Platte County places 5th in Gold Division of Greater KC tourney, goes 4-1 overall

Platte County star senior shortstop Bryli Seifert delivered the (should-have-been) walkoff blow in a consolation semifinal victory then provided the initial blast in what ended up an 8-4 victory for the Pirates in the Gold Division fifth-place game of the Greater Kansas City Suburban Tournament on Saturday at Adair Park in Independence.

Across two days, Platte County went 4-1 with the lone loss coming to the eventual overall winner out of the 24-team field. The Pirates also scored a win over the Silver Division bracket champion in Friday’s pool play.

Seifert drove the success, going 10-for-13 with five home runs, three doubles, three walks and 13 RBIs while scoring nine times in the season-opening tournament. Platte County averaged eight runs per game despite a 10-0 shutout loss in Saturday’s bracket opener against Grain Valley. The Pirates rebounded to beat Lee’s Summit 9-8 on Seifert’s go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, and she added a three-run shot in the top of the first against Pleasant Hill.

On an increasingly hot day that created issues for players and umpires, Platte County trailed most of the way against Lee’s Summit and seemingly faced a drop into the seventh-place game. The Tigers scored in each of the first three innings against senior pitcher Reagan Ball, who allowed eight runs while struggling in the heat and eventually exiting after 2 2/3 innings.

In the bottom of the fourth, Platte County staged a six-run rally to overcome a five-run deficit. The innings tarted with consecutive singles from junior outfielder/pitcher Lacy Hayes, senior centerfielder Kelly Bullano and freshman third baseman Caroline Reynolds. Eva Bane, a sophomore shifting into the starting catcher role, hit a sacrifice fly, and the Pirates were potentially down to their last out when junior second baseman Kinleigh Howren came to the plate.

The leadoff hitter who shifts over from third base this season, Howren drew a walk to load the bases again.

Platte County then closed within one run on senior leftfielder Lillian Talbot’s three-run triple to right field. Seifert came up and blasted her third home run of the tournament over the center field fence on the next pitch.

The 90-minute game time limit already hit, meaning the game should’ve ended at that point as a walkoff 9-8 win. Instead, the umpire failed to make the call, and Lee’s Summit coaches believed the fifth inning should have started due to the late indication.

The 9-8 score stood, and Platte County advanced to the fifth-place game. The Pirates were the home team, and Hayes started at pitcher and quickly worked a 1-2-3 top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, Howren and Talbot quickly reached with back-to-back singles.

Seifert hit the first pitch of her at-bat into left field with the ball loudly landing on the tin roof of a shelter well beyond the fence.

Platte County’s 3-0 lead held until the third when Reynolds, a left-handed hitter, slapped a single to left field to score Seifert, who reached on a one-out single and stole second. Howren added a two-run single in the fourth to score junior rightfielder Brynna Peterson and Hayes started the frame with back-to-back singles. Bullano used a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up.

Seifert came up with two outs and hit another home run to push the Pirates’ lead to 8-1.

Hayes scored the win after going five of the six innings before the time limit. She struck out two and allowed four runs on nine hits and a walk. Talbot pitched the final inning with Ball resting after the issues earlier in the day.

Talbot allowed a pair of two-out singles but never allowed the potential tying run to come to the plate.

Platte County opened pool play Friday morning with a 19-0 three-inning win over Harrisonville. Seifert went 3-for-3 with two home runs and a double, driving in six. Howren and Talbot provided the support in what promisingly looks like a dynamic top third of the lineup.

Howren homered and scored four times, while Talbot collected a double and a triple, drove in four more and also accounted for four runs.

Platte County sophomore first baseman Gracelyn Shippee added a double and three RBIs from the cleanup spot. The Pirates put up 10 in the first and added nine in the third to invoke the 15-run mercy rule.

Ball allowed only one hit and struck out six in her first start of the season.

Later in the morning, Platte County then came back late to earn a 4-2 win over Chillicothe, which went on to also win 4 of 5 games and capture the Silver Division title Saturday. The Hornets took a 2-0 lead into the top of the sixth but committed a costly error on Talbot’s grounder to second to start the inning.

Seifert followed with a single, and Shippee tied the game with a two-run double to center.

Platte County stranded Shippee at second, but Ball, who scattered five hits, a walk and a pair of hit batters, retired Chillicothe in order in the bottom of the sixth. The Pirates finished with 11 hits and three came in the decisive top of the seventh.

Hayes drew a leadoff walk and reached second on Bullano’s sacrifice bunt that turned over the lineup.

Howren plated the go-ahead run with a triple, and Talbot provided Platte County with an insurance run on a single to right field. Chillicothe intentionally walked Seifert, and Shippee loaded the bases with a single. The Pirates were unable to add to the 4-2 lead, but Ball again worked an efficient 1-2-3 seventh to close out a complete game.

Ball struck out just one but needed only 69 pitches to work seven innings.

Grain Valley, which has won nine of the past 10 meetings between the Suburban Conference White Division rivals dating to the start of the 2022 season, invoked the five-inning 10-run rule against Platte County in Saturday’s opener. The Pirates managed just one hit — a double from Seifert — in addition to three walks in the loss.

Talbot started and ended up tagged with seven runs but only two were earned in 3 2/3 innings. Ball came on in relief, but the two pitchers combined for only two strikeouts, while giving up 11 hits.

Despite the setback, Platte County won four games in the GKC Tournament for the first time since also going 4-1 in 2009.