Platte County’s losing skid hits 5 straight after back-to-back frustrating losses

For the second time in three days, Platte County frustratingly left the bases loaded in a situation where extra innings seemed the worst case scenario and wins were definitively in play.

The big hit didn’t materialize Friday night, and Kearney escaped with a 3-1 victory on its home field in an important early-season matchup between nonconference rivals. The Bulldogs recorded a pair of strikeouts to retire the final two batters in the top of the seventh. Just two days earlier, the Pirates loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh but couldn’t produce any runs out of the situation in a 4-3 road loss to Park Hill South.

Against Kearney, Platte County (1-5) loaded the bases with three consecutive batters reaching without a hit in the top seventh. The Bulldogs committed an error to allow pinch hitter Drew Boyer to reach, and junior junior second baseman Dayton Doll walked ahead of a hit by pitch for junior Liam Blacklock. The Pirates were down 3-1 and one well-placed hit from tying the game or taking the lead.

Instead, Kearney pitcher Bryce Page struck out Platte County sophomore shortstop Brennan McLaughlin and senior center fielder Devin Wassmann to finish off a two-inning save.

Platte County lost a fifth straight and didn’t make enough of senior left-hander Brayden Carter’s strong start. He went all six innings, scattering six singles, two walks and a hit by pitch, while striking out seven and allowing three runs — only two earned. The Pirates committed five errors and fell behind 2-0 after the bottom of the first inning on the way to a loss that could have a big impact on Class 5 District 8 bracket seeding down the road.

After junior starter Eli Helberg retired the side in order to start the game, Kearney immediately struck for the two runs with first five batters reaching base on a pair of walks and three straight singles.

Carter picked off Kearney senior catcher Jackson Helberg to help limit the damage then stranded two runners in scoring position with his first strikeout and a copout. That started a stretch where Carter retired 12 straight batters before giving up a one-out single and hitting a batter with one out in the bottom of the fifth.

Platte County struggled to close the gap with just three hits total — singles for Wassmann, Doll and Blacklock.

Doll’s came with one out in the top of the third, and McLaughlin and Wassmann walked to load the bases with two outs. Eli Helberg then struck out junior outfielder Bronson Ryan to end the threat. The Pirates’ lone run finally came in the fifth when senior first baseman Brian Chandler walked, advanced to second on Doll’s groundout, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Blacklock’s well-placed infield single between the first and second basemen.

A double play ended the inning three pitches later.

Kearney then went back in front two runs in the sixth after a runner reached to start the inning on an error, one of five Platte County committed behind Carter. Bulldogs senior Casey Rooney provided an RBI single and then moved into scoring position with a stolen base. The Pirates avoided going behind 4-1 when Ryan, junior third baseman Taylor Stambersky and senior catcher Tyler Stearns combined for a putout to nail Rooney trying to score on a single.

In addition to leaving the bases loaded in the third and seventh, Platte County stranded two in scoring position in the second and one more in the sixth — all scoreless innings.

Platte County won the season-opener in the KC Leadoff Classic but lost the final three of four round robin games on the opening weekend. The two road losses now have the Pirates four games under .500 going into home games with Smithville (Monday) and Fort Osage (Tuesday) before a weekend trip to the Brad Holt Memorial Festival in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This marks the second straight trip to this event after going 2-2 in a weather-hampered stay last year.

Park Hill South 4, Platte County 3

The Panthers struck for four unearned runs in a costly bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday at Park Hill South High School in Riverside.

Platte County did not do enough to take advantage of six errors and finished with just three hits. Still, the Pirates led 3-0 after Doll’s two-out RBI double to score Blacklock in the top of the second. The advantage held until Park Hill South plated two against McLaughlin, who started and went 3 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and junior Owen Rawlings.

McLaughlin had retired seven straight since allowing a two-out single in the first when he gave up another to start the fourth.

Park Hill South then scored a run on the first error.

After a walk and strikeout, McLaughlin gave up another RBI single that cut Platte County’s lead to 3-2, but a ground ball to second base could have ended the inning. Instead, the Pirates’ second error allowed the tying run to score with Rawlings on the mound. He then hit a batter and then issued a bases-loaded walk that put the Panthers in front at 4-3.

Rawlings struck out four in 1 2/3 innings, while junior Wes Chiddix threw a scoreless sixth, working around one hit and striking out one.

After going down in order in the fifth, Platte County put two on with two outs in the sixth with a walk for Blacklock and an infield single for Stambersky. The Pirates started the seventh with Ryan reaching on an error and McLaughlin reaching on an error.

Park Hill South then intentionally walked Wassmann to set up forces at any base.

Platte County’s next two batters struck out, and the game ended on a groundout. The Pirates didn’t come up with a big hit at any point, scoring two in the first without a hit. Doll reached on an error, Ryan walked and McLaughlin scored the first run on a fielder’s choice groundout to shortstop that forced Ryan out at second base. Stearns walked with two outs, and McLaughlin scored from second on an errant pickoff throw.

In addition, Platte County lost a runner on the base paths in the second that kept Doll’s double from scoring another run, and the Pirates loaded the bases with the help of two errors with two outs in a scoreless fourth.