Platte County hopes to take positives from difficult week into playoff push

Platte County understood the potential for a difficult final full week of the regular season, thanks to a scheduling quirk that created a gauntlet of four games on consecutive days. The Pirates must now try to find the positives after losing three, only salvaging Tuesday’s senior night against overmatched William Chrisman.

Kearney overcame a very early deficit and pulled away for a 6-1 victory in Thursday’s nonconference rivalry matchup that ultimately decided the top seed for the upcoming Class 4 District 8 tournament and provided a possible preview of the title game. The loss came a day after the Pirates went to extra innings but lost 1-0 to Grain Valley in their second meeting in three days. On Monday, the Eagles struck early and ended up with an 8-1 win that secured the Suburban Conference White Division title.

If not for the 18-0 three-inning blowout of William Chrisman, Platte County (16-10) could have endured an even tougher prelude to the postseason, even with this included losing out on a potential share of the league title and the No. 1 seed for the district tournament.

“I think there’s a lot of positive to what we’ve done the last two days, especially,” Platte County coach Callie Peoples said. “We played two really tough opponents, Grain Valley twice this week. We played Grain Valley pretty rough Monday, letting them score five runs the first inning. From doing that Monday to making the improvement we made on Wednesday mean everything. We showed a lot more pride the last two days; we showed a lot more resiliency. I think those are the main things we take into the postseason.”

Platte County’s 1-0 lead disappeared on a questionable call in the in the top of the fourth before a towering home run put Kearney ahead for good in the sixth. The Bulldogs ended up with 13 hits and created more scoring opportunities in support of senior starter Katelynn Landewee.

Kearney senior Alyssa Quick’s solo home run to left field to lead off the top of the sixth against Platte County senior pitcher Reagan Ball broke the 1-1 tie. The Bulldogs then added three straight singles to add an insurance run that became even more important in the bottom of the inning.

Platte County sophomore third baseman Kinleigh Howren drew a leadoff walk — one only two Landewee allowed — and then ended up at third on junior shortstop Bryli Seifert’s double to right-center field with one out. That brought up freshman designated hitter Gracelynn Shippee and Ball with the potential tying run at second, but both struck out.

“Every high pressure situation like that, especially with a freshman like Grace, I think all these situations she’s being put in are going to pay off,” Peoples said. “They’re giving her that experience, and that matters.”

Kearney put the first five runners on in the seventh and scored three more, and Ball ended up tagged with 13 hits and six earned runs.

Platte County took a very quick lead in the first against Landewee, who ended up striking out 13. She hit Howren with her third pitch, and Pirates junior left fielder Lillian Talbot battled back from an 0-2 count to hit an RBI double to center field. She saw 11 pitches total, fouling off six straight at one point to keep the at-bat alive.

Talbot went to third on the throw home trying to cut down Howren but ended up stranded there after Landewee struck out three straight.

“Whenver you’re playing a team like Kearney, every single run matters; every single baserunner matters so being able to capitalize in the first inning was important,” People said.

Platte County ended up with just three hits total, the last a one-out single for junior center fielder Kelly Bullano in the bottom of the seventh with the Pirates down 6-1.

Kearney improved to 25-6 overall and now goes into the Class 4 District 8 tournament this week as the No. 1 seed and three-time defending champion. The Bulldogs reached the state semifinals in both 2022 and 2023, winning the Class 4 state title in the first trip.

Platte County continues to seek the program’s first playoff berth since 2021, the second of back-to-back third-place state finishes in Class 4. The Pirates have reached the district title game in each of the three seasons since but lost to Kearney each time. In both 2023 and 2024, they won a regular season matchup with the Bulldogs only to lose in the postseason.

“I think we just talk about if we’re going to get a win, (today) wasn’t the one we want. The next one is the one we want,” Peoples said. “Obviously, we want both, but if we have to pick one, I’d rather flip the script and get them next game.”

Platte County opens as the No. 2 seed and hosts Lincoln Prep (5-9) at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday with the winner advancing to Saturday’s 10 a.m. semifinal against either Smithville (18-11) or St. Teresa’s Academy (9-10) at William Chrisman High School in Independence.

Grain Valley 8, Platte County 1

The Eagles scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back in Monday’s matchup in Grain Valley.

Platte County stranded two runners in the top of the first — Howren after a leadoff single and Seifert with a one-out walk — then immediately went behind. Grain Valley put up six of 10 hits collected against Ball in the bottom half of the frame with a grand slam and solo home run accounting for the 5-0 lead.

Down 6-0 after the fourth, Platte County scored the lone run in the top of the fifth after Howren reached on a hit by pitch, and Talbot followed with a triple to left field. She ended up stranded at third, and one of the Pirates’ three errors led to two Grain Valley runs — one unearned — in the bottom of the inning against Ball, who walked three and struck out one.

Platte County went into the week needing a sweep of the two White Division matchups with Grain Valley to have a shot at sharing the conference title.

Platte County 18, William Chrisman 0, 3 innings

After batting just twice, the Pirates celebrated senior night for catcher Gwen Duncan, second baseman Marlee Snyder-Richardson, first baseman Dani Salisbury and outfielder Evie Thrasher on Tuesday at Platte County High School.

Seifert came up with the bases loaded in the seven-run second inning, and after Thrasher came home on a passed ball, an inside-the-park home run scored three more. Seifert now sits tied with Shippee for the team lead in home runs with three.

Going 2-for-2 with a walk, Seifert drove in three and scored three times, as did Howren and Talbot. Ball plated three — one on a groundout and two more on a single in two at-bats in the first inning.

A four-year starter, Salisbury received the start and struck out five and walked one in an abbreviated no-hitter in one of her final appearances in the pitching circle at Platte County. She served as the ace as a freshman and sophomore but transitioned to a secondary role as a pitcher while continuing to play first base.

All four seniors were in the batting order against William Chrisman.

A starter as a sophomore who stepped away from the team last season, Thrasher went 1-for-2, scored twice and drove in two while continuing to serve in a deep rotation of outfielders and frequent duties as a courtesy runner when not starting. Duncan took hold of the catching duties as a junior and quickly established herself as a critical piece of the defense and offense, and she went 1-for-3.

Salisbury doubled and scored twice in a perfect day at the plate, while Snyder-Richardson — the starting second baseman — each of the past two seasons, tripled and walked twice, while scoring twice.

Grain Valley 1, Platte County 0

In a game rescheduled into an already busy week after being postponed by weather last month, the Eagles scored the winning run in the top of the eighth with a two-out single Wednesday night at Platte County High School.

Platte County finished with just four hits but also drew a pair of walks but didn’t have a runner until Seifert singled with two outs in the fourth. Ball led off the fifth with a with a single, and Thrasher, serving as courtesy runner, stole second and ended up stranded in scoring position. The Pirates put at least one runner on in the sixth, seventh and eighth as well but couldn’t come up with a run.

Talbot walked with two outs in the sixth, but Shippee led off the seventh with a double. After Ball was hit by a pitch, Platte County’s two runners didn’t advance with a chance to score a walkoff run.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Talbot doubled with two outs, and Grain Valley intentionally walked Seifert and then escaped the jam. Salisbury started and scattered seven hits and two walks while striking out three, putting Platte County in position to at least earn a split of the two games. She improved to 7-3 on the season with a 2.13 ERA and a team-high 40 strikeouts over 46 innings pitched in 10 appearances.