The early season clash between a pair of baseball teams in Platte County turned out to be a barn burner that saw seven lead changes and went down to the final inning.
Park Hill South (6-4) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and kept Platte County (6-4) off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning to give the Panthers a 9-8 victory on March 29. After a slow start where the Panthers led 1-0 after one inning, the Pirates took its first lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning.
Park Hill South’s Andrew Agnew, above lft, dances after reaching second base on a double against Platte County.
Trailing 2-1, the Panthers retook the lead with a 2-RBI double by Trey Weith when Hayden Klein and Luke Fricker scored. Dylan Love subbed in as a courtesy runner for Weith and eventually stole home.
The Pirates didn’t back down and James Schwieder started a three-run inning off with a double to send Nick Baker across home plate. The Panthers had two of their three total errors in the fourth inning that led to two more Platte County runs, and the Pirates went up 5-4.
Park Hill South retook control with a 2-run home run by Aidan Simpson in the ensuing inning and Platte County entered the fifth inning trailing 6-5. The Pirates added three runs to take an 8-6 margin after Schwieder and Devin Doll had a pair of RBI singles.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Park Hill South’s Dylan Graebener came up clutch with a double that led to two Panther runs – scored by Evan Demint and Bryan Wilhole – to tie the game at eight. Graebener scored what ended up being the game-winning run when Klein, who was the next batter, hit a triple.
With a chance to tie or retake the lead once again, the Pirates opened the seventh inning with back-to-back pop-outs. After a Schwieder single, Doll struck out swinging and the game came to an end.
Schwieder had a game-high three hits, along with a team-high two RBIs. For Park Hill South, Simpson, Klein and Weith all had two hits.
The win over Platte County gave Park Hill South its fourth straight victory in the short season, before the Panthers lost a pair of games to Liberty North (9-1). The Panthers struggled in the first matchup with the Eagles when Park Hill South only had four total hits and Liberty North won 11-1 on March 31.
The teams played again the next day in a more competitive contest, with the Eagles coming out on top 3-2, despite the Panthers having four more hits than their opponent. On April 2, Park Hill South split a pair of games against Blue Springs (6-8) and Liberty (10-2).
After falling to Park Hill South, Platte County bounced back in its next game with a 3-2 victory over Fort Osage (1-7) on March 31 in the first game in the newly built Pirate Stadium. Platte County then dominated in a double header against Grandview (2-5) on April 1 when the Pirates outscored the Bulldogs 37-2 in two games.
After taking down Savannah (9-3) on the road on April 2 anf losing 6-0 to Kearney (8-6) on April 4, Platte County will host Raytown South (3-2) for a double header on April 6. Park Hill South’s next game is on the road when the Panthers head to Staley (7-5) on April 7.