Platte County opened up the season on a high note and took fourth place at the Greater Kansas City Softball Invitational held Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30-31 at Adair Park in Independence.
The Pirates opened 3-0 and finished 3-2 after dropping games in the semifinals and third-place game on Saturday.
The 3-0 start though is the best since the 2009 team went 4-0, a season that ended with a third-place trophy in Class 3.
The Pirates opened with wins against Lee’s Summit and Odessa on Friday and then against Lee’s Summit North in the opening round of bracket play in the Gold Division on Saturday.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Platte County’s Halle Magee, right, awaits a throw from right field that would ultimately lead to the Lee’s Summit base runner being out during a game on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Greater Kansas City Softball Invitational in Independence, Mo.
Truman 5, Platte County 0
In the third-place game, the Patriots scored two runs in the first and got two-hit shutout from Kara Amos on the mound to pick up a win.
Gracie Erickson and Paige Rocha each had a hit for Platte County.
Emma Koeneke gave up two runs in her only inning of work in the first inning on a two-run double by Myel White. Truman added a run in the third and two more in the sixth.
Amos had a double and scored on White’s hit in the third. Makenna Pontulin had a pinch-hit two-run single in the sixth ining for the Patriots.
Ray-Pec 7, Platte County 2
The Pirates lost in the semifinals against a Panthers team that took third place in the Class 4 tournament last year.
The Panthers turned a 1-0 run lead into a 7-0 advantage in the fourth inning. Ray-Pec had four hits, while taking advantage of an error.
The only runs for Platte County came on a two-run double by Gracie Erickson in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Paige Rocha had two of the Pirates’ four hits.
Platte County 9, Lee’s Summit North 2
The Pirates took an early lead and dispatched the Broncos in the opening game on Saturday.
Madison Carter had a bases-clearing double in first inning, which followed an RBI single by Wichita State commit Paige Rocha.
Carter and Hayden Humes drove in runs in the third inning, while Rocha blasted a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
Rocha went 3-for-3, while Gracie Erickson, Emma Koeneke and Carter all had two hits. That quartet drove in eight of the nine runs.
Koeneke fanned seven and gave up one earned run in six innings to get the victory.
Platte County 7, Odessa 5
The Pirates rallied for the second time on Friday after falling behind 5-0 against the Bulldogs in the first inning.
Platte County got on the board in the third with three runs, two coming off the bat of Madison Carter’s double. Hayden Humes followed with a RBI groundout.
The Pirates surged ahead in the fifth inning. Humes’ second RBI of the game tied the game at five and back-to-back hits by Madison Shields (double) and Abby Reynolds (single) provided the go-ahead and winning margin.
Grace Heater and Carter each had two hits.
Emma Koeneke earned the win by fanning eight in 5 1/3 innings of work.
Platte County 3, Lee’s Summit 2
The Pirates rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win in the opening game on Friday.
Platte County tied the game in the fourth inning on an RBI grounder by Ana Cesaro and No. 8 hitter Hayden Humes reached on a dropped fly ball to bring home the tying run.
In the next inning, Paige Rocha doubled off the left-field fence and then scored on a throwing error on Grace Heater’s grounder.
That turned into the winning run for Platte County. The game ended in the top of the seventh due to a time limit. The Tigers had two runners at that point.
Platte County got four of its five hits after Lee’s Summit changed pitchers after three innings. Rocha had two of those hits for Platte County.
Emma Koeneke fanned five in 6 2/3 innings to earn the win for Platte County.