Platte County’s Jordan Hedrick had the walk-off RBI in the Pirates 7-6 win over William Chrisman on April 5.
Following a sluggish start to the spring, the Platte County baseball team (8-6) has now won seven of its last eight games and has moved past .500 for the first time in 2023.
Since March 25, the only team who has been able to beat Platte County has been Staley (9-3). The Class 6 school took down the Pirates 6-4 for their only home loss of the season thus far on March 31.
Platte County started that contest off strong offensively, scoring four runs and having six hits in the first three innings. Staley trailed 4-2 entering the fourth inning but didn’t allow another hit or run to the reigning Class 5 State Champions for the rest of the way.
The Falcons added one run in the third inning and took a 6-4 lead in the fifth inning where the Pirates walked three batters. Platte County had one runner on in each of the final two innings – due to two walks – but it was unable to put another run on the board.
Dayton Doll led the team with two hits, while Dayne Wimberly, Jordan Hedrick, Nick Baker and Brian Chandler all had one hit. Brayden Carter and Aidan Norris combined for seven strikeouts in five innings.
The Pirates responded with four consecutive victories, with only one being decided by less than seven runs. Platte County beat Savannah (9-5), Raytown (2-5) and Grain Valley (7-7) by a combined score of 36-7.
Platte County was in a tight conference game with William Chrisman (6-7) on April 5. The Bears took a 5-1 advantage midway through the fourth inning, but the Pirates didn’t go down without a fight.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Devin Wassman tripled on a line drive to right field, which sent Wimberly – who was walked – across home plate. The Bears had an error during the next at-bat, resulting in another Platte County run.
Baker grounded out with a hit to second base and Hedrick scored, making the score 5-4. The Bears had an RBI double in the top of the sixth inning to extend their lead, but the Pirates bounced back with a pair of RBIs by Chandler and James Schwieder to tie the game, 6-6.
The Pirate defense kept the Bears from scoring in the top of the seventh inning and Hedrick had the walk-off RBI. William Chrisman lost 7-6 when Hedrick’s groundball to the shortstop resulted in Wimberly scoring.
Cameron Dean and Wimberly both had two hits, while Ethan Veach, Dylan Zimmerman and Doll all struck out two batters. Platte County will host Kearney (8-5) on April 13.