Platte County stretches pitching staff to earn important doubleheader splits

Platte County split a pair of doubleheaders this week, both important for different reasons. The Pirates took a big step toward winning another Suburban Conference White Division title at Grain Valley on Wednesday and then reaffirmed perceived postseason credentials against Liberty on Saturday.

In a test of pitching depth due to the crowded schedule, Platte County improved to 18-6 overall, although a seven-game winning streak stopped in the middle.

Liberty entered tied for 10th in the most recent Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association (MHSBCA) rankings but might move up in Monday’s new polling. The Blue Jays had won 10 of their previous 11 games prior to the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader at Platte County High School.

Platte County senior all-state middle infielders Taylor Stambersky and Dayton Doll opened the bottom of the first with singles, leading to a pair of early runs, and junior Brennan McLaughlin gave up just one in five solid innings as the starting pitcher before junior Zach Brown threw a pair scoreless in relief to finish off a 3-1 victory. Brown worked around a two-out single in the sixth and a two-out walk in the seventh to earn the save.

Liberty ended up with the potential tying run at the plate, only after Platte County players and coaches twice thought Brown recorded a strikeout. After the walk, he calmly induced an inning-ending groundout to McLaughlin, who moved to third base after finishing on the mound. The Pirates impressed with junior centerfielder Rocco Marriott unavailable and Stambersky again leaving the game early after making only a few brief appearances since suffering an undisclosed injury on April 23 at Truman.

Stambersky started at second base and hit leadoff, sending the first pitch he saw from Liberty junior starter Kaiden Postoak into center field for a single. Doll followed with a solid shot to left field, and after Postoak recorded his first of seven strikeouts, Stambersky scored the Pirates’ first run on senior rightfielder Brock Fowler’s single.

Platte County went ahead 2-0 on an error and never trailed.

Liberty did come back to score the lone run off of McLaughlin with a hit-by-pitch and back-to-back singles, all with two outs. He stranded two runners and worked around at least one on base in all five innings but struck out five while walking only two. Brown recorded a pair of strikeouts.

Platte County went back up two runs in the bottom of the fourth after junior first baseman Brooks Hall led off with a double that stayed just inside the foul line and squeezed past the first baseman. After junior catcher Ian Gold struck out after two attempts at a sacrifice bunt were unsuccessful, senior leftfielder Patrick McCool scored Hall with a single to left field.

With McLaughlin on the mound, Platte County started senior Brady Davis at third base, while senior Liam Blacklock replaced Stambersky and went 1-for-2. Blacklock started much of his junior season at designated hitter and could see increased time along with Davis in the infield around Doll at shortstop. Doll has also shifted over to second base with McLaughlin having also spent time at shortstop in each of his three seasons.

In the second game, Liberty pulled away with four runs in the top of the seventh of a 6-0 victory to earn the split. Platte County senior starting pitcher Wes Chiddix limited the Blue Jays to just one run in the first inning despite loading the bases after just three batters. He hit senior outfielder Jack Quetschenbach with a pitch and gave up a single.

A bunt then didn’t result in and out, but Chiddix induced a double play that allowed Quetschenbach to score. A strikeout stranded the final runner, and Chiddix ended up pitching five innings, allowing just two runs and striking out three with no walks.

Platte County ended up with six hits but couldn’t generate any runs, notably failing to take advantage of Fowler’s leadoff triple in the second, a bases-loaded scenario in the third and junior Andrew Edsall’s leadoff double in the sixth. The Pirates trailed 2-0 after the fourth, and Quetschenbach’s two-run home run off of Edsall in his lone inning of relief highlighted the seventh.

However, Platte County earned another notable win over a ranked Class 6 team, and the Pirates were third in the last MHSBCA Class 5 rankings and likely won’t move down after going 7-2 since the last release. Both losses were to larger schools.

Platte County 2, Belton 1

In a pivotal conference matchup, Platte County chased Belton junior star pitcher Cooper Shrum after six innings and then immediately plated the winning run Friday night in Belton.

Platte County scored once off of Shrum, a lanky right-hander committed to Tennessee, and went into the top of the seventh tied 1-1. Gold started the seventh with a walk, and McCool came on as the courtesy runner for the catcher. He stole second, and Edsall ended up with the game-winning RBI on a single to center field.

In a game twice delayed by rain/lightning, Platte County sophomore Evan Magnuson ended up the winning pitcher, throwing two scoreless innings in relief. He struck out four, including the first two batters he faced in a 1-2-3 seventh.

Hall started and allowed just one run on three hits with five strikeouts in four innings, and Brown worked around a two-out single in the fifth to keep Platte County tied 1-1.

Platte County took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with two of six total hits. Blacklock led off with a single and went to second on McLaughlin’s single with one out. The run actually came home on a wild pitch before Shrum struck out Fowler to end the inning.

Belton scored the only run off of Hall with a leadoff double and two-out single in the bottom of the fourth.

Platte County threatened twice more against Shrum after Edsall and McLaughlin each doubled to lead off the fifth and the sixth but neither resulted in a run. He struck out eight and scattered five hits and a walk on 92 total pitches.

Belton dropped to 7-2 in conference play with both losses to Platte County, now in first with an 8-1 mark. Both of those teams have five conference games left.

Platte County 7, Grain Valley 3; Grain Valley 13, Platte County 2

The split resulted in the Pirates’ first White Division loss in the nightcap of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Grain Valley High School.

However, Platte County moved much closer to at least a share of a third straight conference title after making the most of five hits — all singles — in the opener. All seven runs came in the fourth inning and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 7-1 lead for the Pirates.

Fowler led off with a walk, and an error put two runners on with just one out.

Edsall singled home the tying run for Platte County, and a squeeze bunt from senior outfielder Bronson Ryan brought home McCool, serving as courtesy runner for Gold after he reached on the error. The Pirates turned over the order, and Blacklock and Doll hit back-to-back singles before the Eagles hit McLaughlin with a pitch while the bases were loaded.

Marriott drew a walk to increase Platte County’s lead to 5-1. Doll then came home on a wild pitch, and McLaughlin scored the final run on a groundout.

Hall started and allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings with two strikeouts and four walks. Edsall gave up two in 1 1/3 innings of relief before junior Owen Bane provided important work. He struck out three and walked one while earning the save, throwing the final 1 1/3 innings.

Grain Valley improved to 7-3 in conference play with a blowout in the second game but now needs help to have a shot at a share of the White Division title. The Eagles plated seven runs in the first inning of a forgettable start for Platte County senior left-hander Poul Gratereaux-Baez, who walked five and gave up two hits while only recording one out. Playing as the home team, the Pirates were down 9-0 after the top of the second after a pair of errors led two unearned runs against Magnuson, who threw 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Chiddix pitched four innings for Platte County and allowed one run with six strikeouts and one walk, while Bane came on against for the seventh and gave up three runs on three hits while striking out two.

Platte County finished with eight hits, including doubles for Fowler and Doll, but managed only single runs in bottom of the third and bottom of the seventh while avoiding the run-rule. Doll and Fowler led off the third with back-to-back doubles, and the run in the seventh came off of a two-out rally. Davis and Fowler singled around a walk for Doll to load the bases, and McLaughlin collected an RBI with a fielder’s choice.

Platte County 17, Raytown 1, 3 innings

Pirates senior pitcher Owen Rawlings threw a three-inning no-hitter with three strikeouts but allowed a run in the bottom of the third of Monday’s conference matchup in Raytown. He walked four.

Marriott finished with four RBIs for a Platte County offense that recorded 15 hits and drew five walks, while Doll, McLaughlin and Gold drove in three apiece. The Pirates scored four in the first and 13 in the second to put the 15-run rule into play.

McLaughlin and Gold each hit a run-scoring double in the first.

In the second, Platte County put 13 straight batters on base with one out. Doll had an RBI triple and two-run single during the stretch, while Marriott hit a bases-loaded triple to center field to cap the rally after his RBI single earlier in the inning. McLaughlin also collected two run-scoring hits in the stretch, another double and a single.

Hall (single), Gold (two-run double) and McCool (single) also collected RBIs for Platte County in the 14-run second. The Pirates traded two runners in the third inning.