It appeared that North Platte’s five-year reign as the champions of the North Platte Softball Invitational was nearing its end, then the Panthers’ offense came to the rescue.
North Platte successfully defended their championship in dramatic fashion on Aug. 29, winning the tournament for the sixth consecutive year. Trailing 2-0 in the championship game, North Platte put together a last-gasp rally to retain the tournament title, remaining unbeaten through the first weekend of competition.
The Panthers opened the tournament with an 11-3 triumph over East Buchanan.
Junior shortstop Farrah Williams showed her speed right from the get-go, drawing a walk and stealing two bases before scoring the opening run on a passed ball. A 5-run third inning gave North Platte a commanding lead, and a two-run home run to left field from Deidra Zweibohmer later put the Panthers ahead 11-1 before taking the 11-3 win.
Later in the day, North Platte scored runs in bunches to defeat Lexington 15-5 to secure a spot in the championship game.
A three-run first inning and a five-run second immediately gave North Platte an advantage, using a four-run fourth inning and a three-run fifth to finish the game in five innings. Freshman catcher Kinley Richardson impressed by going 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBIs while Williams hit North Platte’s second and third home runs of the season, launching a leadoff homer in both the first and fifth innings.
In the championship game, North Platte’s offense eventually came up big when they needed it as they defeated Lone Jack 3-2 after a walkoff.
Lone Jack jumped in front 2-0 in the third inning after back-to-back RBI singles with two outs.
North Platte’s bats struggled early against Lone Jack junior pitcher Kaylee Felix. After finally getting a baserunner in the fourth inning, they got two in the fifth, but were unable to score.
Finally, they found the breakthrough in the final inning. Junior third baseman Ariana Devine led off the sixth and final inning with a bunt, reaching on an error. Another error eventually let Devine score as Richardson reached on the same play, and after a Savannah Crook single put runners on first and second with one out, Francis Kossen came up clutch.
On the first pitch she saw, Kossen belted a fly ball to right field. Richardson scored to tie it, shortly followed by Crook to complete the walkoff winner in come-from-behind fashion.
North Platte showcased two young pitching prospects throughout the tournament in sophomore Charlie Hinton and freshman Aria Stancil. They held opponents to eight runs in 17 innings, striking out 24 batters.
Starting off the season with another piece of hardware and a 3-0 record, North Platte’s attention turns to clashes with DeKalb (Sept. 1) and Bishop LeBlond (Sept. 2) before a rematch against Lone Jack (Sept. 8) on the road.