It took more time than the team would have preferred, but the West Platte softball team eventually made the necessary adjustments to move runners into scoring position in a 5-3 come-from-behind victory against North Platte on Sept. 25 in Weston.
After going down 3-0, West Platte finally moved a baserunner into scoring position for the first time in the fourth inning. After scoring that runner, the Blue Jays added two more in the fifth inning to tie it before taking the lead in the sixth.
“They didn’t give up the whole time,” West Platte head coach Holly Lintner said. “We made some in-game adjustments in the box, we got the ball before it rose and were able to put some hits together and make it count when we needed to.”
After a routine first inning, the Blue Jays unravelled in the second inning. A leadoff single from North Platte sophomore Francis Kossen was followed by a flyout and an Addison Zweibohmer single, allowing Kossen to score on an error after Savannah Crook’s single and Morgan Ball’s RBI single scored Zweibohmer, putting the Panthers ahead 2-0.
North Platte threatened again in the third inning after a leadoff double from senior Graci Williams, but the Panthers were unable to take advantage. The visitors did take advantage of a one-out double by Crooks in the fourth frame as Zweibohmer drove her in with a single to right field.
Trailing 3-0, West Platte wasted no time getting itself back into the game. Sophie Grier reached on a fielding error in the bottom half of the fourth inning, stealing second base and taking third before scoring on a passed ball to put the Blue Jays on the board.
After a slow start to the game, the West Platte offense eventually got into gear, moving runners into scoring position. Brook Allison reached on an error and Maizie French got hit by a pitch to put two on with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, and after a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, freshman Maddie Cline stepped up to tie the game 3-3 with a triple to right field.
Kate Wolf eventually worked North Platte out of it without any further damage, but the Panthers’ offense had no answer.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Addison Hughes earned a leadoff walk and was advanced to third base after Molly Cline’s sacrifice bunt. Allison eventually stepped up and drove a ball to left field, deep enough for Hughes to score after tagging up.
West Platte still wasn’t quite done as Morgan VanNatta, who had reached first base after getting hit by a pitch, made it to third on Allison’s sacrifice fly and later scored on an errant throw to put the Blue Jays up 5-3. Grier returned to the circle to close out the game, working around a one-out single to secure the victory.
The conference pitching duel in which both aces struck out seven batters and went the distance, Grier earned the win after buckling down to end the game with three scoreless innings. Wolf gave up five runs on two hits, though only two runs were earned.
Grier’s tremendous senior season continued into the weekend, when West Platte improved to 15-4 at the West Platte Invitational with back-to-back shutout victories against Savannah and Oak Park. Grier gave up just one hit in nine innings, striking out 20 batters to hit the 500-strikeout milestone in her high school career. Grier also leads her team in most batting statistics, including runs batted in (20), runs, hits (34), batting average (.493) and on-base percentage (.527).
One of West Platte’s newest weapons has been freshman Maddie Cline, whose RBI triple tied the game. Lintner loves the energy and intensity her starting shortstop has added this year.
“She’s definitely taken control of that infield and she’s a leader already,” Lintner said. “It’s really awesome to see.”
Cline has been as impactful of a freshman as West Platte could have hoped for this year. She leads all West Platte fielders with 28 assists and is joined by Grier as the only players yet to have an error this season.
Since beginning West Platte’s season with a leadoff triple on Sept. 2, Cline leads the team with four triples, 14 walks and is top-three on the team in runs (2nd; 24), batting average (3rd; .371) and on-base percentage (3rd; .487).
“It’s kind of nerve-racking being a freshman, but it’s still fun and exciting,” Cline said. “I just hope I can do it for the next years here and I can continue leading my team.”