Platte County celebrates senior night with 3-inning blowout of Raytown

With frustrating results piling up in a still-promising season, Platte County erased all doubt early on senior night. A giant first inning Thursday yielded a 15-0 victory in three innings at Platte County High School — a quick result allowing for festivities to start early.

Platte County took a 10-0 lead in the first inning with all five seniors — shortstop Demi Riechers, third baseman Mackenzie Shields, first baseman Takayla Lawson, centerfielder Abby Reynolds and second baseman Ava Carter — scoring at least once in the process. The Pirates sent 15 to the plate in the inning.

After the game, players, coaches and fans celebrated the careers to this point of key senior starters, while still acknowledging the work left to do and potential for the rest of this season.

“It was really fun coming out and showing what we actually can do,” said Mackenzie Shields, who doubled and tripled with three RBIs and a run scored in the first inning. “I feel like we came out tonight and showed we can hit, we can do what everybody thinks we can.”

Platte County put up 11 hits and collected seven walks, scoring multiple runs in all three innings and invoked the 15-run rule victory just six batters into the third inning. Reynolds started the winning rally with a single and then scored on junior Emma Reed’s triple to center field to make it 13-0. The Pirates had four straight batters reach base with junior right fielder Anna Crowell adding an RBI single ahead of a walk for Carter.

Crowell scored the winning run, advancing on a passed ball and coming home on a wild pitch.

“Sometimes these games are kind of hard to get geared up to play,” Platte County coach Callie Peoples said. “That’s the conversation that we and before this game about still playing our game and doing all the things we’re supposed to do. But this supplies confidence, and it’s fun and boosts the morale a little bit.”

While Mackenzie Shields finished 2-for-3, Platte County junior catcher Morgan Shields went 3-for-3 and matched her older sister with a double and triple but recorded a game-high four RBIs. Riechers reached on two walks and a hit by pitch and scored twice in the first inning, while Crowell finished with two RBIs and two runs scored with her pair of singles.

Reed tripled twice and scored twice, and Carter accounted for two runs, also doubling and coming home in the big first inning.

In the first, Morgan Shields doubled with one out before Riechers walked. They then pulled off a double steal that accounted for the first run, and Mackenzie Shields hit a standup triple to left to score Riechers and put Platte County up 2-0. Lawson followed with an RBI single, and Reynolds walked before a strikeout left two on with two out.

The 3-0 lead quickly ballooned as the next seven reached for Platte County.

Crowell walked to load the bases, and a hit by pitch resulted in an RBI for Carter. Pirates junior outfielder Avery Webster also forced in a run with a two-out walk, and Morgan Shields’ three-run triple made it 8-0. Riechers reached again on a hit by pitch, and Mackenzie Shields doubled two more home to cap the inning’s scoring.

Platte County scored two more in the second with Reed providing a leadoff triple and scoring on Crowell’s groundout. Carter doubled and scored on a Morgan Shields’ two-out single to make it 12-0.

Platte County junior Kallie Hitzelberger started and scattered four hits and a walk while striking out three in three innings. She earned her second win of the week after working around three singles and a bases-loaded jump in the top of the first inning. The Pirates have regularly rotated starting opportunities in recent weeks for her and freshman Danica Salisbury, while Mackenzie Shields continues to serve as the main reliever.

Last fall, Hitzelberger emerged late in the year as an ace and keyed the postseason push, and similarly, Salisbury has earned increased innings as Peoples looks to mix and match to find the right combinations for this group.

“We’ve been kind of up and down, the whole team across the board, pitching included,” she said. “(Danica) has come and pitched well; Kallie has come in and pitched well; Mackenzie has come in and pitched well. They’ve all three done well at times, and all three have struggled at times. I’m trying to look at the games, who is playing and who is pitching well at the time, and that’s what we try to go with.

Platte County won three straight and improved to 11-10 on the season, moving back above a .500 record for the first time since September 12. The Pirates quickly recovered from an abnormal 13-7 blowout loss to Fort Osage the previous Thursday when Mackenzie Shields was tagged for six runs in one inning of relief after the Pirates had closed within a run.

Coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and third-place Class 4 state finishes, Platte County has been unable to produce a long winning streak against a tough schedule a pitching staff with a low strikeout rate that puts a lot of pressure on a steady defense. However, the offense continues to show glimpses of last year’s unit that produced 10 runs a game and fueled another charge to the state semifinals.

“Starting a few games ago, I feel like we really picked it up and started playing like we can,” Mackenzie Shields said. “I feel like trying to not to play down to (opponent’s) level and playing for the team rather than ourselves really helps.”

Platte County 14, William Chrisman 4, 5 innings

Webster went 3-for-4 with a triple and two singles, scored three runs and drove in another in a decisive White Division win Tuesday at Platte County High School.

Lawson, Reed, Reynolds and Mackenzie Shields also doubled, giving Platte County five extra-base hits out of 14 total. William Chrisman also committed seven turnovers leading to seven unearned runs for the Pirates.

Platte County never trailed, jumping to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first and scoring in every inning.

Webster actually popped out on her first at-bat, and Madison Shields reached on an error. A single for Riechers followed, then an RBI double for Mackenzie Shields for the initial run and a two-run double for Lawson to make it 3-0. The final two runs came with two outs on RBI doubles for Reynolds and Reed.

In the second, Webster led off with a triple and scored on Madison Shields’ infield single to make it 6-2. Riechers and Mackenzie Shields followed with singles, the second scoring two more. Mackenzie Shields came home on Salisbury’s single to right.

Webster led off the third, as well, and single and scored on Madison Shields’ single. She scored on an error when sophomore Addy Schlake reached while pinch-hitting for Lawson. Schlake scored on Salisbury’s two-out single to left to increase the lead to 12-4.

The run-rule went into effect in the bottom of the fourth when Webster singled home Carter, who reached on an error. Webster came home on a throwing error later in the inning to make it 14-4.

Salisbury ended up charged with only two runs, allowing eight hits and a walk but striking out four in five innings.

Platte County 8, Park Hill South 1

The Pirates scored the final eight unanswered, starting with three in the bottom of the second, on the way to a nonconference win Monday at Platte County High School.

Making the most of six hits and seven walks, Platte County trailed 1-0 going to the bottom of the second when the first four runners reached base. Mackenzie Shields walked, and Lawson doubled her home on the next pitch. Reynolds followed with an RBI single, and Reed’s followup single put two more on base with the Pirates suddenly ahead 2-1. Reynolds later scored on an error to make it 3-1.

The memorable moment came with two outs in the fifth with Platte County up 4-1.

Riechers drew a walk, coming back from an 0-2 count, and Shields hammered the next pitch over the center field fence for her second home run of the season. She hit six in an all-state junior campaign but had never before hit one at the high school with the Pirates forced to play all of last season’s home games at Platte Ridge Park.

“It was my first one ever at the Platte County field,” Shields said. “It was really exciting to be able to hit it here, especially my senior year.”

Platte County added two more in the sixth on three walks, an error and Crowell’s RBI single. Madison Shields drew the third walk of the inning to score the final run, and only a hard-luck lineout double play for Riechers limited the damage.

All of the offense backed a standout performance from Hitzelberger, who scattered five hits but issued no walks and struck out one. Park Hill South’s lone run in the top of the second ended up being unearned. She threw 66 total pitches, 49 for strikes.