The varsity Longhorns baseball team battled last week in the annual Suburban Central-National conference tournament. The horns knocked off Affton in the first round 5-3. Junior Matt Perego pitched a complete game with only allowing six hits.

“I felt really comfortable on the mound. I focused really hard on pounding the strike zone and good things happened because of that. My defense had a great game which helped a lot,” Perego said.

Junior second basemen Scott Meier stepped up with a huge single into left field to give the Longhorns the lead in the fifth inning.

“The pitcher threw me a fastball up in the zone that I was able to put a good swing on. Those two runs were huge it gave us a good cushion for the rest of the game. Everyone on the team seems to be clicking now at the right time of the year,” Meier said.

In the second round of the tournament, the Horns faced rival Parkway Central. Central won the game 4-3 on a walk-off bases loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“It was a heartbreaking loss. We had a great game and just couldn’t close it out at the end. That has been our achilles heal the whole year, putting teams away in the later innings,” senior Matt Blake said.

Blake was a dominant force on the mound only giving up two runs in the contest.

“Central is a team we always play well. Last year we had a walk off against them and this year they got our revenge on us. We play them again in a few weeks and I expect it to be another close game,” senior Evan Shukers said.

The team faces Central again on April 26, at home.

“It is going to be a battle once again. Our defense and offense played well enough to win. We just need to take the next step as a team and I think as the season progresses so will do so,” Blake said.

In the third place game, the Longhorns traveled to Clayton to play the Greyhounds. The team jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings and held on the rest of the game despite a late inning comeback by Clayton. The final score was 6-4.

“A lot of teams would roll over and give up the next day after such a hard loss the night before. We came out and played a great game to come in third for our conference tournament. I think the way we played, bouncing back, shows a lot about the character we have on this team,” sophomore Junior Lopez said.

This Saturday, the Horns host Desmet and Vianney at home in a double header. This marks the beginning of the home stretch for the team with only ten games left in the season.
“We have a lot to be happy about after this tournament. It was a great way to see what we still need to improve on, but it also pointed out what we’re doing well right now too. I am excited about the rest of the year and for districts more importantly,” senior Daniel Bickert said.