Platte County rattles off 3 straight wins in surge to start conference play

Critical offense coming from players who just made a gamechanging defensive play can feel fitting.

On Friday night, Platte County sophomore rightfielder Rocco Marriott and senior catcher Tyler Stearns combined on an inning-ending double play and then immediately provided the Pirates with a go-ahead run — the only one needed in what ended up a 4-0 shutout of Grain Valley at Platte County High School. Stearns also caught a combined shutout with senior lefties Isaiah Smith and Braden Carter starting and finishing around sophomore reliever Brennan McLaughlin in a critical Suburban Conference White Division matchup.

“We’re all about keeping the energy high, making sure to turn things around,” said Stearns, who finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and two RBIs.

Platte County (6-8) ran the current winning streak to three straight — all in conference play on the heels of a difficult opening stretch of games.

Marriott also collected two hits and scored twice, the second time on Stearns’ one-out single in the bottom of the sixth before senior first baseman Brian Chandler came home on a misplayed rundown during a failed suicide squeeze bunt attempt.

The insurance runs gave Platte County a 4-0 lead going into the top of the seventh, and Carter worked around a pair of runners to finish off his 2 1/3 innings of relief. The Pirates used a unique strategy with Smith and McLaughlin facing nine batters apiece and tasking the senior ace with going the rest of the way. They combined to strike out seven and scattered five singles and just two walks.

Platte County also committed only one error.

“Any time you get a conference dub on a good opponent like Grain Valley, it helps propel you into another game,” Platte County coach John Sipes said. “We were just missing the one aspect so far (in a lot of games this year), and today, we put it together.”

Grain Valley loaded the bases in the top of the second on Smith with a walk and back-to-back singles. The second hit came on a sacrifice bunt attempt with junior Aaron Barr reaching safely with Chandler unable to make a throw to first on the play with no one covering behind him.

Smith immediately came back with a critical strikeout.

With one out, Grain Valley senior Aaron Barnett lifted a fly ball to Marriott in shallow right field. He made the catch and uncorked a solid throw that forced Stearns to his right. He collected in plenty of time and came across to swipe tag senior Ian Kamstra as slid into home.

“Saw the throw come in, knew I had to make a play, make a game-time play,” said Stearns, who took over the starting role after missing all of his junior season due to injury. “I knew at that point he hadn’t slid yet. I knew he was down the line so at that point I just figured I’d go for it.”

In the bottom of the second, Marriott led off with a well-placed infield single. He then stole second but remained there when Stearns came to the plate with two outs. He blasted a double to the wall down the line in left field to give Platte County a 1-0 lead.

McLaughlin took over in the top of the third and immediately retired Grain Valley in order.

Platte County then doubled the lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth when McLaughlin worked a five-pitch walk against Kamstra, the lefty starter who went 5 1/3 innings while throwing 107 pitches. Chandler followed with a line drive that bounced in front of Barnett diving in center field and then rolled toward the wall.

Chandler, who finished 1-for-2, ended up with an RBI triple. Stearns came up, and on the next pitch, hammered a ball over the wall in left field that went foul, narrowly missing a two-run home run. He eventually grounded out to end the inning.

McLaughlin ended up working 2 2/3 innings and matched Smith’s two strikeouts while allowing only one runner on a one-out single in the fifth.

With Grain Valley junior Carter Harmsen at second after moving up on a passed ball, Carter came on with two outs and immediately struck out junior Kaden Crandall to end the threat. Carter retired five of the first six he faced, and Platte County provided him with more run support in an eventful sixth inning sequence. Marriott again led off with a single and then went to second on Chandler’s one-out walk.

Stearns followed with an RBI single into left field after sophomore John Malicoat came on in relief of Kamstra after he hit his pitch limit.

Chandler advanced to third base on the play, and Platte County junior designated hitter Liam Blacklock squared around to bunt on the second pitch. With the runner breaking from third, Grain Valley attempted to tag out Chandler but dropped the ball. He managed to score the Pirates’ fourth run, and the umpires briefly conferred before confirming the safe call.

“Huge,” Sipes said. “Chandler’s been that guy all year. He’s just been phenomenal at creating havoc on the bases. You wouldn’t think so but he’s a heck of a slider. He’s got a great baseball mind.”

Carter issued a one-out walk and allowed a single two batters later, but a groundout to shortstop Dayton Doll ended the game.

Platte County moved within two games of .500, hoping to have momentum built ahead of home games with Lee’s Summit West (Monday) and Lee’s Summit North (Wednesday) this week. The Pirates were forced to test the depth of the pitching rotation with 14 games in the first 21 days of the season.

Sipes now wants to get to eight wins before 10 losses and believes the momentum could start take off.

“It feels good, got a good win on a Friday going into the weekend pretty strong. Bats kind of woke up, defense was good, pitching was really good so that works,” Stearns said. “We all came together as a team — pitching, hitting, defense.”

Platte County 15, William Chrisman 3

The Pirates put up a pair of big innings late to pull away behind a home run for senior centerfielder Devin Wassmann and two extra-base hits for Stearns on Wednesday at William Chrisman High School in Independence.

Doll, Wassmann, Blacklock, Chandler and Stearns all recorded multi-hit games for Platte County and sophomore outfielder Brooks Hall also drove in a pair. The Pirates worked seven total walks and never trailed after scoring twice in the top of the first inning on an RBI triple for junior second baseman Taylor Stambersky and an RBI groundout from Doll before the Bears recorded an out.

Marriott and Hall combined for the complete game, allowing just five hits and four walks.

Platte County staked Marriott, who struck out seven in five innings, to a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third on Hall’s two-run, one-out single to score Blacklock and Doll. William Chrisman’s lone run against the Pirates’ starter came in a lengthy bottom of the third, and Hall struck out five while allowing only one earned run in two innings of relief.

Wassmann started a five-run fifth with a solo home run to right field, and senior outfielder Drew Boyer and Blacklock added back-to-back two-run singles to push Platte County’s lead to 8-1. Doll capped the frame with a run-scoring single. Stearns came up with a two-run double in the sixth and a two-run triple in the four-run seventh, which also included a sacrifice fly for Wassmann and an RBI single for McLaughlin.

Platte County 15, Raytown 1, 4 innings

The Pirates scored multiple runs in each of the first four innings of Monday’s conference opener in Raytown, and the game was ended due to persistent rain with a runner on in the top of the fifth.

The hosts issued nine walks, hit a batter and committed three errors. Hall drove in four and Doll three, while Marriott added a triple and two RBIs. Smith started and struck out five, while allowing just one hit in three innings. Doll came on in relief and allowed a run in the fourth, after walking the first three batters he faced and then retiring the next three. The Blue Jays scored on a sacrifice fly that resulted in the first out.

Up 2-0 after the top of the first, Platte County broke the game open with a seven-run second that included a two-run double for Doll, a two-run triple for Marriott and back-to-back RBI singles for McLaughlin and Chandler. Hall and McLaughlin added back-to-back run-scoring doubles in the third, Hall’s plating a pair and McLaughlin’s one after a balk brought Doll home.

Hall, who moved into a starting role the past two games, finished his day with a two-RBI single in the fourth that increased Platte County’s lead to 15-0.