Sixth inning rally lifts Platte Valley to state quarterfinals, ending Princeton’s season at 14-4

For 5 1/2 innings of Wednesday night’s Class 1 state sectional at Gerald Gentry Field, the Princeton Lady Tigers looked ready and poised to advance to a potential quarterfinal date with the defending state champion Maysville Wolverines.  With one rally by the Platte Valley Lady Eagles, Princeton’s dreams were dashed, at least for another year.

Platte Valley sent nine to the plate in the pivotal bottom of the sixth inning on a windy and cool night in Princeton, scoring five runs, rallying for a 5-3 win that sends the Eagles back to Conception Junction for a home date with Maysville on Saturday afternoon.

The District 15 champion Lady Tigers started fast, with freshman Carsey Brown leading off the second inning with a double to left-center field.  After a bunt from Jasmine Allen moved her to third base, Brown scored on a first-pitch swinging single to left field off the bat of Sara Spencer.  With starting pitcher Lauren Krohn working around a one-out triple off the bat of Malia Collins, Princeton held the 1-0 lead into the third, when the Lady Tigers struck again.  Krohn singled to start the inning, and stole second base.  With one out, senior third baseman Lindsey Batson smashed a gap-splitting triple into left-center field, scoring Krohn to double the lead to 2-0.  After a grounder by Mackenzie Dunkin resulted in no outs being achieved by the Platte Valley defense, Brown hit a sacrifice fly to score Krohn with a third run.

While Princeton held the lead through the middle innings, signs were beginning to show that Platte Valley was getting close to a comeback, with Princeton’s offense going ice cold through the final four innings, with only a fifth inning walk and fielding error resulting in Tiger baserunners.  Meanwhile, the Eagles left runners on second and third in the fifth inning.

Sydnee Dean singled to open the sixth inning, and moved to second base on a groundout by Ashley Mattson.  The next batter, Alexandra Wolfe, reached on a fielding error by the Tigers, the only one of the night for the PHS defense.  A walk to Jaclyn Pappert, the only free pass from Krohn given all game, loaded the bases with one out.  After a strikeout of Blair Stoll that got the Tigers with one out of escaping another jam, Platte Valley’s Stephanie Turpin used her speed to beat out an infield single, cutting the PHS lead to 3-1, as Dean scored.  The next batter was Collins, in the midst of a 3-for-3 night.  Collins added her fourth hit of the game on a sharp single to center field, scoring two runs to tie the contest.  The next batter, catcher Kaylin LaMaster, rocked a double to score two more.  

Down 5-3, Princeton went down in order in the top of the seventh to end the contest, broadcast locally on KTTN FM 92.3.

Elsewhere in Class 1, Maysville defeated the DeKalb Tigers 6-4, sending the Wolverines to Platte Valley on Saturday.  

Here is the complete sectional scoreboard from Wednesday, October 23, 2019:

Class 1:

Platte Valley 5, Princeton 3

Maysville 6, DeKalb 4

Salisbury 10, Community 0

St. Elizabeth 7, Fayette 2

Norborne 2, Brunswick 0 

Canton 10, Atlanta 0 

Weaubleau 5, Walnut Grove 0 

Stoutland 7, Norwood 1

Class 2:

Marceline 16, East Buchanan 3

Lafayette County 9, Penney 6

Tolton Catholic 6, Linn 1

Palmyra 7, Monroe City 1

Sherwood 11, Ava 0 

Warsaw 6, Fatima 5

Elsberry 7, Bishop DuBourg 6

East Carter 5, St. Pius X (Festus) 0

Class 3:

Savannah 6, Kirksville 4

Nevada 7, Oak Grove 6

Sullivan 4, Mexico 0 

St. Dominic 23, Trinity Catholic 0 

Logan-Rogersville 8, McDonald County 7

Helias Catholic 6, Bolivar 0 

Incarnate Word Academy 7, Rosati-Kain 0 

Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) 6, Hillsboro 2

Class 4:

Liberty 5, Park Hill 4

Blue Springs South 6, Truman 0 

Columbia Rock Bridge 7, Holt 4

Francis Howell Central 17, Pattonville 3

Raymore-Peculiar 2, Webb City 0 

Springfield Kickapoo 16, Rolla 4

Webster Groves 10, Marquette 3

Northwest (Cedar Hill) 10, Oakville 3