Scott Blakley believed the decisive factor to Tuesday’s Class 2 state quarterfinal came down to the tightly contested matches.
Instead, Platte County’s coach watched an experienced, deep lineup simply dominate enough to earn a tidy 5-1 victory over Barstow at Platte County High School. The close ones were left unfinished, and the Pirates comfortably secured the first playoff victory and a true breakthrough moment for consistently successful program that started in 2009.
Platte County seniors Ellie Kaser and Macy Doll; juniors Macie Keith, Katelyn Newberry and Jayne Muir and sophomore Clare Hayter comprise the historic lineup now guaranteed two more matches and a top-four state trophy.
“Credit to the girls because gosh, they were awesome all year,” Blakley said. “They are going to feel like they are one of the top four teams in the state and get to compete for a championship. That’s as good as it gets.”
In the playoffs for the second time ever and first since 2023, Platte County (15-2) took a lead out of doubles and then won the only three singles matches completed — two-set sweeps for Kaser (No. 1), Doll (No. 5) and Muir (No. 6).
Barstow (7-7) — the 2021 and 2024 Class 2 state champion — took the No. 2 doubles match 8-3, but Kaser/Keith and Newberry/Muir won by the same score in the other two. Kaser (6-0, 6-0) and Doll (6-2, 6-0) put the dual comfortably in hand with their singles wins, and the Pirates need just one more to go their way.
Muir’s 6-3, 6-2 victory locked up Platte County’s advancement to the program’s first-ever state semifinal, but Keith sat at match point, as well.
“They came out and did exactly what they needed to do. They played their best matches when it mattered,” Blakley said. “Every girl was in a good spot. Even when we finished, there were other matches that easily could have won the day for us. But after Jayne Muir won — and I told you last year Jayne Muir always wins so you can always count on that — it was over. We finished the deal.”
Platte County goes into the Class 2 semifinal with Thomas Jefferson Independent (11-0) on an 11-match winning streak. Incidentally, the two teams met in the 2023 state quarterfinal with Thomas Jefferson Independent, located in Joplin, earned a 5-0 sweep in that meeting on the way to finishing fourth.
This team, the matchup occurs with more on the line at 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 29 at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. The place matches follow at 3 p.m. with St. Dominic (15-4) and Parkway West (11-4) in the other semifinal.
Platte County steadily built to this pivotal moment under longtime head coach Zach Keith, who turned the program over to Blakley prior to last season. Blakley played on the first boys team for the Pirates in 2010 and has been on staff as an assistant for three straight runs to the state semifinals for that program (second in 2024, fourth in 2025 and 2026).
“We didn’t have home matches; we didn’t have courts,” Blakley said of the start of the program nearly two decades ago. “To get to coach on the boys’ three (state teams), I wanted this so badly for (the girls). That’s really what makes this special for me: they get to experience what next week will bring.”
The 15 dual wins so far this fall represent the second-most for Platte County in a single season behind the 17-2 team in 2012. A run to a state title for the Pirates would match that mark.
Some of the most talented lineups for Platte County played in a different era of postseason, but this one now ranks among the best. Kaser, Doll and Macie Keith have all been three-year contributors, while the equity truly shows with senior Addison Fleming serving as an alternate during the postseason.
Fleming began last season in the lineup before a freak dislocated knee cap injury took her out the rest of the way. That offered additional time for Hayter and Newberry, who held their spots along with Muir.
“I’ve really tried to push the idea of team,” Blakley said. “I think playing doubles with a girl who maybe isn’t your best friend but becomes your partner, it becomes very infectious and contagious to enjoy your teammates. You just want the best for each other; you want to find ways to win together.
“Our girls are all very comparable in levels so it’s really awesome to just wonder, ‘Who’s it going to be today?’ We know they can find a way.”
Kaser and Macie Keith already extended their season after winning a second straight Class 2 District 8 doubles title. They open play in the Class 2 MSHSAA Tennis Championships individual bracket Thursday at Cooper Tennis Complex with a chance to make even more history.
Last season, Kaser and Keith became the first doubles team at Platte County to win a doubles match at state, going 1-2 and just missing a top-eight medal. This year, they face Farmington senior Kailee Biri and junior Elaina Govern in the opening round.
Kaser becomes Platte County’s first three-time state qualifier, while Macie Keith joins an elite list of two-timers that also includes Addy Mayne and Olivia Holbrook.
The Class 2 District 8 championship dual win over St. Pius X kept everyone else’s season alive and beating Barstow sends everyone to state. The Pirates look to beat a third straight private school in the semifinal but regardless await the placement opponent based on next Thursday’s morning results.
