Entering the West Platte Invitational with three consecutive seasons as the winner, the Lady Blue Jay softball team (8-3) finished in second place after outscoring their first two opponents 27-0 on September 24.
West Platte started the home tournament off with a 17-0 victory over Raytown South (4-7) with a huge second inning. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Lady Blue Jays erupted for five hits and 10 more runs.
Raytown South also had two errors and walked six batters in the inning to help West Platte take an 11-0 lead. Colby Shepardson singled and had a 2-run home run, while Emily VanNatta and Laura Hill singled and Hailey Deffenbaugh doubled.
The Lady Blue Jays added to the scoreboard in the ensuing inning to end the game with a mercy rule. The first four batters had a hit and West Platte rounded home plate six more times to score 17 runs in the opening contest.
Hill had four of the Lady Blue Jays’ 12 hits while VanNatta led the team with four RBIs. Sophie Grier was on the mound, only allowing two hits and striking out four batters.
In the second game, West Platte kept the dominant play going with a 10-0 victory over Stanberry (0-12). Hill singled on a ground ball to third base in the first at-bat of the contest, then crossed home plate after a wild pitch when Grier was in the batter’s box.
The Lady Bulldogs had another error in the first inning when Remi McColley hit a fly ball to left field that was dropped and two runs were scored. The next two innings were scoreless followed by seven runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings to come out on top with another shutout.
Stanberry had four errors in the contest and West Platte had five hits by five separate batters. McColley and Hill both ended with two RBIs and VanNatta struck out seven batters.
West Platte senior Laura Hill makes contact in the West Platte Invite on Sept. 24.
In the final game of the West Platte Invitational, the host team fell 16-4 to Savannah (9-3). The Lady Blue Jays fell behind 1-0 at the end of the top of the opening inning but responded with back-to-back two run innings to lead 4-1.
After Hill and Emma Downing both got out in the first two at bats in the bottom of the first inning, Savannah had three consecutive errors to load the bases. McColley sent Madisyn Matlick and Grier home with a single to put the Lady Blue Jays up 2-1.
In the ensuing inning, Deffenbaugh and Sam Baker singled to start the inning off and each of them reached home plate by the time the inning came to a close. Hill grounded out and Downing had a sacrifice bunt to add the two runs to the scoreboard.
West Platte was unable to add any more runs in the contest and Savannah retook the lead 5-4 in the top of the fourth inning. The Lady Savages put the game away with 11 runs in the sixth inning when the Lady Blue Jays had two of their six errors.
McColley, VanNatta and Grier all stepped on the mound in the loss. Plattsburg (10-6) will come to town to take on West Platte on September 29.