Platte County had every reasonable excuse for a potential letdown season in 2021 — a small senior class, need to replace a core of four-year all-state veterans, positions still up for grabs in early games. All after a run to the Class 4 state semifinals a year earlier. Instead, the Pirates simply went back and earned a second straight state third-place trophy.
Now, nearly the entirety of a dynamic top-to-bottom lineup and experienced junior starting pitcher return ready to chase more hardware.
“A huge strength we have this year are all of our returners and our strong senior
class,” Platte County coach Callie Peoples said. “We have six seniors this year that each bring something different to the table. We have some very vocal seniors, some that lead by example, some that are the hardest workers on the team. We have talked to them about not trying to do too much their senior year and just sticking to their strengths. They have big goals about winning state this year and getting over the hump of getting third the past two years.”
The success will likely start with a potentially potent offense.
Platte County averaged right at 10 runs per game, and after an uneven start to the regular season, the Pirates ran off a seven-game winning streak to go from 13-9 in late September to the state semifinals. They scored nine or more in six of those wins, including 19-3 (William Chrisman), 13-4 (Kearney) and 9-4 (Excelsior Springs) to sweep through Class 4 District 8 and then a 10-0, five-inning blowout of Nevada in the state quarterfinals in a second straight postseason experience.
In the end, Platte County senior first baseman TK Lawson and pitcher/third baseman Mackenzie Shields earned Class 4 Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association (MHSFCA) all-state honors. Both were on the first team.
A third-year starter this season, Lawson led Platte County with team-highs in batting average (.476) and on-base percentage (.556), the latter number aided by 13 walks. She also topped the Pirates with eight home runs and 47 RBIs. Shields entered the season mostly expected to be part of a three-player pitching rotation but also started at third base and ended up all-state at utility.
In her first full year as a starter, Shields finished with a .474 batting average, .543 on-base percentage, six home runs, 34 RBIs and 35 runs scored. She posted team-best marks for slugging percentage (.910) and OPS (1.453). Her numbers included a two-home run, seven-RBI performance in a wild comeback victory over Kearney in Suburban Conference Blue Division play.
Platte County also returns some of the main table setters in the lineup in senior centerfielder Abby Reynolds and junior left fielder Avery Webster.
Reynolds started portions of her first three seasons but locked up an every-day role in 2021 to become an all-conference, all-district and all-region performance with a .347 batting average and a .495 on-base percentage thanks to 22 walks. She scored 47 runs.
Set to be a third-year starter, Webster hit .326 (.455 on-base percentage) with a pair of home runs and 37 runs scored. Anna Crowell, a junior, will start in right field, a position she played much of her sophomore season, compiling a .317 batting average, 24 runs scored and 17 RBIs as a productive part of the bottom of the lineup.
In between, Platte County also brings back senior shortstop Demi Riechers — a third-year starter who also has experience at second base and third base. She also helps fill in the middle of the lineup after an all-conference, all-district and all-region junior campaign that included a .362 average, .470 on-base percentage, 10 extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Emma Reed, a junior, will start at second base when Shields doesn’t pitch and move over to third when her senior teammate is on the mound. She played in 20 games as a sophomore and hit .425 with 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
“I think with our strong lineup and our strength of schedule (a state title game) is definitely in their grasp if we keep putting the work in,” Peoples said. “We will need to have consistent pitching and bring the same energy to the plate that we brought last year.”
Platte County’s only seniors from the 21-10 third-place team that finished No. 3 in the final MHSFCA Class 4 poll. However, they were extremely productive. Ali Gill turned into a solid backstop at catcher who then displayed offensive prowess as well, hitting four home runs and driving in 18 with a .506 on-base percentage. Koree Church went from potential contributor to a .393/.493/.590 average, on-base, slugging slash line and an every day player in the outfield or at designated hitter with 10 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs, the latter of which ranked third on the team.
Chloe Helmer entered the season as the No. 1 pitcher and started 12 games.
Eventually, Kallie Hitzelberger became the go-to No. 1 late in the year and finished with team-highs of 13 starts, 18 appearances, 79 2/3 innings and 53 strikeouts while walking only 25 as a sophomore. She finished with a 3.075 ERA and will be the clear No. 1 as a junior.
In addition to her hitting, Shields settled in as the No. 3 pitcher and appeared in 11 games on the mound, five starts. She went 1-0 with a 3.98 ERA, striking out 20 and walking 20 in 31 2/3 innings.
Peoples expects Platte County junior Morgan Shields to take over at catcher after she hit .400 with three doubles, a triple and a home run in just 20 at-bats. When Mackenzie Shields in pitching, junior Ava Carter, who received 19 at-bats last year, should play second base.
The biggest changes for Platte County will be with a move to the Suburban Conference White Division with Belton, Grain Valley, Raytown and William Chrisman in addition to an improved nonconference schedule and the chance to return to the campus stadium after playing at Platte Ridge Park in 2021 due to the high school construction project. The Pirates have shown the ability to learn and improve thanks to playing tough competition, evidenced last year when replacing six key seniors from the 2020 team that settled for a third-place state tie due to a COVID-19 shortened season.
The followup ended up including a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Washington and then a win over Incarnate Word Academy for the third-place repeat.
