With the season coming down to the wire, the West Platte softball team went to Mid-Buchanan High school and upset the Dragons 9-8 on Oct. 5.
Mid-Buchanan led 8-1 after five innings, but the Blue Jays didn’t go down without a fight against their KCI Conference rivals. West Platte scored four runs in each of the final two innings to narrowly defeat the Dragons.
At the top of the sixth inning, two of West Platte’s first three batters hit pop flies that were caught, so there were two outs with Laura Hill on first base when Emily VanNatta stepped up to the plate. The sophomore was the first of three Blue Jays to hit the ball as she and Madisyn Matick both singled to advance Hill across home plate.
Emma Downing was one of three Blue Jays to single in the final inning against the Dragons on Oct. 5.
Emma Downing responded with a 3-run homer to give the Blue Jays momentum and they narrowed the deficit, 8-5. West Platte’s defense stepped up and closed out the inning without allowing a Mid-Buchanan score.
The Blue Jays’ first four batters in the final inning hit the ball, starting with three consecutive singles from Ashley Goodwin, Hill and Hailey Shepardson. Colby Shepardson came up big as the sophomore hit the ball over the fence to give West Platte four more runs and a 9-8 lead.
The Blue Jay defense once again stepped up when a double play gave the Dragons three outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the contest. Hill and Matlick both ended with 2 hits, while Matlick added an RBI.
Colby Shepardson led the Blue Jays with 4 RBIs and Downing finished with 3 RBIs. The victory gave West Platte a 3-3 conference record before the Blue Jays fell 5-0 to Lathrop on Oct. 7.
The Blue Jays ended the regular season with a 14-6 record, which is their most wins since 2014. West Platte enters the Class 2 District 7 Tournament as the five seed at Plattsburg High School starting on Oct. 13.