In the wildest of wild weeks, Platte County found some needed response to adversity in a weekend trip to Papillion, Nebraska, for the Monarch Invitational. The Pirates entered off of three straight losses in Suburban Conference White Division play in substantially the first adversity of the season.
Platte County junior outfielder Brynna Peterson catches a fly ball against Fort Osage on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County ended up with eventful victories over Blair and Lincoln North Star on Friday that included a triple play and junior infielder Kinleigh Howren’s grand slam before closing with Saturday’s shutout loss to Gretna East. All three opponents were out of Nebraska.
The 11-7 victory over Blair came after a seven-run third put Platte County up nine in what ended up a time-limit five-inning victory. The Pirates never trailed and went up for good after a costly error and walk — both with the bases loaded and one out — in the top of the second.
Platte County senior pitcher Reagan Ball then worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third with a fly ball to junior right fielder Brynna Peterson, who threw in behind a wayward runner at second base for the second out. Pirates senior shortstop Bryli Seifert then threw home to sophomore catcher Evan Bane with the runner trying to advance with a late tag up.
Seifert went 1-for-1 with three walks but drove in three and scored once. She became a big part of the two-out rally in the bottom of the third that ended up producing seven runs.
Platte County junior second baseman Kinleigh Howren makes a throw to first base against Fort Osage on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Ball led off with a walk, and Platte County loaded the bases with a single from Bane plus another free pass to Bullano with two outs. The next five batters all delivered run-scoring hits — a single from Howren and doubles for senior left fielder Lillian Talbot, Seifert, sophomore first baseman Gracelyn Shippee and Ball. Tablot and Seifert both plated two with their hits.
Platte County led 10-1 at that point, but Ball allowed seven runs on 10 hits in five innings while striking out two. The Pirates led 1-0 after the top of the first and then 3-1 after the top of the second when an error and a bases-loaded walk led to two.
A similar pattern played out in Friday’s second game — a 13-4 win over Lincoln North Star.
Platte County scored twice in the top of the first after Howren and Talbot led off with singles and came home on a double from Seifert, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Lincoln North Star then answered with two against Talbot, making her second start of the season.
Platte County senior Reagan Ball swings at a pitch against Fort Osage on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
However, the first seven Platte County batters in the top of the second reached, starting with a double from freshman third baseman Caroline Reynolds. Bane walked, and Peterson reached on a bunt single. Bullano’s infield single put the Pirates ahead, and Howren followed with her third home run of the season — a grand slam to center field.
Talbot (single) and Seifert (double) started a new rally, and Platte County added one each on Shippee’s groundout, Bane’s single to left and Peterson’s double to center to increase the lead to 10-2.
Talbot ended up allowing four runs on nine hits with four strikeout, but Platte County went up 13-3 after plating three more in the top of the sixth. Shippee contributed an RBI double while Bane added a run-scoring single.
All nine players contributed at least one hit for Platte County’s consistently potent lineup during a 12-5 start to the season. However, Seifert’s single represented the only one in the 7-0 loss to Gretna East in Saturday’s game. Bullano and junior outfielder Lacy Hayes also drew walks.
Talbot also started against Lincoln North Star, allowing just three earned runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out three.
Platte County continues nonconference play this week at Park Hill on Tuesday and at a neutral site against Chillicothe (14-1) on Saturday. The Pirates also host a conference game with William Chrisman on Thursday.
Chillcothe’s lone loss came earlier this against Platte County in the season-opening Greater Kansas City Suburban Tournament.
Grain Valley 5, Platte County 4
Platte County sophomore first baseman Gracelyn Shippee swings at a pitch against Fort Osage on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
The Pirates saw a lead slip away Monday at Grain Valley, which hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead 5-3.
Talbot and Seifert finished with three runs apiece, while Shippee ended up with two RBIs in a matchup of two Suburban Conference White Division contenders. Howren and Talbot started with singles in the top of the first, and the Pirates were immediately up 2-0 after a two-out error resulted in two unearned runs.
Platte County stranded two runners in scoring position in third and saw the lead trimmed to one in the fourth after a leadoff triple against Ball, who limited the damage in the inning but ended up allowing five runs on nine hits with one strikeout. The Pirates answered back in the top of the fifth on Talbot’s one-out double, and an RBI single from Seifert, currently the owner of a .788 season batting average.
Grain Valley’s four extra-base hits in the bottom of the frame — a double, triple and two solo home runs — ended up the difference.
Platte County’s final run came on Talbot’s sacrifice fly in the seventh to score Howren, who led off with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. The Pirates ended up stranding the potential tying and go-ahead runs at second and third after Seifert single with one out, and Ball doubled with two down.
Grain Valley beat Platte County 10-0 earlier this season in the Greater KC tournament.
Fort Osage 5, Platte County 2
Platte County senior Reagan Ball delivers a pitch against Fort Osage on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Hayes started but lasted just one inning in a loss Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Fort Osage scored one in the first and four in the second. Ball ended up pitching six innings after coming on in relief with the bases loaded in the second but didn’t up charged with any runs while striking out five.
Platte County totaled 10 hits with three, including a double, from Shippee. However, the Pirates didn’t score until the bottom of the seventh when Bullano led off with a triple. Howren scored her with a single, and after a groundout, Seifert added an RBI double. The Pirates stranded her at second and finished with a total of nine runners left on, including leaving the bases loaded in both the sixth and the fourth.
Belton 15, Platte County 14, 9 innings
Platte County senior shortstop Bryli Seifert celebrates at second base after hitting a double against Fort Osage on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
The two teams combined for 29 runs and 32 hits in a marathon conference matchup Thursday at Belton.
Talbot, Seifert and Reynolds all finished with three hits for Platte County, which trailed 4-0, 7-2, 8-6 and 12-11 but also led 11-8 and 13-12. Belton hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh to ultimately extend the game to extra innings.
Neither team scored in the eighth, but Talbot’s leadoff double and a single from Shippee put Platte County ahead 14-13 in the top of the ninth.
Belton loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning, then tied the score and earned the walkoff win with a pair of walks. Ball threw 8 2/3 innings and struck out four.
Platte County trailed 4-0 after the bottom of the first and 7-2 going to the top of the third after a three-run home run in the second. However, a hit by pitch and an error started Platte County’s five-run third.
In the fourth, Platte County went ahead for the first time on two-out RBI singles from Reynolds and Bane and then a bases-clearing three-run double for Bullano. Belton didn’t trail again until the seventh.
Platte County dropped to 2-3 in White Division play with the loss and now face an uphill climb for getting back into the conference title race. Grain Valley continues to rank in a tie first in Class 5 in the Missouri Fastpitch Coaches Association, while Platte County (No. 3) and Belton (No. 8) were both ranked in Class 4 in the first of two scheduled meetings between the two teams this season.
