Park Hill South senior Richard Fullerton stood at the plate hitless in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Panthers trailing by one run and two runners on base. He delivered in a big situation with a two-run single to center field to plate the winning runs in a 14-13 walkoff win against Kearney on Saturday April 12 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo. Jacob Kline started the inning with a ground ball to shortstop but reached second on a throwing error. John Chacon followed with a single and then stole second on the first pitch of Fullerton’s at-bat.
Everyone in the Park Hill South lineup reached base and scored a run in the second game of a doubleheader. The Panthers tallied 11 hits, including a 2-for-3 effort from left fielder Andrew Richards. His two-run home run kicked off an eight-run fifth inning after his two-out two-RBI double in the third inning.
All of the offense helped overcome a 12-0 deficit.
Park Hill South swept its two games after a 13-1 four-inning win against North Kansas City in the opener.
Every spot in the lineup accounted for at least one run in the blowout. Chacon went 1-for-1 but scored twice after drawing walks in the second and third innings. The Panthers sent 13 batters to the plate in the second inning to score eight and take control.
Park Hill South starting pitcher Ryan Hagen scattered four hits and allowed just one run.
Smith-Cotton Invitational
Platte County went 1-3 during a three-day trip to Sedalia, Mo. last week, including a pair of late losses.
The Pirates’ lone win came Friday, April 10 in a back-and-forth matchup with Truman. Matt Mefford’s walkoff two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh provided the tying and go-ahead runs in a 4-3 victory. Truman went ahead 3-2 with a lone run in the top of the inning.
Platte County didn’t fare as well in its final two games.
Smith-Cotton topped the Pirates 3-2 later in the day on Nick Hagedorn’s walkoff solo home run at Liberty Park in the bottom of the 10th inning. Jared Wilson pitched eight innings for Platte County, which led 2-1 after the top of the third before the Tigers answered with a tying run in the bottom half.
In the final game of the tournament, Ozark broke a late tie with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning on the way to a 4-3 win.
Platte County fought back from a 3-0 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another in the sixth before giving the lead right back. Mitchell collected the lone RBI and finished the tournament 7-for-14 with four runs scored.
West Platte 23, Plattsburg 7, 5 innings
The Bluejays scored at least two in every inning during a KCI Conference victory Tuesday, April 7 in Plattsburg, Mo.
West Platte collected 19 hits and drew three walks, while Tigers pitching hit a total of four batters in addition to five errors. Bluejays senior Cody Guthrie went 3-for-5 with two doubles, scored three runs and drove in five. He also pitched the final 2/3 of an inning to finish out the run-rule win.
Peyton Morris went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk and three RBIs, while McKaulley Stephenson also collected four hits, including a double, with two RBIs and three runs. Tanner Lintner doubled and drove in three.
West Platte plated sixth in the first and took an 11-1 lead after the top of the second.
Lintner and Luke Horseman combined to walk 11 in the three-pitcher two hitter, and West Platte committed two errors. Plattsburg scored six total in the second inning off of Lintner and Horseman to cut the lead to 11-7.
North Platte 19, University Academy 0, 5 innings
The Panthers were on the other end of a blowout, scoring nine in the bottom of the second and seven more in the fourth Tuesday, April 7 at Dean Park in Dearborn, Mo.
Blake Toliver struck out 11 in a one-hitter to earn the win. Aron Burke doubled twice and drove in four, while Austin Shanks, Blake Smith, Triston Rickel and Toliver all collected extra-base hits. The Panthers scored their runs on 11 hits.
Kansas City Lutheran 11 North Platte 1, 6 innings
Toliver took the loss Monday, April 13 at Dean Park in Dearborn Mo. The Knights scored 11 runs on just six hits to drop the Panthers’ record to 3-6.
North Platte trailed 2-1 after four innings, but the Knights scored three runs in the fifth and six in the sixth to invoke the run rule.
Liberty 8, Park Hill 3
The Trojans struggled to find the offense in a loss Monday, April 13 at Liberty High School in Liberty, Mo. Clayton Cole collected Park Hill’s lone RBI in the loss.
Kyle Francis took the loss after allowing five runs — three earned — in five innings of work. The Central Missouri signee struck out seven, walked three and allowed six hits for the Blue Jays.