Baseball Team Wins Playoff Opener

The Westminster Varsity Baseball team defeated Duchesne 11-1 in the first round of the District Playoffs at St. Charles West on Monday.

The majority of the offense was provided by three home runs from Michael Kolb, Kevin Graham, and Clayton Guzdial.

Westminster got off to a quick start, loading the bases with no outs. Duchesne struck out the next two Westminster batters, bringing up Michael Kolb. Kolb then hit a grand slam to deep right field on a first pitch curveball.

Two innings later, Kevin Graham hit a two-run shot on a fastball to right field. In the fifth, Clayton Guzdial hit a three-run homer to left field.

“The home run ball has been a huge bonus to our offense all year,” said catcher Jimmy Obertop.

The other two runs were driven in on a game-ending hit by Kazuki Kanda in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Carter McCall pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one run on a walk. Sophomore Brayden Haug entered in relief, allowing no runs over 1.1 innings.

Westminster plays for the District Championship on Wednesday at 4 p.m. against St. Charles West at St. Charles West. Clayton Guzdial will be on the mound for the Wildcats.