Platte County and Park Hill South each split a pair of games in an abbreviated trip to the Blue Springs Tournament over the weekend. After rain forced the cancellation of Friday’s action, both teams played two games Saturday, Sept. 17 in Blue Springs, Mo.
The two games went completely different for Platte County, and both ended up blowouts.
In a 10-0 win over Bartlesville (Okla.), Platte County scored in all four innings, including four each in the third and fourth to invoke the run rule. Janessa Barmann had an RBI single in the third and an RBI triple in the fourth. Anna Townsend added an RBI double in the fourth.
Barmann went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, and Paige Rocha and Tori Farr also had triples.
Gracie Erickson, a freshman returning from injury, allowed just three hits in the shutout, striking out four. She also started in what ended up a 20-3 loss to Fort Zumwalt West, which tagged her for 12 runs and reliever Shayla Kohler for eight more in just five innings.
Platte County scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the first to cut Fort Zumwalt West’s lead to 4-3. Townsend went 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Farr and Erickson also recorded run-scoring hits in the first inning.
Townsend’s double was the only hit out of six to go for extra bases.
Park Hill South split with a pair of Oklahoma schools.
Against Bixby, the Panthers never trailed thanks to a couple of unearned runs. Taylor Johnson and Emma Beuerlein had back-to-back RBI singles in the top of the fourth to increase their lead to 3-0. Leslie Callahan’s leadoff double in the sixth sparked a three-run inning with Johnson singling her home before Kate Kobayashi added a two-run single to make it 6-2 on the way to a 6-3 win.
Johnson earned a pitching win while Park Hill South continues to spread out innings in the wake of a possible season-ending injury to ace Olivia Kinsey. Johnson threw 6 2/3 innings before Gracie Dieleman came on to record the final out with the potential tying run at the plate.
Park Hill South tried to strike back late in a 9-5 loss to Jenks. The Panthers scored three in the top of the sixth to close within four, but the time limit hit with Jenks batting in the sixth to end the game.
Platte County 3, Winnetonka 0
Erickson lost a no-hit bid in the top of the seventh inning but ended up with the shutout in the opener of a doubleheader Monday, Sept. 19 at Platte County High School. She struck out three and didn’t walk a batter in the complete game.
Townsend, the only player with more than one hit, gave Platte County the lead with an RBI double in the first, and Rocha singled to score Kohler in the second. Rocha scored one batter later on Barmann’s RBI single.
Platte County 12, Winnetonka 6
The Pirates pulled the Suburban Conference Blue Division sweep, playing as the visitor in the second game to compensate for a postponed game earlier in the season.
Platte County (9-5, 5-2 Blue Division) scored in six of seven innings, including a five-run third. Farr hit an RBI triple to start the frame, and Townsend singled her home.
Farr went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, also hitting a double. Erickson also went perfect at the plate (3-for-3) with three runs while Rocha scored twice.
Platte County was scheduled to play at Kearney on Tuesday, Sept. 20 in another Blue Division matchup, but the result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
Platte County 10, Grandview 0, 5 innings
Erickson threw a shutout in her second game back from a hand injury, striking out four and allowing just three hits Thursday, Sept. 15 at Platte County High School.
Platte County scored two or more runs in four of the five innings, including a pair in the bottom of the fifth for the walkoff win. Stephanie Carroll started the inning by singling home Kohler, and Rocha drove in Carroll for the winning run.
Rocha singled in the first and tripled in the fourth, a hit that scored Carroll in a three-run inning. Farr then scored Rocha with a single.
Carroll, Farr, Rocha and Townsend combined for nine hits and nine RBIs.
St. Joseph Central 14, Park Hill South 4, 6 innings
The Panthers lost a second straight in Suburban Conference Red Division play with the Indians scoring a walkoff win Monday, Sept. 19 in St. Joseph, Mo.
In the top of the first inning, Park Hill South struck for three runs to take an early lead. Kobayashi singled, Sam Ahrendt was hit by a pitch and Jessie Hagen singled to score the leadoff hitter. Ahrendt came home on a sacrifice fly, and an error led to the third run.
Central immediately took the lead for good with eight in the bottom of the first — six unearned with help from three errors. Park Hill South closed within 12-4 in the top of the sixth on Maddi Buckler’s RBI double, but the Indians plated two in the bottom of the inning to invoke the run rule.
Park Hill South dropped to 10-10 overall and 3-4 in Red Division play.
Liberty 2, Park Hill South 0
The first two batters for the Blue Jays scored in the bottom of the first, accounting for all of the offense in a Red Division matchup Thursday, Sept. 15 in Liberty, Mo.
Dieleman ended up working all six innings for Park Hill South and allowed just seven hits while striking out none in the loss. The Panthers managed just two hits and didn’t threaten until the top of the sixth when Johnson led off with a single followed by a fielder’s choice.
Ahrendt’s two-out walk put the tying run on first, but Park Hill South couldn’t take advantage. Liberty starter Joslyn Thieme then worked around Carolyn Stock’s one-out single in the seventh to complete the shutout.
Park Hill South 9, Raytown 2
The Panthers won a Red Division matchup after having lost to the same opponent three days earlier.
Raytown won a previous matchup in the Winnetonka Tournament over the weekend but allowed 18 hits to Park Hill South’s powerful offense. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning Tuesday, Sept. 13 in Raytown, Mo. when Meggen Keller led off with a triple.
Stock scored her with a sacrifice fly.
A five-run fourth put away Raytown with an error aiding Park Hill South’s rally. Ahrendt and Hagen hit back-to-back RBI triples to cap the frame.
Stock led off the fifth with a solo home run to right center field, extending Park Hill South’s lead to 8-1.
Dieleman earned the win, scattering six hits while striking out three. Raytown scratched together single runs in the fourth and sixth.