West Platte outfielder Molly Cline goes up for a catch against North Andrew on Oct. 2.
LATHROP – Entering the regular season finale with two losses in its last three games, the West Platte softball team (13-4) will look to use the 14-3 conference win over Lathrop (4-16) as momentum entering the postseason.
Coming out on top in the last game of regular season play, West Platte finished the season with a 4-3 KCI Conference record. This is the second straight season that the Lady Blue Jays finished with a winning conference record after not doing so since 2014.
In the first year under Holly Lintner, West Platte enters the postseason with its highest winning percentage in more than 15 years. After starting off 11-2, the Lady Blue Jays had a pair of tough conference losses in a 3-game stint.
Plattsburg (20-4) snapped a West Plate 5-game winning streak on Sept. 28 and Mid-Buchanan won 11-1 on Oct. 3. The Lady Dragons have been one of the best teams in all of Class 2, coming away with a one-sided victory and taking advantage of the Lady Blue Jays’ mistakes.
West Platte had nine errors on the night and gave up 10 hits, trailing 10-0 after three innings. Emma Downing started the game on the mound and the Lady Dragons scored three runs in the first inning after two singles, a walk and an error.
West Platte had four errors in the second inning, letting up six more runs and gave up one more error and run in the third inning. In the top of the fourth inning, Hailey Deffenbaugh stole home on a wild pitch for her team’s sole run.
West Platte bounced back against Lathrop, scoring 10 runs in the first two innings and was led by Sophie Grier who had seven RBIs and six strikeouts. Grier set the tone for the contest with her first career grand slam in the first inning, her fifth homer of the fall, to end the regular season on a high note.
For the third straight year, West Platte will be the No. 5 seed in districts and will have a chance to win its first postseason game since 2016. Lawson (15-7) – who fell 5-4 to West Platte on Sept. 26 – will be the No. 4 seed in the Class 2 District 7 Tournament.
Districts will be at Mid-Buchanan High School and West Platte’s opening game will be on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. If the Lady Blue Jays win their first postseason game, they will have a rematch with Mid-Buchanan – which received the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye – on Oct. 14 at 11 a.m.