West Platte first baseman Matthew Cook brings in a ball in the Blue Jays’ 13-8 loss to Lathrop on April 23.
WESTON – A rough stretch in the fourth inning ended up being the deciding factor for the West Platte baseball team (12-6) as Lathrop (5-9) gushed out seven runs to win 13-8 on April 23.
When the game concluded, there were more walks, 17, than total hits, 16, between the conference opponents. Lathrop went up 4-0 through two innings before West Platte’s offense got rolling in the bottom of the third inning.
Five Blue Jays were walked and they scored six runs with a pair of RBI singles by Gunner Smith and Blaze Masoner. In the fourth inning, West Platte had some pitching woes as Jaxon Turner and Alex Allison both shared the mound and combined for five walks, allowed two hits and had one error.
The Mules regained the lead, 11-6, and held the Blue Jays hitless in the ensuing inning before Jaxon Davis singled in the fifth inning and was left on base. In the sixth inning, Lathrop added one run and Jhett Chandler was left on base.
West Platte came back into the dugout one last time trailing by five runs with one last chance. With one out and one runner on, Masoner tripled to center field.
Davis had a sacrifice fly to send Masoner home in the next at bat, making the score 12-8. Cuin Vincent grounded out to shortstop and the Blue Jays’ comeback attempt fell short.
Before the defeat, West Platte had won its last two KCI Conference games and the previous three games overall.
The Blue Jays only needed five innings to take down DeKalb (3-7) on April 29. They won 10-0, with seven strikeouts by Michael Cook and a three hit, three RBI outing by Kane Cogan.
Since starting out 2-2, West Platte has posted a 10-4 overall record – a better mark than any of the previous six seasons from start to finish. The Blue Jays will go to East Buchanan (5-14) on May 1 and host South Nodaway with Jefferson (9-5) on May 7 before the Class 2 District 15 Tournament starts.