The Platte County baseball team’s offense has been explosive so far this season, with the Pirates scoring 39 runs in their last three games. The Pirates have won two of those games, including a 9-3 win over Smithville last week and a 16-6 win at Raytown South Monday night.
Against Smithville, the Pirates pounded out 11 hits, including a 3-for-4 effort from freshman catcher Justin Mitchell. Senior first baseman Nic Blaha drove in two runs and pitcher Jerod Thomas went the distance on the mound for the win. Monday night in Raytown, Platte County let the Cardinals know it was not going to be their night when they put five runs on the board in the first inning. The Pirates ended the game via the 10-run rule with a seven-run fifth. Platte County got home runs from Blaha and Mitchell, while Mitchell, Jerod Thomas and Jacob Eastman all added key doubles. Starting pitcher Jared Wilson got the win and struck out five, while walking none. Platte County, now 4-1 on the season, will play host to Liberty North today (April 9), travel to Raytown April 10 and then host Kearney April 11 in a makeup of a game rained out last week. The Pirates will also play host to St. Joseph Central April 14. • PARK HILL suffered a 14-0 shutout loss to a powerful Lee’s Summit West team Monday night. The Trojans’ bats were silenced two days after they erupted for 22 runs in a doubleheader split at Oak Park April 5. In the first game, Park Hill lost 7-6, with Connor Bosworth notching three hits and three RBI. Ricky Trammell added two hits and pitcher Will March took the loss on the hill. The Trojans roared back in the second game, winning 15-5. Park Hill offensive highlights were many: Derek Reynolds went 4-for-4, with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored. Johnny Balsamo had three hits and three runs scored as did Trammell. Bosworth added three hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Park Hill will play at Kearney today (April 9) and at Ruskin April 11. They will host Park Hill South April 14. • WEST PLATTE defeated cross-county rival NORTH PLATTE 24-3 and lost 12-3 to Bishop LeBlond last week. In the North Platte win, the Jays pounded out eight hits and took full advantage of 14 walks by North Platte pitchers. Tanner Lintner had two doubles and drove in three runs, while Clay Lambrecht had one double, scored four runs and drove in three. Tristan Rickel had two hits for North Platte. LeBlond broke open a tight game on April 1, scoring all 12 of its runs from the fourth frame on. West Platte had nine hits, including three hits from Cody Guthrie and two from Lambrecht. North Platte’s early-season struggles continued last Saturday at the Plattsburg Tournament – the Panthers lost 18-0 to East Buchanan, 13-4 to Plattsburg and 7-4 to Lathrop. West Platte will play at Mid-Buchanan April 10, while North Platte will host Plattsburg that day.