Hard to ignore that recent deep postseason runs have come while not shying away from competitive opportunities in the schedule.
Platte County sophomore Jackson Kluck hits a shot during a match in a dual with Liberty North on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Platte County veteran coach Zach Keith plans to embrace the current hectic stretch of competition with a belief that an inexperienced roster will benefit regardless of wins and losses. The Pirates’ depth received tests this past week, starting with a tough 5-4 loss to Liberty North in a dual played Tuesday afternoon at Platte County High School.
Liberty North came back from a deficit after doubles to win 4 of 6 singles matches.
Platte County then split two more duals the rest of the week before posting a runnerup finish in the Branson Doubles Invitational. The Pirates have tournaments to close each of the next two weekends, as well, while looking to build confidence with a lineup featuring only one returner from last season’s fourth-place Class 2 state team.
“I feel like every match we show glimpses of what could be a final four team, and we show glimpses of a team that had to replace five varsity players from last year,” Keith said. “I love these guys though. They have so much fun together, and they are becoming a really solid team. The chemistry is really good.”
Against Liberty North, Platte County faced a unique situation with junior Owen Behne unavailable for doubles due to a conflicting activity. However, the Pirates took an initial 2-1 lead with the No. 2 tandem of juniors Wyatt Beeson and Jacoby Keith taking an 8-4 win and seniors Gabe Miller and Jack Hokanson holding on for an 8-6 victory at No. 3.
Platte County junior Jacoby Keith reaches to hit a shot during a match in a dual with Liberty North on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Hokanson filled in for Behne with Platte County adjusting the lineups to account for the absence.
Libery North fought back and won each of the first four singles matches to earn the victory. Jacoby Keith, who played limited varsity events last season, took the No. 5 matchup for Platte County 8-5, while Miller prevailed 8-6 at No. 6. The Pirates seem to have settled on a top six but have received beneficial opportunities to look at different doubles arrangements.
Platte County entered having played just once in the previous 11 days, placing third at the Warrensburg Doubles Tournament. The Pirates took a lengthy gap to account for spring break the used eight players in the Easter weekend tournament with each of the four doubles teams losing to the eventual champions.
Notably, Platte County’s D Doubles team of junior Kendall Johnson and freshman Lincoln Keith posted the best finish, coming in as runnerup in that flight. Behne and Beeson (B Doubles) and Jacoby Keith and Miller (C Doubles) were both third after semifinals losses, and junior Mitchel McBratney and sophomore Jackson Kluck (A Doubles went 1-2 and placed fourth.
Platte County 9, Belton 0
Platte County junior Wyatt Beeson hits a shot at the net during a match in a dual with Liberty North on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
In Wednesday’s Suburban Conference White Division dual, Belton defaulted out of No. 2 doubles and No. 4 singles in what ended up a decisive loss.
Platte County swept doubles with the lineup at full strength, losing just four games across three matches. McBratney and Kluck won 8-3 at No. 1, while Jacoby Keith and Miller were 8-1 winners. Beeson and Behne led 6-0 when Belton defaulted.
Jacoby Keith (No. 5) and Miller (No. 6) both recorded 8-0 shutouts in singles, while Kluck (No. 2) and Behne (No. 3) both dropped only one game. McBratney took the No. 1 match 8-3, and No. 4 was a full forfeit.
Platte County improved to 2-0 in conference play.
Branson 6, Platte County 3
While traveling to Branson for a tournament play, Platte County took the annual opportunity for a Thursday dual between recently strong Class 2 postseason teams.
Platte County junior Mitchel McBratney hits a shot during a match in a dual with Liberty North on Tuesday at Platte County High School.
Jacoby Keith and Miller were Platte County’s only doubles winner (8-0 at No. 3), but McBratney and Kluck (8-6 at No. 1) and Behne and Beeson (8-5 at No. 2) were both competitive. Branson dominated singles, but Jacoby Keith won 8-0 at No. 5 and Miller held on for a 9-7 victory at No. 6.
This again provides a potential playoff matchup preview.
Last season, Branson won the regular season matchup with Platte County by a score of 7-2 but lost the Class 2 state quarterfinal rematch. Platte County stormed back for a 5-4 victory on the way to finishing top-four for a second straight season, following up on the 2024 runnerup showing.
Branson Doubles Invitational
Platte County need up second in a field of five teams Friday in Branson.
The format called for four doubles teams playing a dual format. Platte County defeated Central (Springfield), Greenwood and Branson all by a score of 3-1 but lost 3-0 to Ozark in the championship.
“Incredibly deep tournament with five really strong teams,” Zach Keith said. “We played really well all day, and our only losses were to quality teams. This was the deepest field we’ve seen in this tournament, and the guys played multiple tough matches at every level. It also gave us a chance to experiment with some different doubles lineups, and we had some guys really step up and play well.
“I was really proud of our performance. We could have easily finished in last place in this tournament, but we played really well and earned that runner-up finish.”
Indeed, Platte County looked much different from the Warrensburg tournament with the same format. Reforming a duo that excelled at the JV level last season, Jacoby Keith and Kluck went unbeaten and won the B Doubles flight. Hokanson and Miller — the Pirates’ lone seniors — went 3-1 in D Doubles, while Beeson and Lincoln Keith did the same in C Doubles.
McBratney and Behne played together for the first time but went winless in the A Flight.
