Since winning a state title in 2002, the Platte County baseball team (25-8) has been unable to make its way back to the semifinals until an 11-7 win over Webb City (19-16) in the Class 5 State Quarterfinals ended a two-decade long drought on May 28.
Platte County’s Dylan Zimmerman (#9) looks at Dayne Wimberly (#17) moments before a celebratory high-five in the Pirates 11-7 win over Webb City in the Class 5 State Quarterfinals on May 28.
The first postseason game to be played at Pirate Field was one Platte County won’t forget anytime soon when a 10-0 lead through three innings set the tone for the four-run victory. The Pirates were comfortable at the field as they entered the day with a 14-1 record, connecting with 11 hits and no errors.
A 2-RBI triple from Dayton Doll with two outs in the bottom of the second inning sparked an 8-run inning for Platte County. The next five Pirates who stepped up to the plate, prior to Eli Nelson being walked, connected on a hit – which included another 2-RBI triple, this time from Nick Baker.
Jake Knudsen ended the outpour of Pirate runs with an RBI single to send Baker across home plate and the Cardinals trailed by eight runs. After Sawyer Allen struck out two Webb City batters to keep the opposition off the scoreboard for the third consecutive inning to start the postseason contest, Devin Wassman had a 2-run home run over the right field fence to push the margin to 10.
While there was a double-digit deficit, Webb City refused to roll over as it scored seven straight runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. The Cardinals scored six of the seven runs in the fifth inning when they had five hits – including three consecutive doubles at one point – to close the gap 10-7.
Wassman was calm and collected in the bottom of the fifth inning, connecting with a hard ground ball single to centerfield to give Platte County another run and a four-score cushion. Brayden Carter came onto the mound for the save and the Cardinals had no hits in the final two innings, sending the Pirates to state.
Cam Lewis led the offense with three hits and three RBIs as seven different Pirates ended with at least one hit. Allen was on the mound for four innings and had five strikeouts and Carter had four strikeouts.
Platte County will start off the Class 5 Final Four with a matchup against Ft. Zumwalt East (23-9) in the semifinals on June 3 at 7 p.m. at US Ballpark in Ozark, Missouri. Depending on if the Pirates win or lose against the Lions, Platte County will play Festus (26-8) or Willard (32-7) the next day; the third-place game will be at 4 p.m. and the championship game will be at 7 p.m.