Platte County rallied back from a loss to open Suburban Conference White Division play with an 11-0 shutout of Truman in five innings Wednesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County junior Dani Salisbury swings at a pitch against Smithville on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
A nine-run bottom of the fourth put the run-rule into play and backed sophomore pitcher Reagan Ball’s standout performance in the circle. She earned her fourth victory of the season, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out two in five shutout innings.
Platte County (4-3) entered off of a 7-1 loss to rival Smithville a day earlier and avoided falling below .500 for the first time this season. The Pirates held a 2-0 lead going to the bottom of the fourth and then rapped out seven singles while sending 13 batters to the plate.
The big inning started with walks for junior pitcher/first baseman Dani Salisbury and junior second baseman Marlee Snyder-Richardson. The next three batters — junior catcher Gwen Duncan, freshman third baseman Kinleigh Howren and sophomore centerfielder Kelly Bullano — each contributed an RBI single, while Richardson also scored on Duncan’s hit due to a throwing error on the play.
Truman recorded outs on the next two batters but then walked senior right fielder Haley Schank and hit Ball with a pitch to load the bases.
Salisbury came back up with a two-run single to push Platte County’s lead to 8-0, and Snyder-Richardson, who finished 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored, plated two more with a hit up the middle to put the run-rule into play. Two batters later, Howren collected her second hit of the inning — an RBI single — to score the final run, while Duncan, who had singled in front of her, was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play.
Platte County freshman third baseman Kinleigh Howren makes a throw to first against Smithville on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Ball retired Truman in order in the top of the fifth without allowing a ball out of the infield. She worked out of her biggest jam in the second inning after allowing a pair of singles and used a double play to erase her only issued walk in the fourth.
Platte County took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first without a hit. Howren and Bullano walked, and with Bullano at the plate, Howren stole second and third and came home on a passed ball. Pirates sophomore all-state shortstop Bryli Seifert was hit by a pitch, and sophomore left fielder Lily Talbot’s groundout moved both runners into scoring position. The Pirates went up 2-0 on Schank’s sacrifice fly.
After keeping Truman off the board in the top of the second, Salisbury led off the bottom of the inning with a double but ended up stranded. That was the only one of Platte County’s 10 hits to go for extra bases.
Smithville 7, Platte County 1
Five errors doomed the Pirates on Tuesday afternoon in the second meeting between the two teams in a span of four days.
Platte County sophomore shortstop Bryli Seifert swings at a pitch against Smithville on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Smithville scored five in the top of the seventh to pull away at Platte County High School, and four total runs scored were unearned. Platte County committed five errors total and didn’t create enough offense from six total hits. The Pirates won the previous matchup 12-0 in five innings last Saturday in the third-place game of the Greater Kansas City Invitational’s Silver Division, but neither team used their No. 1 pitcher in anticipation of the quick turnaround for a rematch.
Platte County fell behind 2-0 after the top of the third when the Warriors doubled their lead with an unearned run scored off of an error. The Pirates had threatened to the score in the bottom of the second on Talbot’s leadoff double.
Salisbury, who struck out three with no walks while allowing nine hits in the pitcher’s circle, worked out of trouble in the top of the fourth, and Platte County finally broke through on offense. Seifert, who went 3-for-3, led off with a double and scored on a passed ball. Schank walked during the same at-bat but ended up stranded.
Platte County didn’t have another extra-base hit but did leave two more runners on in the sixth when Seifert and Schank both singled. The Pirates had only one walk but also only struck out twice.
