Platte County sees full depth of pitching staff in KC Metro Leadoff Classic

PARKVILLE, Mo. — Platte County showed obvious potential, room for improvement and the full depth of the pitching staff in back-to-back doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.

The KC Metro Leadoff Classic offered four matchups with strong teams that led to challenging scenarios. In the finale Saturday afternoon against Bentonville (Arkansas), Platte County juniors Chase Hanlin and Brady Davis provided valuable innings in relief of fellow junior Wes Chiddix, who made his second appearance on the mound and first career start. The Pirates held a brief lead but a self-destructive second inning ultimately led to an 8-6 loss at Creekside Baseball Park.

Platte County brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t complete the comeback, ultimately going 1-3 in the busy opening weekend.

Bentonville took an 8-4 lead into the final half inning, but Platte County started a comeback with a one-out single from senior left fielder Drew Boyer and a two-out hit from junior second baseman Liam Blacklock, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Pirates sophomore Brennan McLaughlin — projected to play mostly at shortstop but starting at third base in a shuffled fourth lineup in two days — drove both home with a line drive to center field.

Platte County senior centerfielder Devin Wassman popped out after McLaughlin took second base unchallenged with two outs in the inning.

Bentonville took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first with three walks and a bases-loaded hit by pitch against Chiddix, who allowed only one hit but saw his pitch count quickly balloon against a patient lineup. He didn’t allow a ball into play until a popup for the final out of the frame.

Chiddix ended up walking five and striking out four, while allowing only one hit.

Bentonville led 5-2 after the top of the second after a pair of walks, two Platte County errors on bunts and an RBI double. Chiddix retired the next three but didn’t come out for the third after throwing 56 pitches.

Platte County took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first after junior Dayton Doll, starting at shortstop and shifted over from second, led off with a triple to right-center field. He then scored on Blacklock’s single to quickly match Bentonville’s initial run. A miscue on a delayed steal erased Blacklock, but McLaughlin, who finished 1-for-2, walked and came around to score on a wild pitch with two outs.

After falling behind three runs, Platte County manufactured single runs in the second and fifth, but Bentonville continued to answer against Hanlin and Davis, who combined for five innings of solid relief with no other options seemingly available. The Tigers drew seven total walks and had four batters hit by pitches.

Hanlin allowed two runs, only one earned, in three innings with four strikeouts, while Davis pitched the final two innings, striking out two.

Platte County closed within 5-3 when senior first baseman Brian Chandler drew a walk and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Pirates junior Dalton Carlson, currently serving as the No. 2 catcher behind senior Tyler Stearns, led off with a single.

Carlson eventually came home on Doll’s fielder’s choice groundout to shortstop with runners at first and third to pull the Pirates within 7-4.

Davis faced the minimum in the sixth to keep the deficit at three runs, but Platte County could not advance sophomore right fielder Rocco Marriott past first after a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff walk led to the Tigers’ final run in the seventh but stranded a runner in scoring position to leave the lead at 8-4.

Lee’s Summit West 7, Platte County 6, 8 innings

The Titans scored a walkoff win on a wild pitch in Platte County’s first game on Saturday. The Pirates led 3-0 but needed two runs in the seventh to force extra innings but went down in order in the top of the eighth.

The bottom of the eighth started with a groundout, but a triple to center field, an intentional walk and a wild pitch led to the winning run.

Wassman went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Platte County’s offense, which struck for a pair in the first inning. The Pirates started with a walk for junior third baseman Tyler Stambersky and a single for Doll to put runners at first and third.

A balk plated Stambersky, and Doll, who stole second, came home on a sacrifice fly from McLaughlin.

Platte County senior lefty Isaiah Smith, mostly used in relief the past two years, started and threw three innings, allowing only one run and striking out three but also giving up three hits and three walks. Lee’s Summit West managed only one run against him but took a 5-4 lead with four runs in the fourth, all charged to senior JP Wormington but with only two earned.

Doll came on with two on base and one out and recorded a strikeout before an error allowed both inherited runners to score. He ended up going 1 2/3 innings scoreless with three strikeouts to give the Pirates a chance at a comeback.

Platte County trailed 6-4 going into the top of the seventh, which started with Chandler reaching an error, and junior left field Patrick McCool drawing a walk. Stambersky scored one with a single, and Doll loaded the bases with a bunt single. McLaughlin lined into a double play to put Lee’s Summit West one out away from the win. Instead, Wassmann, who singled home a run in the third to put the Pirates up 3-0, single with runners at the corner.

With runners at first and second, Platte County junior right fielder Bronson Ryan singled, but Lee’s Summit West threw Doll out at the plate.

Platte County junior Owen Rawlings threw the final 2 1/3 innings and struck out three but gave up a run in the sixth and the eighth despite allowing just two hits and walk. He also hit two batters — one with one out in the sixth that led to a run on a triple three pitches later.

Lee’s Summit North 5, Platte County 3

The Broncos struck early and never trailed in a victory Friday night.

McLaughlin hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 3-3, but Lee’s Summit North answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning charged to Wormington, who threw 1 1/3 innings of relief. The Broncos loaded the bases with a double and two walks but took the lead back on a passed ball before Rawlings could record the second of back-to-back strikeouts.

The final run came home on an error after Rawlings had issued the third walk of the inning — his second — to load the bases again.

Doll came on to record a strikeout, but Platte County went down in order in the seventh. The Pirates gave up just three hits with Marriott starting and going 3 2/3 innings but walking four, while strikeout out six.

Lee’s Summit North scored two in the first on a single, three walks and an error — all with two outs.

Platte County tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the fourth after Wassmann doubled with one out and scored on Ryan’s triple two pitches later. He came home on Marriott’s groundout to shortstop. However, the Broncos came right back with a run to chase him from the mound and bring on Wormington, who struck out the first batter he faced but only after the go-ahead run came home on a wild pitch.

McLaughlin’s game-tying home run — first of the season — cleared the fence in straight away center field and came on a 2-2 pitch.

Platte County 7, Lafayette (Wildwood) 5

The Pirates opened play in the season-opening event with a well-earned victory over a St. Louis opponent Friday afternoon.

Platte County senior ace Brayden Carter allowed only one unearned run in five innings, working around two hits and two walks while striking out three on 72 pitches. McLaughlin and Chiddix worked one inning apiece with each giving up two runs, although two were unearned in the bottom of the seventh.

With one out, Chiddix allowed a single and hit a batter before the first of his two strikeouts.

An error allowed both runners to score, and Chiddix then hit another batter to bring the tying run to the plate. He recorded a strikeout to close out the win.

Lafayette took a 1-0 lead on Carter in the bottom of the first without a hit, taking advantage of the first of three Platte County errors. The Pirates didn’t score any runs on first-inning walks for Stambersky and McLaughlin nor singles for Ryan and Marriott in the second. The Lancers threw out Ryan trying to stretch his hit to right field into a double, and Marriott ended up stuck at first after a two-out ground ball up the middle.

Platte County went ahead 2-1 in the third with two unearned runs on a two-out error. McCool (leadoff single), Doll (walk) and McLaughlin (hit by pitch) loaded the bases with one out, but a popout left the inning to Ryan, who reached on an error from the shortstop that brought McCool and Doll in to score. The Pirates went up 4-1 in the fourth when Marriott led off with double, an Chandler scored him on the next pitch with a single to left field.

Marriott scored on Doll’s two-out single to left field.

Platte County’s three-run sixth started with an error, and Stambersky and Doll followed with back-to-back singles to make it 5-1. After a double play on a flyout and throw home to nail Stambersky at the plate, Wassmann kept the inning alive with a walk, and Ryan and Stearns came through with back-to-back run-scoring singles.

McLaughlin gave up three hits in his only inning on the mound but left with Platte County up 7-3.