Chandler comes up clutch to help Platte County end losing skid

The big hit finally came, even if the moment arrived after another potentially deflating development.

Mired in a losing streak most recently extended through missed opportunities, Platte County went from one out away from a victory to losing the lead in the top of the seventh inning of Monday’s nonconference game with Smithville The Pirates came right back, and junior Dalton Carlson’s double set up senior first baseman Brian Chandler’s walkoff single three batters later.

Platte County escaped with a dramatic 4-3 victory at Platte County High School, a result that became even more important after a difficult trip to the Brad Holt Memorial Festival in Stillwater, Oklahoma over the weekend. The Pirates made the trip off of back-to-back wins over Smithville and Fort Osage but lost three straight to out-of-state competition to drop their record to 3-8 overall.

Before the dramatics against Smithville, Platte County had lost five straight, including back-to-back road losses to Kearney and Park Hill South where the Pirates stranded the bases loaded in the top of the seventh with a chance to tie or take the lead.

Platte County senior Isaiah Smith’s turned in four solid innings in his second start of the season, allowing just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts, and sophomore Rocco Marriott went 1 1/3 innings scoreless to put the Pirates on the brink of a win. In fact, sophomore Brennan McLaughlin entered in relief of Marriott in the sixth with a runner on and proceeded to retire the first four hitters he faced while protecting a 2-1 lead.

However, Smithville senior Max Mackenzie singled with one out, and senior Ben Murawski promptly tripled him home to tie the score at 2-2.

An error allowed Murawski to score an unearned run, and after a groundout ended the inning, Platte County came back to bat needing at least one run to keep the game alive and avoid a longer losing skid. Pirates junior left fielder Bronson Ryan led off with a walk, and Carlson followed with his double to left field.

With two runners in scoring position, Smithville elected to intentionally walk Marriott and load the bases.

A grounder ended up forcing out Ryan at the plate, but Chandler came up and delivered a soft line drive to center field that scored junior courtesy runner Brady Davis with the tying run and Marriott with the winning runs. The Pirates mobbed Chandler, a full-time starter for the first time this season, in celebration of the victory.

Platte County finished with just five hits but also benefitted from three walks.

In the bottom of the first, Platte County junior infielder Dayton Doll led off with a walk, but the run ended up coming from McLaughlin, who went from first to third on a wild pitch and stolen base and then came home on a throwing error from the catcher on the steal. McLaughlin reached one a fielder’s choice that put the Pirates at two outs.

Smithville plated a tying run in the third on a pair of extra-base hits off of Smith, who retired six of the first seven he faced and then the final five.

Platte County came right back to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third after Chandler led off with a double. Doll’s ground out moved him over, and he came home on a squeeze bunt from junior second baseman Liam Blacklock.

The win also held importance for Class 5 District 8 seeding.

Kearney already holds a head-to-head win, but Platte County now has the early advantage on Smithville. Kearney and Smithville will play at least twice this season.

Platte County 12, Fort Osage 2, 6 innings

To complete unique back-to-back walkoff wins, the Pirates scored the winning run in the home half of the sixth Tuesday at Platte County High School on an RBI single from Davis with the bases loaded.

Carlson kept up hot hitting as Platte County’s starting catcher, finishing 3-for-3, while senior Tyler Stearns shifted from behind the plate to first base and went 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of RBIs. The Pirates moved Chandler across the diamond and back to third base, a position he played late last season. He drew a pair of walks in the followup to his walkoff heroics.

Fort Osage led 2-0 after the top of the second, but Platte County scored in each of the final five innings. The Pirates took a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the second and then broke the game open with fife in the third.

Platte County junior starter Owen Rawlings ended up charged with two unearned runs in 2 2/3 innings. He allowed only two hits and two walks, while striking out five and then gave way to senior JP Wormington with two outs in the third. He went the rest of the way, working around two more hits with only one strikeout.

In the bottom of the second, Platte County loaded the bases with Carlson’s one-out single and back-to-back walks for Marriott and Stearns. The Pirates’ first run came home on a wild pitch, and Marriott tied the score on senior Drew Boyer’s groundout. They took the lead on a balk that brought Stearns home from third base.

The biggest hit in the five-run third for Platte County came on Doll’s two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded.

Carlson plated a run in the fourth with a single to center, and Stearns added an RBI double with two outs to make it 10-2. Two more walks and a sacrifice fly from McLaughlin led to a single run in the fifth, and Carlson singled ahead of walks for Marriott and Stearns in a scenario similar to the second. Two batters later, Davis sneaked a grounder past a diving second baseman to end the game.

Platte County’s two-game winning streak came to an end in the trip to Oklahoma despite the offense scoring 26 runs across three games — one each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Pirates ended up with a 22-17 loss to host Stillwater on Friday with senior center fielder Devin Wassmann and McLaughlin both homering, while Doll went 4-for-6 with a double, triple, four RBIs and three runs scored.

Wassmann added a double in a potential breakout game for the fourth-year starter hitting in the middle of the order.