In its first regular season game of the 2021 season, the West Platte softball team soared to an annihilating 20-3 victory in three innings over St. Pius X on Aug. 31.
The Blue Jays came out of the gate hot as they scored 11 runs from nine hits in the opening inning. Madisyn Matlick had two hits in the inning and Laura Hill had a 3-run inside the park homerun to highlight the high scoring inning.
“We were really disciplined at the plate in terms of waiting for the right pitches,” West Platte head coach Bailee Giger said. “It was good to get some younger girls to get on base and get some experience out there that will hopefully be helpful in the coming weeks.”
West Platte didn’t slow down in the next inning as it poured in eight more runs and seven hits to increase its lead to 19-0. Emily VanNatta was on the mound for the Blue Jays and only allowed three hits while striking out five batters and allowing no runs in the first two innings.
“She worked the strike zone really well and had a great game. The defense did what they could behind her and supported her too, so that’s always nice to see,” Giger said
The Blue Jays got one more run on the board as every player scored at least once in the ball game. The Warriors finally got on board in the third inning, but it was too little, too late.
West Platte sophomore Emily VanNatta throws a pitch against St. Pius X in the Blue Jays big victory on Aug. 31.
“It was good to refocus and make sure we can get back out there after we dropped a couple of games in the round robin tournament,” Giger said.
Matlick led the West Platte’s offense with four hits and four RBI’s while Hailey Deffenbaugh and Hill both had two hits and three RBI’s. VanNatta ended the contest with six strikeouts as the Blue Jays only had one fielding error on the day.