Hazelwood West Holds Tight, But Loses District Championship to Rival Hawks

has many reasons to be full of pride. Following their up-and-down season, the Hawks managed to enter the Class 4 District 6 tournament as the No. 2 seed, and ended up playing rival Hazelwood Central in the tourney title game. 

The well-played, intensity-filled contest was dominated by pitching and defense on Thursday afternoon at West. The teams split two regular season meetings, but in the end the Hawks were victorious, leaving with a 2-1 win in the championship game.

"It was one of our best games of the season," West head coach Matt McClellan said. "They've got a lot to be proud of."

Hazelwood Central junior right-hander Jonathan Harris rose to the occasion during the matchup. He threw a nifty four-hitter and also drove in a run to propel the Hawks' win.

Central, which rode the arm of Harris to the district crown last spring as well, helped erase the memory of an inconsistent regular-season campaign with its most impressive performance so far this season.

The top-seeded Hawks (12-10) advance to face St. Louis University High (23-0) in a sectional game Tuesday at SLUH, which is ranked fifth in the nation according to a recent poll in USA Today.

 The six-foot, three-inch Harris kept the West bats in check throughout the contest. He threw a two-hit shutout last season as the Hawks beat the Wildcats 2-0 in the championship tilt.

"Big John did it for us again," Central coach Van Vanatta said. "He's a stellar pitcher, there's no doubt about that. He's a competitor. He has the confidence in himself."

Central junior outfielder Reggie Seay provided the big blow with a run-scoring bloop single in the bottom of the sixth that broke a 1-1 tie. It was only the fourth run batted in of the season for Seay, who missed the first 10 games due to what he termed, "family issues."

Harris struggled at times during the regular season and entered the playoffs with a mark of 4-3 and a 3.88 ERA. But on Thursday, he reverted back to his form as a sophomore when he went 8-0 with 2.49 ERA.

"It brought a lot of confidence back," Harris said. "It feels good to win back-to-back district championships."

 Harris allowed just two hits through the first five innings, one of the infield variety. Second-seeded West (14-13) squeezed across a run with two hits and a sacrifice fly by Oday Al Yatim in the sixth.

Harris retired the first two batters in the seventh, but walked and hit the next batter to set the stage for a nail-biting finish. He induced Aaron Lohman, who had two hits earlier in the game, to pop up to end the game.

"I didn't want this to be the seniors' last game," Harris said.

Central nicked West starter Jared Fosdick for single runs in the first and sixth innings. Fosdick, a sophomore lefty, almost matched Harris pitch-for-pitch, giving up just two runs on three hits.

The Hawks bolted to a 1-0 lead on a two-out single by Harris in the first. The drive brought in Mike Eagan, who walked and stole second.

Central bounced right back after West tied the game in the sixth. Eagan drew a leadoff walk, and Noble Hampton moved him to second with a perfect sacrifice bunt. Jamal Hughes drew a walk before Seay blooped Fosdick's first offering in front of West left fielder Joey McCune.

Ironically, Seay looked overmatched in his previous two trips to the plate.

"It was really a complete shock," he said of the game-winning hit. "I actually thought he was going to catch it."

Central is hoping to exact some revenge on SLUH, which won 12-0 in last spring's sectional contest.

"At least we're still playing," Vanatta said. "That's the main thing."