Ahead of the final week of regular season play, the North Platte baseball team (12-6) won two straight KCI Conference games before falling to Rock Port (8-6) on May 1.
North Platte senior Wesley Meadows had a team-high two hits in the 6-5 win over Lathrop on April 27.
The Panthers closed out conference play with wins over Mid-Buchanan (11-9) on April 25 and Lathrop (8-11) on April 27. North Platte won its final five KCI Conference games after starting off 0-2.
Mid-Buchanan eliminated North Platte in districts a season ago, but the Panthers got revenge recently. North Platte erupted for 11 hits on the day to walk away with a 10-5 victory.
Jaxson Carpenter had a game-high three hits, along with an RBI and Chance Garber had one hit and three RBIs. Colton Kirkham struck out five batters in six innings.
Before North Platte took down Lathrop 7-6, the Panthers had lost 12 consecutive games in the series with their last win being on April 16, 2015. North Platte led 5-1 entering the seventh inning, but that lead temporarily slipped away.
Lathrop had five hits and four runs in the top of the seventh inning, to go ahead 6-5. Ryan York was walked and Wesley Meadows reached first base on an error to put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning before a single out.
After a strikeout, Kirkham was intentionally walked to load the bases. The Mules walked yet another batter when Chance Garber stepped up to the plate, sending York home and tying the game.
North Platte freshman Dylan Armstrong was the next batter and had the game-winning hit, connecting with a pitch and sending it to right field on a line drive. Meadows scored on the play and the Panthers walked away with a 1-run victory.
Meadows led the team with two hits, while Garber and Carpenter had two RBIs. Carpenter was on the mound with just over five innings and struck out eight batters and Creek Johnson had two strikeouts in relief.
After the two wins, North Platte headed to Rock Port and fell short 5-4 after a rough seventh inning. The Panthers were up 4-3 but gave up two hits and had two errors to allow two runs and lose the contest.
North Platte led the entire game after a 3-run outing in the top of the second inning. Meadows and Carpenter had two hits each on a day that the Panthers had seven hits and four errors.
North Platte will have three games left in the regular season – all of which are at home – starting with a matchup with Northeast Nodaway (7-6) on May 3. While the seedings for the Class 2 District 15 Tournament haven’t yet been released, the Panthers have a solid chance to lock up a top-2 spot with the postseason starting on May 12.