Platte County’s season comes to difficult end in Class 4 District 8 championship game

Platte County didn’t spend much time playing from behind in the second half of the season.

So when Kearney scored once in the bottom of the first and then added three-run home runs in the second and third innings in Monday’s Class 4 District 8 championship, the position felt unfamiliar and the challenge proved too much. The Bulldogs pulled away for a 10-3 victory at Excelsior Springs High School, sending the defending state champions back to the playoffs.

Platte County entered having won 10 of the previous 11 but bowed out of the postseason for the second year in a row in the same round to the same team.

“t was obviously a tough loss and a heartbreaking way to end the season, especially for the seniors,” Platte County coach Callie People said. “All of our seniors have at least been three-year starters so they have dedicated so much time and effort into our program.

Platte County finished 19-8, unable to earn a third district title in four years. Instead, the season and careers of Avery Webster, Morgan Shields, Emma Reed, Anna Crowell and Kallie Hitzelberger came to an end.

The five seniors all took different routes to their spots in this year’s lineup, having been a part of Platte County’s back-to-back runs to third-place Class 4 state finishes in 2020 and 2021.

A four-year starter, Webster played outfield in her first three seasons before moving to second base this fall. Shields took over full-time catching duties and filled a role as both a solid defensive backstop and top offensive threat. Reed (infield) and Crowell (outfield) started parts of their sophomore and junior years before becoming mainstays as seniors.

Hitzelberger started in right field as a senior after serving as the top pitcher for most of the previous two seasons.

“This was one of my most enjoyable years and teams to coach,” Peoples said. “This group gelled so well and had a lot of fun together. I don’t think I’ve ever had a team with such easy chemistry, and the seniors start that and are responsible for that. This group will be very difficult to replace and we are very sad to see them go. However, they are all such hard workers and good people that I know they will go on and be successful in whatever they do.”

Platte County’s senior-heavy starting lineup paired with standout freshmen Bryli Seifert (shortstop) and Allie Riggs (third and first base) plus sophomore pitcher Danica Salisbury and speedy, slap-hitting left field Evie Thrasher to quickly rebuild from last year’s district runnerup finish. The Pirates’ late run of success in the season included a thrilling 8-7 victory over Kearney in 11 innings, yet the Bulldogs were voted into the top seed in the Class 4 District 8 bracket despite the result.

In the first meeting, Platte County jumped to an early lead, lost the advantage and then survived three scoreless innings before Webster singled home Crowell for the walkoff win.

This time around, Kearney never trailed after hitting back-to-back doubles off of Salisbury in the first inning. Platte County did briefly draw even in the top of the second when Seifert led off with a walk and advanced to second on Salisbury’s sacrifice bunt.

The move paid off when Hitzelberger, who went 2-for-3, singled to right field, and Kearney right fielder Ryleigh VanEmmerik misplayed the ball. Both runners moved up with Seifert scoring the tying run. The Pirates stranded Hitzelberger in scoring position with small ball paying short-term dividends before finding out more offense would be needed.

Salisbury entered having been almost unhittable in run-rule-shortened 10-0 wins over Winnetonka in the first round and Smithville in the semifinals of districts. However, Kearney scored in each of the first five innings after seeing limited results against her in the first matchup. The Bulldogs did almost all of the damage with two home runs.

In the bottom of the second, Kearney put two on with a single and an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. However, Salisbury induced a groundout that left the two runners in scoring position to bring the Bulldogs’ No. 9 hitter to the plate with two outs. Bri Reynolds then launched a home run to center field to put them back on top 4-1.

Platte County closed back within 4-2 in the third third with Webster reaching with a one-out single before Shields replaced her at first on a fielder’s choice that produced the second out. Reed doubled to right field bring the Pirates closer.

However, Kearney went single, single, home run on three consecutive batters with one out in the fourth. Alyssa Quick’s three-run shot increased the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-2, and Platte County did not recover. The Pirates were down 10-2 going to to the top of the sixth with Salisbury charged with seven earned runs on 11 hits and two walks. She struck out two.

Kearney starter Kate Landewee went all seven innings and struck out seven while scattering eight hits and a walk.

Two of the hits were singles from Seifert and Hitzelberger in Platte County’s sixth to produce a final run. Webster doubled with one out in the seventh but ended up left at third when the final out was recorded.

“The thing I am the most proud of is that they never gave up,” People said. “We scored a run in the sixth inning and had a baserunner on in the top of the seventh, too. Being down 10-2, it would have been really easy to lay down but they never did.”

Platte County has lost three of the past four to Kearney including both meetings last year. The Bulldogs’ 2022 district championship game victory involved a big comeback late before going on to win the state title.

Despite the setback, Platte County’s seniors continued a recent run of success. The Pirates won 21 games in both 2020 and 2021 before finishing 13-14 last fall. That means there were 74 total wins over the past four seasons with Webster, Shields, Crowell, Hitzelberger and Reed on the roster.

Platte County 10, Smithville 0, 5 innings

Hitzelberger and Salisbury homered, and the Pirates produced 12 hits in just four innings in a blowout Class 4 District 8 semifinal win Saturday morning.

Salisbury struck out four and allowed only three hits and a walk in a shutout effort. She worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning that included the leadoff hitter reaching on a dropped third strike followed by a single. Smithville then advanced both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and a two-out walk left no margin for error.

After a groundout ended the threat, Platte County struck for three runs — two unearned in the bottom of the first to take control. Seifert’s two-out single brought home Reed, who reached on a fielder’s choice after Shields singled but was forced out at second on her groundout. Salisbury walked, and then two runners scored on a throwing error with two outs.

Webster and Shields made it 5-0 Platte County in the second with back-to-back RBI singles, and Hitzelberger added a solo home run — first of her career in the third. The Pirates put the run-rule into play with four more in the fourth. Shields started the really with a one-out single, and Reed singled her home and scored on Seifert’s sacrifice fly after advancing to third on a passed ball.

Salisbury followed with a solo home run to increase the lead to 9-0, and Hitzelberger doubled and scored on Crowell’s two out single. Salisbury worked around a two-out single in the fifth to finish off the shutout.

Platte County 10, Winnetonka 0, 5 innings

Salisbury took a perfect game into the fifth against the seventh-seeded Griffins in last Thursday’s first-round game. She worked around an error and a walk to start that frame to end up with a no-hitter.

Platte County took advantage of eight errors, scoring five in the first and then plated the winning run in the fifth to produce a walkoff victory. Reed doubled twice, while Crowell had two triples, three RBIs and two runs scored. Three of the errors came in the Pirates’ first inning, which also included a two-run triple for Crowell.

The next run for Platte County came in the third when Crowell tripled with one out and scored on an error when the right fielder dropped a fly ball. The Pirates’ three-run fourth started with Shields’ leadoff single, Reed’s RBI double to center field and Seifert’s RBI triple. She was stuck at third, but Crowell made it 9-0 with a two-out RBI single.

Reed doubled in the winning run with two outs in the fifth, scoring Thrasher after she led off the inning being hit by a pitch.