In a rare circumstance, Platte County’s offense went mostly silent over the weekend in the annual trip to Papillion, Nebraska. The Pirates scored just three runs total in three straight losses to close the Monarch Invitational, which included two games each on Friday and Saturday.
In the finale, Gretna East (Nebraska) scratched out three runs on six hits and two walks against Platte County junior starter Reagan Ball, and the Pirates ended up with the potential tying run at the plate in a 3-1 loss that ended after six innings due to the time limit. Ball ended up charged with only one earned run after an error led to two runs in the top of the fifth.
Platte County started the bottom of the sixth with a single from sophomore third baseman Kinleigh Howren to end a n-hitter, and one batter later, junior shortstop Bryli Seifert drove her home with a line drive double to center field. Ball popped out to the catcher on the next and final pitch.
Only two other runners reached for Platte County — one on an error and a walk for senior catcher Gwen Duncan.
Platte County started Saturday with a 3-2 loss in six innings to Kearney (Nebraska), which scored two in the bottom of the first to overcome an early deficit and then broke a 2-2 tie with a single run in the third. Both teams finished with nine hits.
However, Platte County made two errors and one led to an unearned, go-ahead run against Ball in the third. She walked just one while limiting Kearney to just one extra-base hit. The Pirates led 1-0 in the top of the first after Howren led off with a triple and scored on junior left fielder Lillian Talbot’s single.
Kearney took a 2-1 lead on a two-run double in the bottom of the first before Platte County drew level in the second on three straight singles from Ball, senior second baseman Marlee Snyder-Richardson and junior centerfielder Kelly Bullano. The Pirates left runners in scoring position in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings in addition to Seifert being thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. That play came to start the fifth, and freshman designated hitter Gracelyn Shippee followed with another double. Her pinch-runner ended up stranded at second.
Platte County entered Saturday off of Friday’s 8-0 loss to Papillion-LaVista (Nebraska), which limited the Pirates’ offense to just three hits — a pair of singles for Howren and a double for Talbot. The Monarchs pulled away with five runs in the top of the fifth, tagging senior starter Danica Salisbury for eight runs, only six earned, in 4 1/3 innings. Sh struck out two before Ball came on to record the final two outs of a the five-inning matchup.
Papillion-LaVista finished with 10 hits and also benefitted from three errors, taking a 1-0 lead in the first and going up three runs after the top of the third.
Platte County entered the tournament on a seven-game winning streak, which included a pair of doubleheader sweeps over Raytown and Ruskin in Suburban Conference White Division play. The Pirates then pushed that to eight with a 6-5 victory Friday against Millard South.
After scoring the first six runs, Platte County ended up needing to hold on late.
Millard South scored all five runs off of Ball, who struck out two and didn’t walk any while scattering eight hits (seven singles), in the bottom of the fourth. The game ended up finishing after six innings with Ball working around a pair of two-out runners in the fifth and then retiring the Patriots in order to close out the victory.
Talbot, who recently returned after missing the opening portion of the season due to injury, went 3-for-4 with a triple, scored twice and drove in another, while Shippee hit her third home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third to extend the early lead to 4-0.
Platte County took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second after Snyder-Richardson led off with a double and scored on Bullano’s single. In the third, Tablot led off with a single, and Seifert walked. She stole second while Talbot scored on a throwing error from the catcher. Seifert advanced to third on the play and then scored when Shippee hit the home run to center.
The final two runs came in the third after Howren’s two-run double. Talbot followed with an RBI triple to right, and she came home when a throw to third skipped past the third baseman. The Pirates led 6-0 at that point and then held on despite Millard South batting around with six hits in the fourth.
Platte County finished a busy week with a 13-6 record and restarts White Divison play at William Chrisman on Monday then playing nonconfernce matchups vs. North Platte and at Park Hill on the next two days.
Platte County 9, Fort Osage 2
Improving to 8-0 in conference play, the Pirates pounded out 16 hits during Tuesday’s road game in Independence and broke the game open with five runs in the top of the fifth.
Talbot again went 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Seifert collected three RBIs and Shippee two hitting directly behind her. Platte County went up 1-0 in the top of the first after Howren led off with a single, and Talbot followed with a double. Seifert’s groundout scored the first game, and the Pirates went up 2-1 in the third when Howren scored on Shippee’s two-out single.
Platte County’s five-run fifth started with Duncan’s leadoff double. She scored on Talbot’s second double, while Seifert and Shippee followed with RBI doubles and Snyder-Richardson added a two-run double later in the inning. Seifert came up with another RBI double to score Talbot with two outs in the sixth, and Snyder-Richardson added a run-scoring single in the seventh to plate Ball with the Pirates’ final run.
Fort Osage trailed 9-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, and Ball finished with four strikeouts while scattering seven singles and two walks.
Platte County entered off of a doubleheader sweep of Raytown on the road Monday night — both by a score of 15-0 in three innings. Seifert and Talbot both homered in Game 2. The Pirates were scheduled to continue league play Thursday in a pivotal matchup with Grain Valley but the threat of inclement weather postponed the game until October 1.
