Pirates
win state baseball championship
by Tad
Brewer
Landmark reporter
The Platte County Pirate baseball team became the third
sports team of the year to bring home a state championship.
The Pirates brought home their first-ever baseball Class
3A state championship.
The Pirates won the baseball championship in decisive
fashion by defeating Ozark 10-3 in the semifinals and
then annihilating St. Mary’s from St. Louis 19-1
in the championship game.
In the championship game, Platte County was able to break
records left and right, including the most runs scored
by a Class 3A baseball team in the championship. The Pirates
were only two runs away from scoring the most runs ever
in any baseball championship game.
In the semifinal game against the then 21-8 overall Ozark
team, the Pirates, who were 22-3 entering the game, sent
undefeated senior Trevor Clay to the mound to pitch. Clay
dominated almost the entire game against Ozark and remained
practically flawless throughout. In the top of the first
inning, Clay, along with the Pirate defense, shut down
Ozark and did not allow any hits or walks.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Pirates came to
bat and appeared to be in good shape for a while. Clay
shot a one out double down the right field line, putting
a runner in scoring position early on for the Pirates.
After the hit by Clay, sophomore Jake Blackwood drew a
walk and gave the Pirates runners on first and second
with only one out. Senior Tyler Warner then hit a sacrifice
fly to advance a runner to third with two outs. Before
the runner could score from third for the Pirates, Blackwood
was caught stealing to end the inning.
The second inning passed relatively quietly as neither
team was able to score again and the game remained to
be open for the taking, tied 0-0.
In the top of the third inning, Ozark became the first
team to get on the scoreboard. Ozark broke its hitless
slump that they had been in when one of their batters
recorded a two out single off of Clay. That runner then
went on to steal second and then advanced to third on
a passed ball. The runner eventually scored off of a single
into right field. The run was unearned by Clay, but Ozark
had jumped out on top of Platte County with a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates quickly responded to the early run scored
by Ozark as the Pirates would take the lead for good while
batting in the bottom of the third inning.
The inning began with sophomore Ryan Weedin drawing a
walk. After two outs took place, Weedin was able to advance
to second base. Weedin went on to score and tie the game
up on an RBI single by Blackwood. Warner advanced Blackwood
to third with a single down the left field line. Blackwood
then scored and Warner was allowed to advance to second
after a balk by the pitcher, making the new score 2-1.
Warner went on to score the third and final run of the
inning on a single to center field by junior Cory Williams.
Ozark was not able to gain any ground on the Pirates
in the fourth inning, as they did not score and the Pirates
held on to their 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Pirates pounded
seven runs on five hits to take a 10-1 lead as the game
moved into the fifth inning.
Clay again held Ozark scoreless in the top of the fifth.
The Pirates were not able to close out the game in the
bottom of the fifth inning, as all they needed was to
score one run to win by the ten-run spread rule.
Both teams went through the sixth inning as they did
in the fifth as neither team was again able to score and
the Pirates were still unable to score the one run that
they needed to spread Ozark in six innings.
As the game entered the final inning, the top of the
seventh, Ozark needed seven runs just to tie the game.
The Pirates took Clay out of the game, to conserve him
for the championship game if he would be needed, and put
senior Aaron Pryor in to pitch the final inning.
Pryor gave up two runs on two hits, but the Pirates were
able to hold Ozark off and win by a final score of 10-3.
Statistically, the Pirates finished the game with 11 hits
and one error while Ozark had four hits and no errors.
This win meant that the Pirates would be advancing to
play in their first ever baseball state championship game
against St. Mary’s from St. Louis.
Clay recorded his ninth win of the season against Ozark
by pitching six innings and giving up two hits and a walk,
while striking out two and allowing one unearned run to
score. Pryor gave up two earned runs, two hits, and a
walk in his one inning of work.
The Pirates were led by the bats of Blackwood, who had
two hits, an RBI, and two runs scored; Pryor who had two
hits, a walk, two RBIs, and a run scored; and by Williams
who had two hits, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
Senior pitcher Tyler Shaw took the mound for the Pirates
in the 3A state championship game. Entering the ballgame,
Shaw had an overall record of 6-1 on the season. Shaw
was able to get St. Mary’s in order in the top of
the first inning, preventing them from taking an early
lead over the Pirates.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Pirate offense
erupted and jumped out to have a ten-run first inning.
This broke the previous state championship record of most
runs in a single inning by a team, which had been nine
runs. The Pirates scored their ten runs off of only five
hits. The starting pitcher from St. Mary’s only lasted
a third of an inning despite facing ten different Pirate
batters. The Pirate offense was also helped by the St.
Mary’s defense, which committed two errors.
In the top of the second inning, Shaw again was able
to get the St. Mary’s batters out in order and did
not give up any runs or hits and prevented them from digging
into the Pirates ten run lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Pirate offense
started much the same as they had in the first inning.
The Pirates again ripped apart the St. Mary’s pitching,
recording hits and scoring runs left and right. The Pirates
went on to score nine runs in the inning off of nine hits.
By scoring nine runs in this inning, this gave the Pirates
the most runs scored in a championship game by a Class
3A baseball team, and put them only one run back from
the all-time most runs scored in a championship game by
St. Elizabeth in 1995. The St. Mary’s defense also
committed two more errors in this inning.
St. Mary’s was finally able to break their scoreless
streak in the third inning after they began the inning
by having a batter reach base on an error by the Pirates.
This runner eventually advanced to second on a wild pitch
and advanced again on a fielder’s choice. He then
scored off of another wild pitch. That would eventually
be the only run that would score for St. Mary’s.
This run was unearned for Tyler Shaw, and although he
did not have a perfect game going for him, he still was
holding on to a no hitter.
Neither team scored any more runs after the top of the
third took place. The Pirates eventually spread St. Mary’s
by a final score of 19-1 in just five innings. For just
the fourth time in championship game history, a no hitter
was thrown, this time by the Pirate pitcher Tyler Shaw.
This no hitter improved Shaw’s overall record on
the season to 7-1 and the Pirates' final record on the
season to 24-3.
Shaw pitched the complete five innings for the Pirates,
allowing no hits, four walks, and no earned runs, while
striking out four batters. The Pirates recorded 13 hits
and no errors compared to no hits and four errors by St.
Mary’s.
Offensively, the Pirates were led in part by a whole
slew of batters. Senior Dusty Hylton had a record tying
three hits, a walk, three RBIs, and three runs scored.
Clay had two hits, a walk, three RBIs, and three runs
scored. Sophomore Jeremy Wilson had two hits, a walk,
three RBIs, and two runs scored. Weedin had two hits,
two RBIs, and two runs scored.
Although the Pirates are losing several players to graduation,
they will attempt to again repeat and defend their title
as state champions next baseball season.
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