Baseball Game Preview: St. Dominic Crusaders vs. Hazelwood West Wildcats

The St. Dominic Crusaders will face off against the Hazelwood West Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. St. Dominic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.

St. Dominic is returning to their home field after beating Father Tolton on theirs, despite the fact Father Tolton has dominated at home this season. The Crusaders came out on top against Father Tolton by a score of 6-2 on Monday. The victory continues a trend for the Crusaders in their matchups with Father Tolton: they've now won six in a row.

Trey Peroutka spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.

Daniel Henke

Stolen Base (Career)

05/05/25 @ Father Tolton	2
05/01/25 vs St. Francis Borgia	1
04/24/25 @ Lutheran	1
04/15/25 vs Lutheran	1
04/14/25 @ Howell Central	1

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Daniel Henke, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Kolt Hopper was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Hazelwood West was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost an 8-6 heartbreaker at the hands of Valley Park. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Wildcats have suffered since May 10, 2024.

Dwayne Belk was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Hazelwood West's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 2-1 (and 10-15 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Jace Torrence, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

St. Dominic's win bumped their record up to 16-6-1. As for Hazelwood West, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-16.