Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and only one out, the North Platte softball team (22-4) had a chance to win its first district title since 2015 at Perkins Park on Oct. 15.
In a tight-notch postseason game with Mid-Buchanan (25-11), sophomore Lindsey Ramsey came up to the plate and made contact but flied out to second base. Scarlett Slugantz was the next batter up and the game came down to her.
The Lady Panther swung at the ball and hit it up in the air towards the Lady Dragons’ first baseman, who caught the ball and Mid-Buchanan pulled off the upset victory. The emotions from the Lady Panthers showed how hard the loss hit as it was only North Platte’s second loss of the season to a Class 2 school.
The Lady Panthers had a special season, but they didn’t make it as far as they had hoped despite having a strong start to the Class 2 District 7 Championship Game. North Platte scored in four of the first five innings, which was good enough to take a 3-0 margin after two innings.
The third inning had some controversy as the Lady Dragons were able to pull out multiple runs after a questionable call by the umpires. While it appeared that North Platte third baseman, Ramsey, tagged one of the Mid-Buchanan runners well before sliding into the base, the runner was called safe, and the Lady Dragons were able to continue the inning on offense.
The Lady Panthers made a pitching change shortly after that – putting freshman Kate Wolf in for Slugantz – and the Lady Dragons took a 5-3 lead when the middle of the inning came to a close. Wolf finished the game out and struck out three batters.
North Platte cut at the 2-run margin in the bottom of the third inning when Olivia Rogers singled on a line drive to left field and sent Morgan Ball across home plate. Mid-Buchanan closed out that inning and added one more run in the ensuing inning to go up 6-4.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, North Platte got back on the scoreboard and tied the game at six. With two outs and two runners out, Kenedie Summers and Rogers went up to the plate and had back-to-back RBI singles to score a pair of runs.
The North Platte softball team reacts after the 7-6 Class 2 District 7 Championship loss to Mid-Buchanan that ended the Lady Panthers season with a 22-4 record at Perkins Park on Oct. 15.
The North Platte defense forced three outs on three Mid-Buchanan batters in the sixth inning but left two batters on when it was on offense and the game headed into the final inning tied at six. Emma Lisenbee faced a full count in the first Lady Dragons’ at-bat and had a solo home run over the Perkins Park fence to take a 7-6 lead.
The Lady Panthers closed out the inning with three consecutive outs and Summers singled on a line drive to right field on the first at-bat. Rogers struck out, but Jaylin Burgess and Camyrn Kersten both singled to load the bases before the final two batters popped out to decide the game.
The Lady Panthers were the No. 1 seed and made it to the district championship game after three home runs helped them take down Plattsburg (14-12) in the semifinals on Oct. 13. Kersten hit two homers and Jaylin Burgess added another en route to the 11-4 victory.
The last time the Lady Panthers made it to a district title game before this year was also the last time they won, which was 2015. North Platte’s season came up shy of a district title, but it was a season that will be remembered for years to come.