Platte County ended a two-game skid with an impressively resilient win over one of Class 6’s top-ranked teams then overcame a hiccup in the second game of the highly competitive Columbia Tournament. The Pirates closed with back-to-back wins — one each Friday evening and Saturday morning — in an effort to steer back on track.
Platte County junior Rocco Marriott hits a ball against Smithville on Monday at Smithville High School in Smithville.
Going 3-1 in the three-day event, Platte County improved to 11-4 overall, having split the last six games in the most challenging stretch of the season to to this point.
Platte County went into the Columbia Tournament off of a loss to Smithville in a matchup likely to impact this year’s Class 5 District 8 seeding. The first of three pool games Thursday came against Fort Zumwalt West, currently ranked No. 3 in the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 6 poll. Each team held a pair of leads before the matchup ended up in extra innings.
After Platte County junior Andrew Edsall threw a second straight scoreless inning of relief, the Pirates rallied for a 9-8 walkoff win in the bottom of the eighth.
Edsall reached with a two-out walk, and Platte County junior catcher Ian Gold doubled to left field to put two runners in scoring position and turn the lineup over. Taylor Stambersky, a senior second baseman and one of three returning all-state infielders, delivered for the Pirates with a single to center field, plating senior courtesy runner Trent Belcher with the winning run.
Platte County needed two runs in the bottom of the seventh just to reach extra innings.
Fort Zumwalt West (16-4) overcame an early deficit and led 3-2 and 8-6 but couldn’t hold either advantage. In the bottom of the seventh, Stamberskey led off with a triple and scored on senior shortstop Dayton Doll’s RBI groundout to cut Platte County’s deficit to 8-7. After a strikeout, the Pirates forged a tie on junior centerfielder Rocco Marriott’s solo home run to left field on the first pitch he saw.
Platte County sophomore Evan Magnuson delivers a pitch against Smithville on Monday night at Smithville High School in Smithville.
Edsall allowed only one runner with a walk in his two innings and earned the win on the mound.
Platte County sophomore Evan Magnuson started and struck out five, while scattering three walks and five hits over five effective innings. The Pirates staked him to a two-run lead in an adventuresome bottom of the first Stambersky and Doll, who combined for five hits, started with back-to-back singles before a double play left just one runner on with two outs.
After Marriott walked, Platte County took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single from senior rightfielder Brock Fowler, who finished 2-for-4 with four runs driven in. The second run came on an error.
Both offenses were productive in the third inning with Fort Zumwalt West plating all three runs off of Magnuson on a two-out bases-clearing double to take the first of two leads.
Platte County answered with four after Doll led off with a single and junior shortstop Brennan McLaughlin walked. After a fielder’s choice on a bunt from Marriott loaded the bases, Fowler cleared the bases with a double and then scored on junior first baseman Brooks Hall’s single to left. The lead held until top of the sixth when McLaughlin came on in relief and allowed five runs (four earned) in just 2/3 of an inning with junior Zach Brown coming on to allow an inherited runner to score on a passed ball before stranding two more in scoring position to give the Pirates a chance at the two late rallies to win.
On Friday, Platte County never led in a 4-3 loss to Blair Oaks (11-7), currently ranked No. 3 in Class 4. The Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against senior starting pitcher Wes Chiddix, who ended up striking out and walking just one in four innings.
Platte County senior shortstop Dayton Doll prepares to field a ground ball against Smithville on Monday at Smithville High School in Smithville.
Platte County tied the score in the bottom of the fourth when Fowler hit a two-run double to score McLaughlin and Marriott, who led off the inning with back-to-back singles. The Pirates missed a chance to go in front with Fowler caught stealing third before loading the bases again on a double for Edsall and back-to-back walks for Gold and senior outfielder Patrick McCool.
Blair Oaks scored one run in both the top of the fifth and sixth off of Platte County senior reliever Owen Rawlings, who ended up charged with only one earned run in two innings before Brown pitched a scoreless seventh. The Pirates closed back within 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh after Stambersky walked and Doll singled with one out to put runners on the corners.
McLaughlin scored one with a groundout, but Marriott flew out to right field to end the game.
After a short turnaround, Platte County came back to finish pool play with an 8-3 victory over Battle with Doll collecting a pair of triples among his three hits and scoring three times. McLaughlin and Marriott also drove in two runs apiece for the Pirates, who finished with seven total extra-base hits.
In the top of the first, Stambersky doubled and immediately scored on the next pitch when Doll tripled to right. He came home on a single from McLaughlin to put Platte County up 2-0.
Battle came back with all three runs scored off of Hall (four innings, five strikeouts) in the bottom of the second, but the Pirates answered in the next half inning on Marriott’s RBI single to score Doll. The 3-3 tie lasted until the fifth.
Platte County senior Taylor Stambersky swings at a pitch against Smithville on Monday at Smithville High School in Smithville.
Doll’s leadoff triple started a three-run inning for Platte County with Marriott driving him in with a one-out single. Fowler followed with an RBI double, and the Pirates went up 6-3 on Edsall’s two-out single to center.
Stambersky and McLaughlin finished the scoring in the top of the sixth with an RBI double each for Platte County, which finished second in the pool and advanced to play Smith-Cotton in Saturday’s placement game.
Platte County started Belcher on the mound, and he lasted three innings, allowing just one earned run, with juniors Lucas Dillingham and Owen Bane throwing two innings each in relief. Dillingham struck out two and ended up charged with one earned run, while Bane came in with two runners on and allowed one to score on a wild pitch but ultimately retired all six batters he faced in what ended up a 6-4 comeback win for the Pirates.
Smith-Cotton (11-9) held two one-run leads, including going up 1-0 with a run in the top of the first against Belcher.
Platte County scored three runs in the bottom of the second and three more in the bottom of the sixth to erase both deficits. In the second, McLaughlin led off with a single before the Pirates loaded the bases with back-to-back walks for Hall and Edsall. The first run came on a sacrifice fly from freshman catcher Boston Wasserman, and senior left fielder Bronson Ryan followed with an RBI single.
Platte County senior Brock Fowler slides into third base against Smithville on Monday at Smithville High School in Smithville.
Edsall came home on Stambersky’s groundout.
After the inherited runner from Dillingham scored a go-ahead run in the top of the sixth, Platte County’s final rally of the weekend started with an error before Edsall walked again. A sacrifice bunt from Wasserman put two runners in scoring position, and Ryan walked to load the bases. The Pirates tied the score again on Stambersky’s RBI single then went up two runs on a sacrifice fly from Doll and Fowler’s two-out, run-scoring single.
Bane induced three straight groundouts to end the game.
Smithville 11, Platte County 5
The Warriors put up five unearned runs in the bottom of the first and didn’t look back in Monday’s matchup at Smithville High School between two of the three state-ranked teams in Class 5 District 8.
Likely set for a move up the poll after entering at No. 6, Smithville (13-2) took full advantage of three errors — all in the opening frame. McLaughlin ended up charged with all five runs but none earned but only lasted two innings with two strikeouts, no walks and four hits allowed.
Platte County led 1-0 after two batters with Stambersky leading off with a walk and scoring on Doll’s triple to right field. However, the Pirates left him stranded there and didn’t lead again.
In the top of the third, Platte County did close within 5-2 after Doll tripled with one out and scored two batters later on a single from Marriott. Doll came home from third with McLaughlin in a rundown for what ended up the final out in the top of the fifth to bring the Pirates within 7-3.
Smithville answered with four runs in the bottom of the fifth off of Magnuson (2 2/3 innings, three strikeouts) and Chiddix (1 1/3 innings, three strikeouts). They walked four each in relief.
Platte County scored two in the top of the seventh on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice from McLaughlin that resulted in the second out, and Marriott followed with RBI single. Fowler struck out with two runners on to end the game.
