Taking on a trio of Class 6 opponents to open the season, the Platte County baseball team (0-3) is still searching for its first win.
Platte County senior Dayne Wimberley opened up the spring with a single on the first pitch of the season in the Pirates loss to Blue Springs in the Kansas City Metro Lead-Off Tournament on March 17.
After winning the Class 5 State Championship the last time they stepped foot on a baseball field, the Pirates came up short in three contests that it led in. Platte County doesn’t usually compete in the Kansas City Metro Lead-Off Tournament at Creekside Baseball Complex but did this year.
Opening up against Blue Springs (3-0) on March 17, Platte County went up 2-0 in the first inning. Dayne Wimberly singled on a line drive to center field in the first pitch to the Pirates this spring and he advanced to second base when Nick Baker was walked.
Devin Wassman doubled on a line drive to center field to put Platte County ahead. The Wildcats responded with three straight singles in the top of the second inning, but the Pirates closed the inning out with three outs, including a pair of strikeouts by Brayden Carter.
Blue Springs eventually took a 3-2 advantage in the top of the third inning, but it was short-lived. Three of the first four Pirate batters were walked to put them in position to retake a 5-3 lead on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Cameron Dean.
The Wildcats erupted for nine runs in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of four walks and a Pirate error. Blue Springs walked in a Platte County run in the bottom of the fourth inning and the bottom of the fifth inning, along with an RBI single by Brian Chandler to make the score 12-7.
Blue Springs added another run in the sixth inning and pulled out the win with 13 hits, opposed to Platte County’s seven hits. Dayton Doll and Dean both ended with two hits on the night.
Platte County went on to lose to Liberty (1-3) and Lee’s Summit West (1-1) on March 20. The Pirates led twice against the Blue Jays before coming up short, 4-3.
Platte County scored one run in each of the first three innings – with Liberty briefly tying the game in the bottom of the first inning – but the Blue Jays went ahead in the third inning. Liberty had three hits in a row, scoring two runs, and added another on a sacrifice bunt to take a 4-3 lead.
There were no more runs scored in the final four innings with the Pirates letting some opportunities slip away. Wimberly tripled and Baker was walked in the first two at-bats in the fifth inning and Platte County had one runner reach first base in the final two innings, but the Pirates were unable to score.
Wimberly had two of the Pirates’ seven hits and Dylan Robertson had a team-high two RBIs. Carter struck out one batter in four innings and Hunter Canole had two strikeouts.
Lee’s Summit West was the next opponent in the tournament for Platte County on the day. The Pirates led 4-0 midway through the second inning but were beaten 16-6.
Lee’s Summit West gifted Platte County a strong start by having two errors and a walk in the first four at-bats out of the gate. Dean had a 2-RBI single on a ground ball to center field before James Schwieder was walked with the bases loaded and the away team led 3-0.
Robertson had one of his three strikeouts in the bottom of the first inning with the Pirates’ defense keeping the Titans off the scoreboard. Robertson had a sacrifice fly with Baker on third base to send him home and make the score 4-0.
While it appeared Platte County could pull off the upset and win its first game of the season, those hopes deteriorated with 16 Lee’s Summit West runs in a 4-inning stretch. Starting with five runs in the bottom of the second inning, the Titans added six more in the third inning to go up 11-4.
Wimberly opened the fourth inning with a home run over center field and another Pirate run was walked in, but they failed to put any more runs on the board for the rest of the night. Dean had two RBIs and five separate Pirates had one hit.
Platte County had one more game scheduled in the tournament on March 21. The Pirates are headed to Stillwater High School in Oklahoma on March 23 to take on some out-of-state competition.