West Platte senior Cohen Kite had two batted balls in the 6-0 loss to Wellington-Napoleon on May 9.
PLATTSBURG – West Platte (15-8) seemingly turned over a new leaf this spring until a late season blunder that saw back-to-back defeats for the first time and an early exit from the Class 2 District 15 Baseball Tournament.
West Platte was sitting comfortable with a 15-6 record to clinch the No. 2 seed at districts before disaster struck. The Blue Jays lost 6-0 at home in the regular season finale against Wellington-Napoleon (12-8) on May 9 before losing to Polo (11-8) in their first postseason game at Perkins Park on May 13.
In the regular season finale, West Platte failed to score a run at home for the first time since May 2, 2022, which was an 11-0 loss to St. Michael the Archangel. Wellington-Napoleon took advantage of two errors by its opponent and didn’t let up a run despite giving up four hits.
West Platte sophomore Jaxon Davis had a pair of singles in the second and seventh inning. In the latter, Davis followed up a Blaze Masoner double to put two runners on with only one out, which saw back-to-back outs in the aftermath for the game to end.
The Tigers struck out 11 batters and had six hits, not scoring until the fourth inning and produced all six runs in a three-inning span from there on. Jaxon Turner stole two bases and had four strikeouts on the mound.
In the postseason game, a downpour of rain was a factor at Perkins Park. The No. 2 seed struck first with an early run and the No. 3 seed tied it in the fourth inning.
West Platte led 6-3 going into the seventh inning and needed three outs to walk away victorious and advance to the first district championship since 2016. Unfortunately, Polo poured out eight runs and held off its opponent in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull off the 11-6 upset.
In the inning, West Platte walked seven batters and had two errors. Cohen Kite and Michael Cook were walked in the bottom of the seventh inning and Kane Cogan, Davis and Masoner all had batted balls but grounded and popped out.
The Blue Jays’ promising season ended in heartbreaking fashion although they took strides in the right direction. In what was the first year with Mitch Giger at the helm ended up being the first winning season since 2019 and the first time surpassing 10 victories since 2016.
Seniors Cohen Kite, Gunner Smith and Alexander Levingston laid the groundwork for the rebuild for years to come. With only three seniors needing to be replaced, West Platte has the potential to build off this season with an experienced group returning in 2025.