The West Platte softball team (3-1) had an offensive surge with an 11-run inning to defeat East Buchanan (2-4) 16-2 on September 8.
The Lady Blue Jays started the contest with two singles right out of the gate – by Laura Hill and Emma Downing – and scored two runs on a Lady Bulldog dropped third strike and a sacrifice fly by Emily VanNatta. West Platte added to that lead with three runs in the third inning when four separate players had a hit and East Buchanan trailed 5-0.
The Lady Bulldogs had four singles in the bottom of the third inning to put two runs on the board. With a 5-2 lead entering the fifth inning, the Lady Blue Jays put the game away with eight hits in the final inning of play.
West Platte’s Colby Shepardson was one of eight Lady Blue Jays to have a hit in the dominating 16-2 win over East Buchanan on Sept. 8.
Madisyn Matlick batted in Downing on a single to score the first of 11 runs, followed by a walk and an error by East Buchanan. With two outs on the board and the bases loaded, Remi McColley tripled on a line drive to right field to push the lead to 9-2.
Hill, Downing and Matlick all singled in the next three at bats and West Platte capitalized on two more East Buchanan errors. Sophie Grier also had a 2-RBI double before the top of the fifth inning came to a close.
The Lady Bulldogs only got one runner on base in the bottom of the inning, with the game ending on a double play. West Platte had 14 hits led by Hill and Downing with three apiece, while Matlick, Grier and McColley all had three RBIs.
Entering the contest, West Platte had lost 16 consecutive matchups to East Buchanan with the last victory coming on September 4, 2014, when the Lady Blue Jays won 16-0. Winning the first three games is the best start that West Platte has had in more than a decade and a half.
The Lady Blue Jays followed the big conference win with their first loss of the season to Jefferson with South Nodaway (6-4) by a score of 8-2 on September 12. West Platte was in a 6-0 hole early, giving up five runs, five hits and having an error in the opening inning.
McColley had an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning, but West Platte didn’t score again until the seventh inning. Jefferson added one run in the fifth and in the sixth innings. McColley, Grier and Colby Shepardson all had two hits on the day.