Getting to play under the lights at a major league field is a dream for most St. Louis area baseball players. The varsity baseball team got to do that on April 13 against Parkway North High. Junior Eric White was the starting pitcher and he threw seven innings, only giving up one earned run on four hits.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was so excited to see myself where big leaguers play,” White said. “Running on to the mound and looking around the stadium was absolutely breathtaking.”
While playing at Busch Stadium was very exciting, White tried to stay focused on what he was there for. To White, nothing matters other than what he can do to help the team win when he is on the mound.
“Whenever it’s my turn to pitch, I don’t care about the team and I don’t care about their record,” White said. “I just care about doing my job that day and throwing strikes to help my team win a game.”
As one of only 3 seniors, catcher JT Kerr was experiencing the rush of playing at Busch Stadium for the last time.
“It’s an experience I’ll never forget,” Kerr said.
“To get to play on the same field as major league players is a really awesome feeling.”
The players get to experience something that a lot of kids dream about and one of those things is seeing themselves on the Jumbo screen.
“For me, the best part about playing at Busch Stadium was seeing myself on the jumbo screen,” Kerr said. “It was a really cool feeling to see my plays appear on the screen.”
This is the fourth time that the baseball team has played at Busch Stadium. A Central and North alum both work for the Cardinals, and approached head coach Scott Davis and former North head coach, Coach Katz about playing each other at Busch Stadium, according to coach Davis.
The team lost 3-2 in a tough game that went to extra innings. Sophomore Anthony Klein, sophomore Antonio Hutti, and junior Ben Prywitch led the Colts with two hits a piece. North scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Colts answered with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. After seven innings, the game was still tied, and the game went into extra innings.
North won the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a walk-off groundout. After the varsity game was over, the two teams either get to finish 9 innings or play until the two-and-a-half-hour mark is over. During this time, the teams put in the varsity players that didn’t play yet, and then fill in the rest of the lineup with junior varsity players.
“It was a great experience being able to play on the field as a sophomore,” JV third baseman Stephen Vierling said.
“I never expected to get to play on a major league field.”
This is an experience that most people won’t forget. Busch Stadium is considered one of the best MLB stadiums.
“Baseball means a lot to me,” Kerr said. “I’ve been playing the sport since 2nd grade and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”