With the season on the line, the West Platte baseball team (9-11) struggled – both offensively and defensively – in the opening round of the Class 2 District 15 Tournament as the Blue Jays fell 9-5 against Bishop LeBlond (9-12) on May 14.
West Platte went scoreless in the opening four innings of the district contest, while also having four errors on the day. LeBlond took an early lead in the second inning when an error by Xavier Reynolds turned into an Eagle run, followed by another run on the ensuing batter.
The West Platte baseball team gathered outside of the field following the 9-5 loss to Bishop LeBlond in the opening round of districts on May 14.
Ezra Stigman walked four batters in the third inning and LeBlond took a 5-0 lead, before adding another run in the ensuing inning. The Blue Jays failed to have a hit in the opening five innings, but Cohen Kite opened up the bottom of the fifth inning with a double.
Tanner Rowe and Stigman grounded out in the next two at-bats, but Kite crossed home plate to end the shutout. West Platte had three errors in the final two innings – that led to three LeBlond runs – and the Blue Jays added a run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from Dublin Carnahan.
The Blue Jays had four hits in the final two innings, and they made a late surge in the seventh inning. The final inning opened with a pair of walks and a single by Rowe, followed by a Logan Lawson groundout, which resulted in a run.
Mason Montez capped off his final at-bat of his West Platte career with a 2-RBI double, but the three Blue Jay runs weren’t enough. Montez was the only Blue Jay who had more than one hit as he went two-for-four on the day, while Lawson and Stigman combined for three strikeouts.
West Platte had a rough stretch to close out the season, losing six of its final eight games after an 8-5 start. The Blue Jays had five seniors this season: Wyatt Smith, Ty Lawson, Montez, Carnahan and Rowe.