Platte County’s Brennan McLaughlin slides into third base in the Pirates’ 5-4 loss to Smithville in the Class 4 District 8 Semifinals, ending their chances to win another state title, at Creekside Baseball Complex on May 18.
The Class 4 District 8 Semifinals between the Platte County baseball team (18-19) and Smithville (25-10) came down to the wire, with the contest being decided by a rare, game-ending play on a chaotic sequence at Creekside Baseball Complex on May 18.
Trailing 5-4 in the top of the seventh inning with two outs, the Pirates had two runners on with James Schwieder up to bat. Rocco Marriott was on third base and had an opportunity to steal home when Schwieder had a 3-1 count.
The third consecutive ball ended up being a passed ball and Smithville catcher Wryker House turned around to gather it. The ball bounced off the backstop into House’s glove and he turned towards home plate as Schwieder moved out of the batter’s box.
It was a race to the plate as a two-hands extended, head-first slide by Marriott and a swipe of the glove by House happened so fast, it was hard to tell who made it there first. The umpire called the Pirate out – with Marriott and Schwieder jumping up and down in disbelief and the Warriors rushed the field in celebratory fashion – subsequently ending the game.
Platte County’s quest to defend its 2022 state title fell short in heartbreaking fashion, stinging even more given that the postseason loss came to such a big rival. The Pirates ended the Warriors season a year ago in the 2022 Class 5 District 8 Championship.
The postseason rematch started in the Warriors’ favor, with the No. 2 seed scoring one run in each of the first two innings. The Pirates’ batting got rolling in the top of the third inning, stringing together four consecutive hits to start the inning.
Aidan Norris doubled on a line drive to left field and Brennan McLaughlin singled to the same spot, sending Norris home. That became contagious as Dayne Wimberly and Dayton Doll followed that up with a pair of singles – Wimberly had an RBI to tie the game – but Smithville forced three straight outs to keep Platte County from taking the lead.
Brayden Carter had some pitching struggles in the bottom of the third inning, walking three batters – one of which was intentional – which gave up one run. Trailing 3-2, Norris had an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game once again.
Smithville went back ahead 5-3 when it opened the bottom of the fifth inning with three straight hits, including a triple. McLaughlin was now pitching and had his sole strikeout, followed by a pair of ground outs.
Before the wild finish, Doll and Dylan Robertson singled in the seventh inning after Wimberly flew out to left field. Devin Wassman had a sacrifice fly to right field and Doll scored, bringing the game within a run.
Platte County had eight hits by six different players with Doll and Norris both having two. Carter struck out three Warriors in just over two innings pitched and Norris, McLaughlin and Tyler Eriksen all got an inning on the mound.
This ended an era as there were 13 seniors this year that went 63-36 in their tenure, including the program’s first state title since 2002. En route to winning a championship in 2022, Platte County won districts for the first time since 2017.
This was an up-and-down season for the Pirates as they started off 1-5 and followed that with seven wins in their next eight games. Platte County then turned a 4-game losing streak into a 4-game winning streak and went 3-8 down the stretch of the regular season.
The Pirates won their final two games before the postseason and then beat Pembroke Hill (11-18) 7-2 in the opening round of districts on May 17. Platte County will look different next spring and look to get back to championship level.