a pitch that I liked. It jammed me a little bit but it got right down the third base line and did the job” Lazenby said. “I’ll take whatever I can. It got a run in that’s all that matters.”

Naughton said that he came up to the plate ready to make contact.

“I came up thinking put it in play” Naughton said. I just wanted to hit it hard somewhere and I knew that if I did that than I would give us a chance.

The game ended with Lazenby’s unassisted double play at third base, coming with the bases loaded. Quickly after snagging the ball, Lazenby tagged third before Westminster’s Tyler Catlett could tag up.

Connor Kraus made his varsity baseball debut, staring the game on the mound for the Colts. He pitched three and one-third innings, striking out three.

The Wildcats put the first runs on the board in the third with a two run home run from Kyle Kinner.

“I let one get away from me. I hung a change up and clearly it didn’t go so well, but other than that it was good” Kraus said. “After I got by the first batter I felt good.”

Brantley Lohkamp answered in the bottom of the inning with a bases loaded double scoring Matt Hresko and Naughton.

Westminster was quick to respond. Catlett’s base hit to center field scored courtesy runner, Ben Huffman to put the Wildcats back on top.

Hresko finished the game for the Colts, getting out of the bases loaded jam in the seventh inning on the double play to third.

“I was nervous. I kept trying to throw strikes because I knew my teammates would make plays” Hresko said. “They made it happen. I didn’t want to put anyone on for free.”

Parkway Central travels to Francis Howell on Friday to take on the Vikings at C&H park with the first pitch scheduled for 6:00, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.