Sports Roundup: Kirkwood, Vianney Baseball Still Alive

Patch takes a look at the latest news and notes from the Suburban South Conference, including the postseason getting under way.

BASEBALL

The Seckman baseball team capped off an undefeated record in the Suburban South Conference with a 16-6 victory over University City last Wednesday.

The Jaguars had already clinched the league championship, but they added an exclamation point with an 11-run fifth inning. Collin Edwards, Chris Norman and Sam Tramel had three runs batted in each to pace the Jaguars, who finished 8-0 in the conference. Seckman was also the only team in the conference to finish the regular season with a winning overall record (14-11). Parkway West finished second in the conference.

Despite the undefeated league mark, Seckman earned only a third seed in the Class 4 District 2 Tournament, which is hosted by Hillsboro. Seckman had a scheduled first-round game against sixth-seeded Northwest rained out on Saturday, and the Jaguars will play the game on Tuesday.

Oakville is the district’s top seed, followed by Windsor. Oakville, which is 18-7, finished tied for second in the Suburban West Conference and defeated Seckman in a 1-0 thriller in the regular season. Windsor is 16-8. The Jaguars and Owls were scheduled to play April 27 but were rained out. The championship game in District 2 is scheduled for Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Parkway West is seeded sixth in the Class 4 District 4 Tournament hosted by Lafayette. Parkway South is the top seed in the district, which will have its championship game on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Kirkwood, which finished third in the Suburban South, is the fourth seed in the Class 4 District 3 Tournament, which is hosted by top-seeded Vianney. Kirkwood defeated DuBourg on Monday, 8-0, in a rescheduled contest. Kirkwood plays Vianney on Tuesday night in a semifinal. The Griffins are 20-8, and beat Roosevelt 8-0 on Monday. Rockwood Summit is the third seed and beat sixth-seeded St. Mary's on Monday, 4-3. Lindbergh is the two seed and ended Webster Groves’ season on Monday, 6-4. The championship game of District 3 is Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

Parkway North and Parkway Central are seeded fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Class 4 District 7 Tournament hosted by Parkway Central. Parkway North plays DeSmet on Monday with Parkway Central playing Pattonville, also on Monday in a re-scheduled contest. CBC and Francis Howell are the top seeds in the loaded district. CBC is 17-6. Francis Howell was co-champs in the Gateway Athletic Conference South Division and is 25-3 overall. Pattonville won the Suburban North with a 13-1 record and is 17-5 overall. The championship game will be played Thursday at 4:15.

University City is in Class 4 District 5, which is hosted by St. Louis University High. The Lions are seeded fifth and will play a makeup game against Chaminade on Monday evening. The "reward" for a win there would be a matchup against top-seeded SLUH, which is 21-0. That semifinal game would be Tuesday at 4:30. The district title game is at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

GIRLS SOCCER

The Rockwood Summit and Kirkwood soccer teams each took care of business last week and finished with 6-1 league marks (Rockwood Summit did defeat Kirkwood, 1-0, in the head-to-head matchup).

Kali Thomas scored a goal and added an assist in a 2-1 win over Parkway Central last Tuesday. The Falcons followed with a 4-0 win over Parkway North on Wednesday.

Kirkwood had a big battle in its league finale, prevailing over Seckman 3-2 in overtime. The win was the 15th of the season for the Pioneers, which is a new school record.

District tournaments for soccer will also be held this week. University City, which did not win a league game this season, is actually the top-seeded conference team. Of course, that has to do with the placement in districts. The Lions are the only Class 2 team in the league and are in a very weak Class 2 District 4 Tournament, which is hosted by Rosati-Kain, the top seed. U. City opens against third-seeded Vashon on Monday at 5:30. The championship game is Tuesday at 5:15.

The other Suburban South Conference teams all play in Class 3 Districts.

Co-champion Summit is seeded third in the Class 3 District 2 Tournament, hosted by Oakville. The Falcons play Fox, a team it routed 10-0 in the regular season, in the first round on Monday at 4 p.m. A win in that game would send the Falcons to a semifinal matchup with Oakville. Cor Jesu, which is coming off a huge 1-0 win over Incarnate Word last Wednesday, is 13-6 and the top seed. Summit did not play Oakville in the regular season, but lost to Cor Jesu 4-1 on April 19.

The other conference co-champion is seeded fourth. Kirkwood beat rival Webster Groves, 2-1, on Saturday in the first round, but fell 4-0 to top-seeded St. Joseph's Academy in the semifinals on Tuesday. Ursuline and Nerinx Hall, which play in the powerful MWAA White Division as does St. Joe's, are seeded second and third, respectively. Webster Groves is the host of District 3 and the championship game is scheduled for Thursday at 4:30.

Other conference teams are spread out literally throughout the state. Seckman is seeded fourth in the Class 3 District 1 Tournament which is hosted by Poplar Bluff. Seckman plays Cape Central in the first round Monday at 6 p.m.

Parkway West is seeded fifth in the five-team Class 3 District 4 Tournament, which is hosted by Lafayette. The Longhorns play Marquette Monday at 5 p.m. Lafayette is the top seed. Parkway West has lost twice to the Lancers but both were close games (2-1 and 1-0).

Parkway Central and Parkway North are both in the Class 3 District 7 Tournament, hosted by Francis Howell. And they will play each other. Central, which is seeded third, will play North, which is seeded sixth, Tuesday at 5 p.m. Parkway Central beat Parkway North, 4-0, in the regular season. Francis Howell North and Francis Howell are the top seeds. Howell North beat Parkway Central 2-0 while Howell beat the Colts 5-1 in the season.

BOYS TENNIS

District tournaments were held in tennis this week and two conference teams advanced to sectional competition this Saturday (May 21). Kirkwood will play Oakville in one sectional with Lafayette and CBC matching up at the same sectional. The two winners will play later in the day with the sectional winner advancing to the state team tournament in Springfield on May 26.

Parkway Central plays in the other area sectional. The Colts will be heavy favorites when they play McCluer North, while rivals Francis Howell and Howell North play at the same time. The two winners play later Saturday with a spot at state on the line.

Individuals will also be competing in a separate sectional tournament this week with the top two singles players and top two doubles teams moving on to the individual state tournament May 27 and 28 in Springfield.

Patch Suburban South Boys Athlete of the Week

Parkway Central baseball player Lucas Mueller has been named the Patch Suburban South Boys Athlete of the Week. Mueller has been a major reason for the second half rally by the Colts, who started out the season 0-9 and 1-12. Parkway Central won a pair of one-run games last week extending their streak to six wins in its past eight games. Mueller had a hit, a walk and two runs scored in an 8-7 victory over Troy as Parkway Central scored three in the seventh.

It was another dramatic win the next day as Parkway Central scored four in the seventh in a 7-6 win over Parkway West. Mueller had a double, a home run (his fourth of the season), a walk, three runs scored and three RBI in the win. His three-run homer tied the game in the seventh inning. Sophomore Jack Schneider delivered the game-winning hit.

"We tried so many different lineups and tried guys at different positions early in the season trying to find the right fit," Parkway Central coach Ryan Connors said. "We struggled early but you always want to be playing your best in late April and May and that has been the case with us.

“The guys are stepping up and getting the big hits with two outs and guys in scoring position. We are in an extremely tough district but we hope to continue to play well and see what happens."

Patch Suburban South Girls Athlete of the Week

Rockwood Summit soccer player Kali Thomas is the Patch Girls Athlete of the Week. The Falcons needed to win their final two conference games to share the league title with Kirkwood and Thomas helped make that happen.

She had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory over Parkway Central last Tuesday and scored again in a 4-0 win over Parkway North on Wednesday. Summit and Kirkwood each finished 6-1 in the league, with Summit beating the Pioneers 1-0 in the head-to-head match.