High school softball players from West Platte and North Platte have earned selections to four postseason honors since the season’s conclusion.
The KCI Conference honored four standout players, while 10 total earned postseason recognition. Both teams had five players each earn honors for their efforts throughout the season.
Maddie Cline earned all-state second team at shortstop for West Platte as a sophomore.
West Platte’s Maddie Cline led the way as the only player to receive four awards, earning selections as all-state second team, all-conference first team, all-district first team and all-region first team. North Platte’s Francis Kossen and Kinley Richardson also collected first-team selections to all-conference, all-district and all-region teams.
Cline was the Blue Jays’ brightest spot batting from the three-hole with 34 hits, 25 RBIs and 20 runs to earn her first all-conference selection. The sophomore shortstop, who has now earned all-district and all-conference first team honors for a second straight year, led West Platte with a .479 batting average and opened her season with a team-leading eight-game hitting streak.
Kossen earns her first major postseason honors after a standout junior campaign at first base, which included home runs against Lawson and Savannah. She had four games in which she drove in three runs, including a five-hit game against Stewartsville, and led the Panthers’ offense with a .560 batting average, driving in 28 runs and scoring 37 of her own.
Kinley Richardson had a breakout freshman season as a center fielder for North Platte.
Richardson, a unanimous KCI Conference selection, had a breakout freshman season as a center fielder, earning her first three postseason accolades at the top of North Platte’s batting order. She tallied a team-high 45 hits and 38 runs, also batting .511 at the plate and posting separate hitting streaks of 12 and seven games.
Another freshman with a breakout season was West Platte pitcher Shiloh Doran. She pitched in every game for the Blue Jays, facing a daunting schedule, and struck out 119 batters in 156.2 innings to earn all-conference and all-region first team honors.
The Blue Jay trio of senior center fielder Brook Allison, sophomore right fielder Chayse Allison and junior third baseman Vaida Vasques each earned all-district honorable mention. Vasques led the Blue Jays with 32 runs while batting .342, while Brook Allison hit .341 with a team-leading 28 RBIs and Chayse Allison hit .365 with 18 RBIs and 19 runs.
North Platte’s battery duo of sophomore pitcher Charlie Hinton and junior catcher Deidra Zweibohmer also earned postseason honors. Hinton, who led the Panthers with 84 innings pitched and 138 strikeouts, also hit for .547 with a team-leading 31 RBIs and four homers to earn selections as all-district first team, all-region second team and all-conference honorable mention. Zweibohmer drove in 25 runs with a pair of homers and scored 17 to earn all-district first team and all-region second team honors.
The Panthers’ postseason accolades were rounded out with Savannah Crook earning an all-district honorable mention. The junior second baseman hit for .388 on the season with 21 RBIs, 29 runs and a home run against Mid-Buchanan.
Both teams tied for third in the conference standings with 4-3 records, later ending their seasons in the Class 2 District 7 tournament. West Platte finished 12-16 on the season after their district semifinal defeat to Mid-Buchanan, and North Platte’s season concluded at 14-11 with a district semifinal defeat to Lathrop.