Platte County goes into this season with deservedly high expectations but with two very specific holes to fill in the field behind what will be a mostly revamped front-end of the pitching staff plus a question of inventory to sort through in the outfield. A year ago, the Pirates overcame a 3-8 start to win 17 of the next 20 before losing to Kearney in the Class 5 District 8 title game.
Featuring nine returners with significant starting experience in the lineup or field, Platte County’s roster brings potential to build on another 20-win season. The group includes three of the four players to earn Class 5 Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association all-state honors — first for the Pirates since winning the 2022 state championship.
“This year’s team returns a lot of experience and leadership,” Platte County coach John Sipes said. “Everyone one the team has high expectations for this season. While competing for a state championship is always the goal, we are focused on one game at a time, one inning at a time and one out at a time.”
Dayton Doll, a senior middle infielder, represents the final holdover from the second title team in Platte County’s history. He started at second base as a freshman, sophomore and junior but eventually shifted over to shortstop for the majority of last season.
Anchoring the middle of an otherwise shuffling lineup, Doll led the Pirates in triples (three), runs (33) and stolen bases (29). He hit .374 with .496 on-base and .545 slugging percentages while racking up 12 extra-base hits — eight doubles and one home run — and driving in 18. He tied for the team lead in hits (37) and walked 22 times while striking out just eight times while earning first-team all-state honors.
Doll recently signed to continue his baseball career at Missouri Western.
Platte County junior Brennan McLaughlin made the second team as a sophomore after moving from shortstop to third base. He led the Pirates in extra-base hits (16 with team-highs of 10 doubles and four home runs) and RBIs while slashing .396/.477/.681, while scoring 29 runs. The .681 slugging percentage also ended up tops on the team.
McLaughlin debuted midway through his freshman season as the starting shortstop and enters his second full season as a starter.
As part of the defensive realignment, Platte County senior Taylor Stambersky went from third base to second base and then became a consistent part of the top third of the lineup during the late-season surge. He tied with Doll for the team-lead in hits at 37, while his .402 average ranked for first for players who appeared in at least 50% of games.
Stambersky, another Missouri Western signee, collected 35 singles, walked 10 times and scored 23 runs while driving in 16.
With the majority of the infield set, Platte County must debut a catcher and identify a new first baseman, while determining playing time for four potential starting outfielders with only three spots available. The Pirates have senior Liam Blacklock as the likely returning designated hitter after he batted .372 with a .538 on-base percentage, adding 23 walks to 29 hits on the way to earning first team All-Suburban Conference White Division honors as a utility player in 2024.
Blacklock also scored 26 runs.
Platte County goes into the season expecting junior Ian Gold to handle the majority of time while replacing graduate Tyler Stearns, a first team all-conference performer as a one-year starter in 2024. Additionally, senior Dalton Carlson no longer appears on the Pirates’ roster.
While Gold brings no prior varsity experience, Platte County junior Brooks Hall goes from reserve outfield to the likely starter at first base, replacing Brian Chandler after he made the move across the diamond to fill a need. He previously played third base for the Pirates but became the starter at first out of necessity and went on to first team all-conference honors.
Hall appeared in 13 games last season and batted .300 with two of his six hits going for doubles while driving in nine runs.
With Hall likely out of the mix in the outfield, Platte County looks to three returners in seniors Patrick McCool and Bronson Ryan plus junior Rocco Marriott and senior transfer Brock Fowler to all have a role. The Pirates must replace four-year starter Devin Wassmann, currently playing at State Fair (Missouri) Community College after spending the last two seasons in high school patrolling center field.
Another first team all-conference performer, Marriott could be the preferred defensive replacement after starting in right field as a sophomore. He hit .329 with two doubles and two triples in 2024 while collecting 15 RBIs and scoring 17 runs.
McCool opened the season as a starter but then missed time due to injury before becoming a key cog in the push to an undefeated conference title and appearance in the district championship game. He played in 15 games but hit .458 with a .600 on-base percentage in the limited action. Two of his 11 hits were doubles, and 10 walks helped him score 10 runs.
A third signee to Missouri Western, Ryan became part of Platte County’s deep rotation as a junior and played mostly in left field. He finished with a .231 batting average and .367 on-base percentage with two of his nine hits going for triples. He also walked five times and scored nine runs with seven RBIs.
Ryan’s best game came during Platte County’s March trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, when he went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs in a 22-17 loss to the hosts.
Fowler transferred to Platte County and helped lead the Pirates to a state championship in football as a linebacker this past fall. He previously earned limited varsity playing time at Staley, which won 50 games combined the past two seasons while playing in one of Class 6’s toughest districts.
Platte County’s offense averaged 7.5 runs per game last season but also used a deep combination of pitchers to fill innings. The top two performers both graduated in left-handed ace Brayden Carter, a four-year starter and No. 1 for the Pirates as a junior and senior, and second-team all-state performer Isaiah Smith, also a lefty.
This year’s potential staff features plenty of options and a relatively sizable amount of experience.
McLaughlin and Marriott have by far the most inning among returners, but their usage, along with Hall, requires other considerations for Platte County’s defense. The Pirates’ mix also potentially includes seniors Owen Rawlings and Wes Chiddix plus Hall and intriguing prospects in sophomore right-hander Evan Magnuson and senior newcomer Poul Gratereaux-Baez.
McLaughlin’s 35 2/3 innings were third on the team behind Carter and Smith, who threw just 1/3 of an inning more than him. McLaughlin pitched in 15 games with just two starts but struck out 30 compared to 11 walks while posting a team-best 2.16 ERA and when he pitches, the Pirates would again use senior Brady Davis as a capable defensive replacement at third base.
Similarly, Hall’s time on the mound would offer time for junior Andrew Edsall, a junior transfer from Kearney, to play first base. Hall threw 13 innings as a sophomore but struggled with control, walking 11 but striking out an impressive 17 in six relief appearances. He posted a 2.69 ERA.
Having earned time on the mound each of the past two seasons, Marriott started five games as a sophomore with a 3.50 ERA but struck out 36 with just 12 walks in 24 innings. The Pirates clearly have the outfield depth needed to cover for any of his time on the mound.
A fourth Missouri Western signee, Chiddix appeared in six games with three starts as a junior. He accrued a 1-1 record and recorded one save with 22 strikeouts and nine walks and only five walks allowed in 15 innings. His 2.33 ERA ranked second on Platte County’s staff behind McLaughlin. His best game as a junior came in aw in over North Kansas City when he struck out 12 in seven innings of work while taking a no decision. That marked his final appearance of the season.
Rawlings started three games and appeared in nine total with 19 innings, fifth on the team. He allowed only 11 hits but walked 16 while striking out 30 with a 3.32 ERA.
The Pirates were one game under .500 in 2023 before losing to Kearney in last year’s district title game.
Set for a varsity debut, Magnuson, a 6-foot-5 right hander, brings a fastball in the high 80s with a chance to earn significant time on the mound for Platte County, which goes deep with pitchers due to a loaded schedule and occasional inconsistency from the lower part of the rotation the past couple of years. The Pirates finished one game under .500 and lost in the district semifinals a year after winning the 2022 Class 5 state championship but improved to 20-12 last season before ultimately coming up short of a return to the playoffs with seven seniors on the roster.
“After the sting of the loss to Kearney in the district championship last season, the boys have been ready to get back to work to get better and to learn from last year’s failures and to go out and compete their tails off every pitch of the season,” Sipes said.
