West Platte and North Platte’s softball season have come to an end, but the KCI schools had multiple players shine all year long en route to receiving postseason honors.
North Platte had the same five players elected to the first team in the Class 2 District 7 Tournament and to the KCI All-Conference team. West Platte had four players make the All-District Team and three Blue Jays made the cut in the KCI.
West Platte sophomore Emily VanNatta was awarded as 1st Team All-District pitcher and 2nd Team All-Region pitcher. The Blue Jay struck out 70 batters in 88 innings and posted a 9-4 record as the starting pitcher.
Hailey Shepardson and Colby Shepardson made a big impact on the field this year as the sisters were both elected to the 1st team in districts, along with being on the 1st Team All-Region. Colby Shepardson ended the season as an All-Conference outfielder, while Hailey Shepardson was an Honorable Mention in the KCI as a catcher.
North Platte’s Gracie Ramsey had a batting average of .467 and had 50 hits this fall.
Laura Hill was rewarded on 1st Team All-District, 2nd Team All-Region and 1st team All-Conference 2nd baseman. The junior had 59 putouts and only one error on the season on defense, in addition to 32 hits and 16 RBIs on offense.
Madisyn Matlick is the final Blue Jay with postseason honors, being selected to the 2nd Team in districts as an infielder when she finished her junior campaign with 43 putouts. The junior also ended with 32 hits, including 16 singles and two home runs, and 27 RBIs.
The five North Platte Panthers who made both the 1st team in districts and 1st team in the conference are Gracie Ramsey, Lindsay Ramsey, Olivia Rogers, Jaylin Burgess and Carly Hinton. Camryn Kersten and Madison Cunningham were selected to the 2nd team in districts, while Gracie Ramsey, Lindsay Ramsey and Hinton also made 1st Team All-Region.
Freshman Lindsay Ramsey finished the season with the best batting average for the Panthers, with a .537, 51 hits and nine home runs. Gracie Ramsey batted a .467 and had 50 hits, while Hinton finished her impressive season with a .512 batting average, 43 hits and five home runs.
Rogers was one of the seven Panthers who finished with a batting average over .400 as she finished the season batting a .520 with 51 hits and a homer. North Platte relied on its strong offense all year, scoring 310 runs on the season and only allowing 176 runs from its opponents, which set a school record.