The Panthers and Indians were in a defensive battle in the opening round of the Class 5 District 8 Tournament when a home run by St. Joseph’s Central in the bottom of the sixth inning was the deciding factor.
Heading into the inning, the postseason contest was tied 1-1 when Central added one run to the scoreboard with only one inning of regulation remaining. The Panther’s offense was unable to respond with a score of their own and the Indians beat the Park Hill South softball team 2-1 on Oct. 12.
“If you would have told me beforehand that we would hold them to two runs, I would have thought we’d win,” Park Hill South head coach Josh Walker said. “We didn’t hit like we usually do, they kept us off-balance and we didn’t execute some of the small ball stuff.”
This was the third contest between the Indians and the Panthers with Park Hill South falling short in all three games, but the district matchup was the most competitive and lowest scoring. Central won 12-4 on Sept. 20, before defeating Park Hill South 6-3 on Sept. 29.
“We were more prepared this time; the girls put the game plan into action straight out of the gate. In the first inning, Gabbie (Schultz) and Annabelle (Winter) were both in position to make catches on some line-drive hits,” Walker said.
Madeleine NeSmith was on the mound all contest long for the Panthers and struck out one Indian batter. The sophomore only allowed eight hits with Central’s first run being scored in the opening inning.
“We have had good defense all year, but it was pivotal tonight. It kept us in the game really, the plays that we made kept us right where we needed to be, but we just didn’t do it with the bats,” Walker said.
Park Hill South’s Gabbie Schultz is one of the 10 Panther seniors who played their last game for the Park Hill South softball team.
The Panthers sole run happened in the top of the fourth inning when a hit by Winter advanced Cara Sparks to home. Park Hill South ended with six hits led by Curtis Todd and Kara Hagen with two hits apiece.
The Panthers’ season came to an end with a 16-13 record and ten seniors laced up their cleats for the last time as a member of the Park Hill South softball team. Multiple players in the senior class have been key contributors over the past four seasons.
“I absolutely love them, this is a special group of kids – and that includes the younger classmen - it is a special group of kids at Park Hill South, and I wouldn’t trade this job for anything,” Walker said.
Coach Walker told the Platte County Citizen that he saw the team beginning to play its best softball during the Park Hill South Tournament on September 17 and 18. The Panthers defeated Smithville and Fort Osage before winning nine of their final 13 games of the regular season.
“We struggled to find our identity a bit at the beginning, but once we came together, we were tough to beat. That day at our home tournament started propelling us and I started really seeing us come together to see what we could really do,” Walker said.