In what ended up an extravaganza of offense, Platte County survived for what could be an important 10-7 road win over Smithville on Tuesday afternoon. The two teams combined for 26 hits — three of them home runs — in the nonconference matchup of rivals at Smithville High School.
Platte County freshman Gracelyn Shippee swings at a pitch against Smithville on Tuesday evening at Smithville High School.
Platte County never trailed after three extra-base hits produced four runs in the first inning but needed home runs from freshman designated hitter Gracelyn Shippee and junior all-state shortstop Bryli Seifert at critical junctures to stave off Smithville’s comeback attempts. The Warriors closed within 5-4 after scoring at least one run in each of their first three innings at-bat and brought the potential tying run to the plate with no outs in the sixth.
However, Platte County junior pitcher Reagan Ball, who pitched all seven innings with no walks and no strikeouts, stranded two runners in scoring position with a popout, a groundout back to her that resulted in an out at the plate and another harmless groundout to senior second baseman Marlee Snyder-Richardson.
Up 9-6 at that point, Platte County produced a 10th run in the top of the ninth with walks for sophomore right fielder Brynna Peterson and senior left fielder Evie Thrasher at the bottom of the lineup. Thrasher eventually scored on a bizarre sequence that saw Peterson thrown out at third for the second out on sophomore third baseman Kinleigh Howren’s groundout shortstop. Thrasher came home with Smithville trying to turn a double play.
Smithville added a seventh run in the bottom of the seventh on a single, a double and a sacrifice fly that produced the first out. Ball then retired the next two batters on poppets to preserve the win likely important to Class 4 District 8 seeding later in the season.
Platte County senior second baseman Marlee Snyder-Richardson prepares to field a ground ball against Smithville on Tuesday evening at Smithville High School.
Eleven of Platte County’s 15 hits went for extra bases, including three doubles for junior centerfielder Kelly Bullano and two more for Ball. The Pirates’ four-run top of the first started with back-to-back doubles for Howren and Bullano before Seifert, who recently committed to continue her career at Division I LSU, scored one with a fielder’s choice that didn’t result in an out.
Ball’s first double scored two before Peterson plated freshman courtesy runner Eva Bane with a single to center field.
Smithville cut the deficit to 4-2 before Shippee led off the top of the third with a solo home run to center field — her second in the first four games of her career. Seifert’s first of the season came in the top of the fourth right after Bullano doubled to center and extended the lead back to 7-4, and a stretch of two-out doubles from Shippee, Snyder-Richardson and Peterson resulted in a second four-run inning.
Bullano went 3-for-5 and scored twice, while Seifert, Ball, Shippee, Snyder-Richardson and Peterson all finished with two hits apiece.
Platte County 13, Truman 0, 5 innings
The Pirates ran their winning streak to four with a blowout in their Suburban Conference White Division opener on Wednesday in Independence.
Platte County sophomore third baseman Kinleigh Howren swings at a pitch against Smithville on Thursday evening at Smithville High School.
In another strong offensive showing, Platte County put up 13 hits with Snyder-Richardson going 3-for-3 with three singles, three RBIs and two runs scored. The Pirates put up five in the first inning and seven in the second to put the run rule in play, while senior Dani Salisbury threw a five-hit, five-inning shutout. She struck out five with no walks.
Platte County’s opening sequence at the plate included singles for Howren, Seifert, Shippee and Snyder-Richardson with an error also leading to a fifth run. Snyder-Richardson came home on a passed ball with two outs. The Pirates sent 11 to the plate in the second with RBI singles for Ball, Snyder-Richardson and Peterson plus run-scoring doubles for Bane, who started in right field, and Salisbury.
Peterson scored the final run after her RBI single brought home Salisbury, coming around on an error from a pickoff attempt. Howren then tripled but ended up stranded at third base before plating Platte County’s 13th and final run in the fourth with an RBI single to bring home Thrasher, who was running for Salisbury after she drew a second walk.
Salisbury scattered five singles but worked around putting two runners on base in both the third and the fourth to help keep the run rule in play.
Liberty North 7, Platte County 2
Platte County sophomore outfielder Brynna Peterson rounds first base after a hit against Smithville on Tuesday evening at Smithville High School.
The Pirates’ saw the four-game winning streak end and dropped to 5-3 on the season in Thursday’s home opener.
Liberty North came back from a 2-0 deficit, scoring multiple runs against Ball in the fourth, fifth and seventh to pull away in the nonconference matchup. Platte County scored both runs in the bottom of the second after Howren led off with a single and Bullano walked. An error on the pitcher moved Howren to third, and she scored on Seifert’s groundout to shortstop. The Pirates missed on a potential bigger inning when Shippee and Ball both singled, the second bringing home Seifert for the second run.
However, Snyder-Richardson grounded into a hard-luck double play to third base to end the threat.
Liberty North didn’t have more than one runner in any of the first four innings but start the fourth with a single and a home run to tie the score. The Eagles finished with 12 hits — six in a three-run fifth and three in a two-run seventh.
Platte County left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth after walks for Ball, Bane and senior catcher Gwen Duncan and missed a chance to go back in front and had at least one runner in the fifth, sixth and seventh but did not score again.
