Webster comes through late to deliver walkoff win over rival, defending state champs

Avery Webster embraced each opportunity, despite the prior frustrating results.

Given one final chance, Platte County’s senior anchor and leadoff hitter delivered in a memorable spot. Webster served a soft, check-swing single into the outfield to plate senior center fielder Anna Crowell in the bottom of the 11th inning Tuesday night at Platte County High School.

The walkoff hit ended a game that lasted more than three hours where afternoon sun gave way to dark dusk and delivered an important win in the chase for the Class 4 District 8 top seed.

“I actually told the girls in the dugout, I was like ‘If I’m up in that situation, I’m going to hit the walkoff,'” said Webster, who finished 1-for-7 with three strikeouts and had not reached base in her previous six trips to the plate. “So I was ready; I was confident even after those bad at-bats early in the game.”

Platte County (12-6) never trailed after bolting to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, and sophomore pitcher Danica Salisbury started and finished strong, holding Kearney scoreless in each of the last five innings. The Pirates entered the week having lost three of the previous four but appear to have built some momentum.

Last year, Kearney won both meetings with Platte County — the second a dramatic comeback in the Class 4 District 8 championship game on the way to winning a state title. The Pirates avenged those in between a 17-4 blowout of Excelsior Springs on Monday and 8-5 victory at Fort Osage.

“We were so excited,” Webster said of the chance to play Kearney. “This was like our revenge game.”

Platte County ended up with five different opportunities for a walkoff in the nonconference rivalry game. However, the Pirates stranded senior right fielder Kallie Hitzelberger at second after a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth and left the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th.

Crowell started the winning rally with an infield single to shortstop then advanced to second on a passed ball.

Platte County freshman first baseman Allison Riggs, who went 2-for-5 with a walk, struck out when sophomore left field Evie Thrasher came up with her third big at-bat of the night. She grounded to third base with her slap hitting style and reached while Crowell advanced to third.

That brought Webster to the plate for a seventh at-bat, and while down 1-2 in the count, she singled to center field and set up a celebration.

“I knew what she could do; she just had to get out of her head a little bit and remain that confident hitter she’s been,” Platte County coach Callie Peoples said. “She’s been hitting great all season. Obviously, those six at-bats didn’t go the way she wanted to, but that last one’s all that matters.”

Hitzelberger went 3-for-4 with two walks, while Platte County freshman Bryli Seifert added a pair of doubles and three RBIs in what ended up a balanced offensive effort. The majority of the runs came in a lengthy bottom of the second when Reed and Hitzelberger led off with back-to-back singles. Crowell’s sacrifice bunt put both into scoring position, and Riggs drew a walk after falling behind 0-2 to load the bases.

Thrasher then fouled off three straight pitches on a full count before drawing a bases-loaded walk to score the first run.

Webster popped out with the bases still loaded, but Platte County senior catcher Morgan Shields followed with a single to center field to score Hitzelberger. Peoples held Riggs at third with the Pirates still only up 2-0, but Seifert delivered with the first of her doubles to score three more.

Seifert’s high fly ball to left field literally hit the top of the fence and caromed back into the field of play. She ended up with a double and went to third on a throw home that was too late to keep Platte County from going in front 5-0.

“She seems so comfortable these past couple of weeks at the plate,” Peoples said of Seifert, who hit her first two career home runs the night before in the win over Excelsior Springs. “She’s composed; she’s really disciplined, and she’s been having great at-bats.

“She’s really coming into her own.”

Kearney then started to chip away at the deficit, while Platte County tried to hold on to the advantage.

After an error allowed put a runner on base to start the top of the third, Salisbury allows three straight hits and a groundout that scored three runs. Platte County seemed to be in position to blow the game back open in the bottom of the frame but managed only one run after Reed, Hitzelberger and Crowell loaded the bases with three straight singles. Reed ended up thrown out trying to advance to third on Hitzelberger’s soft ground ball to right field, but Riggs scored one on a well-placed bunt single to again. The Bulldogs then hit Thrasher with a pitch to load the bases, but Webster and Shields both struck out, leaving the lead at 6-3.

Kearney scored in each of the next two innings, but Platte County used defense to keep from falling behind.

In the fourth, Salisbury, who struck struck out five but only walked one, worked out of a jam in the fourth on three straight groundouts. The third came on a sharp comeback that she tracked down and flipped to first for an out that kept Platte County ahead 6-4. Kearney tied the score in the top of the fifth on a two-run home run, and an error kept the inning alive. However, Hitzelberger tracked down a hard-hit line drive for the second out with the Bulldogs’ runner at third failing to tag up, and the Bulldogs stranded her there.

“One of my big things is that we tie or win every inning,” Peoples said. “We kept doing that this game. I told (Danni), it seemed like she got stronger as the game went on so we might start doing 11 innings more often. She kept having short-term memory, kept picking herself up and picking her teammates up.”

Platte County led again at 7-6 when Riggs led off with a single and scored on a passed ball with two outs, but Kearney answered with a two-out single in the top of the with to set up the dramatic finish.

After all of the offense in the middle innings, chances were fairly limited for both teams in extra innings. Neither team put a runner into scoring position until HItzelberger walked with one out in the ninth and went to second on Crowell’s groundout. Salisbury retired 16 of the last 18 she faced, allowing only a one-out single in the ninth, while the last of the Pirates’ three errors put another runner on in the eighth.

Kearney went down in order in the 10th and 11th.

“Danni pitched her butt off, and the defense had her back,” Webster said.

Platte County 17, Excelsior Springs 4

One night earlier, the Pirates hit start to finish and took advantage of seven errors in a road win at Excelsior Springs.

Seifert and Reed combined for three home runs and two doubles, while Thrasher stole four bases. Platte County scored in every inning but the first and easily overcame an early 2-0 deficit. Seifert’s solo home run — first of her career — in the second cut the deficit in half, and the Pirates took advantage of two errors to take the lead with three more in the third. Salisbury scored plated the tying run with a two-out single, and Crowell came home on a passed ball to make it 4-2.

Excelsior Springs scored two more in the fifth but still trailed 9-4 at that point.

Platte County’s two-run fourth included a two-out RBI double from Shields, and the Pirates added three more in the fifth. Seifert, who finished 4-for-4 with two home runs and a double while scoring four times, doubled with one out and scored on a stolen base and passed ball. Hitzelberger followed with a single and came home on Reed’s two-run shot center.

Reed went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double, while driving in four and scoring twice.

After Excelsior Springs reduced the deficit to 9-4, Shields led off the top of Platte County’s sixth with a single and came home on a groundout from Salisbury, who also ended up with four RBIs. Reed doubled home two more with two outs, and the Pirates scored five more in the seventh. Two errors helped load the bases with one out, and Salisbury hit a two-run double before scoring on Seifert’s three-run home run.

Platte County 8, Fort Osage 5

The Pirates avoided a potential letdown in Thursday’s home game at Platte County High School, bolting a big lead and then recovering from one bad half inning.

The teams combined for 11 errors leading to 10 total unearned runs. Salisbury struck out five and didn’t issue any walks but ended up charged with five unearned runs — all top of the third. Fort Osage went from down five to tied 5-5 after Platte County committed three straight errors to start the frame. The Pirates then immediately took the lead back on Riggs’ two-out double in the bottom half of the inning to score Salisbury, who was stuck at first base after leading off with a single.

Platte County made it 7-5 when Thrasher and Webster followed with consecutive singles.

Webster and Salisbury both finished 2-for-4 with two RBIS, while Reed hit third and scored twice despite going hitless. Salisbury’s RBI groundout scored Reed in the fourth for what ended up the game’s final run.

After Salisbury recorded a 1-2-3 top of the first in the pitching circle, Platte County mounted a two-out rally that started with Reed reaching on an error. Seifert walked, and Salisbury scored the game’s first run with a single. A second Fort Osage error kept the inning alive, and Crowell drove in two with a single to center field to make it 3-0. The Pirates made it 5-0 in the bottom of the second when Thrasher reached on an error and scored on Webster’s triple. She also came home on the play thanks to another costly error from the Indians.