The Pirate’s senior night ended with a 6-0 victory when Chloe Helmer threw a shutout against Kearney on Oct. 7 to give the Platte County softball team (16-9) momentum going into the postseason.
Helmer was on the mound all game long for the Pirates and only allowed three hits while striking out two batters. Platte County’s offense started off slow without any hits in the first two innings until the Pirates got on the scoreboard in the third inning.
Pirate senior Chloe Helmer pitched a shut out in Platte County’s 6-0 victory over Kearney at Platte Ridge Park.
Demi Riechers started the scoring inning off with a single, followed by Emma Reed reaching to first base on an error by Kearney. A single by Avery Webster and sacrifice fly from Abby Reynolds led to the two Pirates crossing home plate to give them a 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, TaKayla’ Lawson hit the ball over the fence for a 3-run homerun. Platte County added one more run in the final inning when a ground out by Reed advanced Anna Crowell to home and gave the Pirates their sixth run of the contest.
The Pirates ended the regular season finale with seven hits, led by Mackenzie Shields with 2 hits and Lawson with 1 hit and 3 RBIs. The win over Kearney gave Platte City its 16th victory as it clinched the number two seed in the Class 4 District 8 Tournament at Excelsior Springs High School.
This is the third consecutive season that the Pirates will enter postseason play with a top-2 seed in their district tournament. Platte County is looking to continue the success of last fall’s run to the state semifinals as it is the reigning Class 4 District 8 Champion.