ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — North Platte battled through the Mid-Buchanan tournament Saturday, Sept. 23 and walked away with only one win.
In the first two games of pool play, the Panthers were tied only to give up the winning runs late. They rallied back for a win over DeKalb but closed with another frustrating loss against Platte Valley at Heritage Park.
NICK INGRAM/Citizen photo
North Platte freshman Ryann Smith delivers a pitch during a Mid-Buchanan Tournament game against Benton on Saturday, Sept. 23 in St. Joseph, Mo.
Entering a Tuesday, Sept. 26 game against Lawson (result not available at deadline), North Platte sat at 9-11 overall — still enduring up-and-down results late in the season.
Mid-Buchanan scored two in the first and held the lead in the opener until the fourth when North Platte’s Alley Rickel doubled and scored, and Gracie Roach came home with another run on Janell Manville’s single. Mid-Buchanan, which recently won the KCI Conference matchup between the two, answered back with the winning run in the bottom of the fourth.
Overall, North Platte’s pitching duo of sophomore Jordyn Smith and Ryann Smith allowed only five hits in the loss.
“We need to learn to get them on, get them over and get them in and we’re just not doing that,” North Platte coach Ron Resler said. “We should have beat Mid-Buch, and I think we would have been in a little better frame of mind going against Benton.”
North Platte led 1-0 in the third against Benton and tied it 2-2 with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Cardinals put up four runs late on Ryann Smith, who started and pitched 5 2/3 innings. The time limit ran out with Benton still batting in the sixth to finish the 6-2 win.
North Platte’s only win came against DeKalb in the first bronze bracket game with a final of 7-1.
Leading 2-1 entering the sixth, Rickel broke the game open with a three-run triple in the bottom of the frame. The Panthers ended up scoring five before the time limit hit with Manville going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs.
Rickel also went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in addition to the big hit.
Ryann Smith and Jordyn Smith combined on the win, and the sister duo pitched again in the final game. Platte Valley scored two in the top of the sixth to earn the 4-3 win. Both late runs were unearned due to an error.
Roach (2-for-3 RBI) and Jordyn Smith (double and a run) helped North Platte take the 3-2 lead.
OTHER GAMES
North Platte 14, DeKalb 5
The Panthers scored a second straight win over DeKalb in a quick rematch Monday, Sept. 25 in DeKalb, Mo.
In the top of the first, North Platte scored five, and DeKalb went behind 8-1 after the top of the second. The Tigers answered with four in the second, and Ryann Smith came on to pitch 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.
North Platte ended up scoring in four of seven innings with three or more in three of them. The Panthers put up five more in the sixth to put the game away.
Roach went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Jordyn Goetz (3-for-4 with a double), Rickel (3-for-4 with a double) and Manville (2-for-5) drove in three apiece.
Savannah 8, West Platte 1
Sydney Sweeden hit a solo home run for West Platte’s only run in a nonconference loss Monday, Sept. 25 in Savannah, Mo. West Platte dropped to 8-11 overall with two games left in the regular season.
North Platte 3, East Buchanan 2
The Panthers scored all three runs in the bottom of the fifth for a comeback KCI win Thursday, Sept. 21 at Dean Park in Dearborn, Mo.
Jordyn Smith doubled and scored on Roach’s double to start the fifth. McKenna Fulton added a double when the lineup turned over for North Platte, and she scored on Rickel’s single to make it 2-2. The Panthers took the lead when errors on East Buchanan allowed Rickel to score on the play.
East Buchanan scored twice off of Jordyn Smith, and Ryann Smith came on and threw three innings of scoreless relief to earn the win, allowing just two hits.
North Platte improved to 2-3 in KCI play pending the result of a scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 26 game at Lawson. The Panthers close the KCI slate Thursday, Sept. 28 at home against Hamilton.
Plattsburg 10, West Platte 0, 5 innings
The Tigers scored multiple runs in all four innings at the plate in a KCI win Thursday, Sept. 21 in Plattsburg, Mo.
West Platte managed just two hits and dropped to 0-5 league games pending the result of a Tuesday, Sept. 26 game at Mid-Buchanan. The Bluejays finish the conference slate and regular season Thursday, Sept. 28 at Lathrop.
West Platte 1, North Andrew 0
Karah Dunham threw a four-hit shutout, walking none in a nonconference victory Wednesday, Sept. 20 at Benner Park in Weston, Mo. She struck out seven.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth.
West Platte junior Lea Moose hit a one-out single and then scored two pitches later on Dunham’s double to center field. Dunham doubled twice and accounted for three of the Bluejays’ five hits.
Dunham allowed two two-out runners in the seventh but stranded the potential tying and go-ahead runs.
Lawson 12, West Platte 1, 5 innings
The Bluejays scored their lone run in the bottom of the first but were already behind in a KCI matchup Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Benner Park in Weston, Mo.
Lawson scored two in the first, four in the second and five more in the fourth to build a double-digit lead. Down 2-0, West Platte plated a run without a hit and after just two batters in the bottom of the first. Sikoya Richard walked, stole second and third and came home on a dropped third strike.
Kaitlin Larison reached on the strikeout, and Moose followed with a single for West Platte. An out on the base paths helped end the threat, and the Bluejays ended up with just four hits total.
Plattsburg 11, North Platte 4
The Panthers scored early and late in a KCI loss Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Dean Park in Dearborn, Mo.
Plattsburg took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and never trailed. North Platte answered with two in the first but trailed 11-2 entering the bottom of the seventh when the Panthers added two more.
Overall, Plattsburg had 20 hits.