Platte County completed a frenzied and revealing two-week stretch of competition with more reason to believe another Suburban Conference White Division title and postseason success awaits. The Pirates also found out more about a youthful lineup still establishing this season’s identity.
Platte County junior Jacoby Keith hits a shot during a dual with Park Hill on Tuesday at Plaza Tennis Courts in Kansas City.
The results included a win over admittedly and intentionally shorthanded Park Hill, a tough loss to Park Hill South and a mixed bag in a weekend trip to the Joplin Invitational.
All of this leads into Monday’s home matchup for Platte County (11-7) against Grain Valley (7-6) likely to again determine the White Division title. The Pirates have won five straight in the series dating back to a Class 2 District 8 loss in 2022.
“Overall, our biggest regular season match of the year is Monday at home against Grain Valley,” Platte County coach Zach Keith said. “This is our opportunity to essentially lock up a fourth consecutive conference championship. It’s always a really fun rivalry match when we play Grain Valley.”
With only one full-time member of last season’s lineup back, Platte County continues to sustain success and received a jolt of confidence from Tuesday’s 5-4 victory at Plaza Tennis Court in Kansas City over Park Hill, which rested certain members of the lineup ahead of a important dual with Liberty. However, the Trojans certainly boasted obvious talent and came down to a final singles match.
Platte County junior Jacoby Keith overcame a deficit in the tiebreaker to earn a 9-8 (7-5) victory at No. 5 to secure the win for the Pirates.
Platte County junior Wyatt Beeson hits a shot during a dual with Park Hill on Tuesday at Plaza Tennis Courts in Kansas City.
Park Hill took a 2-1 lead in the dual out of doubles with Jacoby Keith and senior Gabe Miller winning 8-4 at No. 3. However, the Pirates’ combination of juniors Wyatt Beeson and Owen Behne lost in a tiebreaker at No. 2 and set up a competitive group of singles matches.
Platte County went 4-2 with a sweep of the back four from Beeson (8-6 at No. 3), Behne (8-4 at No. 4), Jacoby Keith and Miller (8-3 at No. 6). The Pirates lost last year’s dual with Park Hill by a score of 9-0.
Going into the matchup with Grain Valley, Platte County owns a 3-0 record in White Division play. The Pirates entered the matchup with Park Hill off of a 9-0 shutout of Raytown on the road Monday afternoon with a lineup that only included McBratney (No. 1) and Behne (No. 2) from the normal top six.
Platte County swept the matchups with Hokanson (No. 3), junior Alex Miller (No. 4), Lincoln Keith (No. 5) and junior Zach Schmidt (No. 6) receiving additional playing time against an overmatched opponent. The Pirates still have a home dual with William Chrisman on Tuesday and a road date Fort Osage next week left on the conference schedule.
Park Hill South 8, Platte County 1
Platte County junior Mitchel McBratney hits a serve during a dual with Park Hill on Tuesday at Plaza Tennis Courts in Kansas City.
The Pirates lone win came at No. 2 doubles from juniors Owen Behne and Wyatt Beeson (8-5) on Thursday at Platte County High School.
Platte County didn’t have Gabe Miller, and Lincoln Keith played with Jacoby Keith at No. 3 doubles while Hokanson took the No. 6 singles match. The Pirates took at least four games in the Nos. 2-6 singles matches with sophomore Jackson Kluck, Behne, Jacoby Keith and Hokanson all losing by a score of 8-5.
“Man, they’re solid,” Zach Keith said. “Really good No. 1 and just good tennis players all down the lineup. I thought our guys competed well, but they were just too good at every spot. It was nice to see Owen and Wyatt get the win at #2 doubles. They’ve had some good wins this season, but that was a really good one. We were missing Thespian champion Gabe Miller, so my son Lincoln (9th grade) stepped in and played #3 doubles and Jack Hokanson played #6 singles. Both did great, but faced strong competition.
Joplin Invitational
Platte County went 3-3 overall across play Friday and Saturday in Joplin and did not place while being without Gabe Miller and Beeson due to schedule conflicts.
However, Alex Miller and Lincoln Keith went undefeated as No. 2 doubles team in the unique dual format. Each matchup involved three singles and two doubles matches to determine the winner.
Platte County opened Friday with a pair of 3-2 losses to Raymore-Peculiar and Lighthouse then swept Carthage 5-0 before another 3-2 loss to Monett.Saturday’s results were 5-0 sweeps of Carl Junction’s junior varsity and Carthage again.
“It’s not as fun losing all the close ones,” Zach Keith said.
Platte County mixed the use of McBratney, Kluck, Behne, Jacoby Keith and Hokanson in another opportunity to assess possible combinations for singles and doubles in the upcoming Class 2 District 8 individual tournament.
