FALL SPORTS NOTES: Kearney, Platte County third at state softball tournament

Source: The Star

1 of 3

Photos by Jim Barcus | The Star

During last Friday’s semifinals at the Missouri softball state tournament in St. Joseph, Kearney’s Kailey Green (left photo) put down a bunt, Platte County’s Cacy Williams (bottom right in middle photo) made a play against Notre Dame, and Kim Breyfogle (right photo) of Kearney rounded second base.

more softball...

you might also like...

Platte County’s softball team had a simple goal this season. The Pirates wanted to defend their Missouri Class 3 state title.

So when those dreams were dashed last Friday in the state semifinals, courtesy of a 4-2 loss to Notre Dame Cape Girardeau in St. Joseph, Platte County coach Rob Davenport knew there wasn’t much he could say to his team to ease the pain. That’s why he just talked about the importance of bouncing back from disappointment.

And it appears his players listened, as the Pirates beat Republic 2-0 in the third-place game on Saturday to clinch their third straight top-four finish at state.

“We ended the season with a win, so I guess that’s somewhat of a consolation,” Davenport said.

Kearney coach Paul Lorbert feels the same way. The Bulldogs lost to Oakville 7-5 in the Class 4 state tournament semifinals on Friday, but came back to beat Parkway Central 2-0 in the third-place game on Saturday.

The win gave the Bulldogs their highest finish at state since they won the Class 3 title in 2005.

“We didn’t exactly accomplish what we wanted to,” Lorbert said. “Our goals were high. We wanted to win the championship. But instead of falling on our faces (on Saturday), we came out and played well and won the third-place game.”

State tennisPark Hill sophomore Suzanne Barth came away from the final day of the Missouri Class 2 state tennis tournament wanting more.

It was hard not to. Sure, she made it all the way to finals of singles. And sure, she came away with a second-place finish. But Barth was quick to point out that her 6-0, 6-0 loss to Rachel Stuhlmann of Kirkwood in the championship match on Saturday at Cooper Tennis Complex would serve as motivation for next year.

“It definitely will,” said Barth, who finished the season with a 30-5 record. “Hopefully, I’ll get another shot.”

Liberty’s doubles team of senior Leslee Feldhaus and junior Abby Fish were the only other players from the Northland to place. Feldhaus and Fish finished third in Class 2 doubles, giving Feldhaus her third consecutive third-place finish at state.

Fish and Feldhaus were disappointed after a semifinal loss to a team from St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Louis) ended their state title hopes, but Fish said there was no way they were going home with a fourth-place finish.

“It definitely would have been nice to get first or second,” Fish said. “But third is OK with us.”

Boys soccerPark Hill boys soccer coach Dustin Sollars couldn’t have been more proud of his team after its 4-3 overtime win over Rockhurst on Monday.

And it wasn’t just because his team beat the Hawklets, a perennial power in Missouri. No, it was the way the Trojans did it. Park Hill trailed Rockhurst three different times on Monday, yet fought back to tie the game each time before junior Ray Lee scored the game winning goal with only a few minutes left in the first overtime period.

“I think Rockhurst has kind of a swagger to them, and when they go up on certain teams, the other teams just fold,” said Sollars, whose team improved to 19-5 with the victory. “But our kids didn’t quit.”

That’s why Sollars was happy to see his players jumping and hollering and celebrating after the game. However, he was also quick to remind them that they can’t afford a letdown. Park Hill can clinch a share of the Suburban Big Six Conference title today with a victory over Winnetonka in the Trojans’ regular-season finale.

“I was telling the kids (after the game) that we shouldn’t take it for granted,” said Sollars, who said the Trojans haven’t won the conference title since 2005. “The kids can get excited about something and can overlook the next opponent. We’ve got to remember that you’ve got to show up every night.”

Cross countryLiberty’s cross country teams certainly took care of business at the 11-team Missouri Class 4 District 8 meet on Saturday.

Both of the Blue Jays’ girls and boys teams dominated the meet, which was held in Liberty at Stocksdale Park.

The boys won the team competition with a score of 15 points — 74 fewer than second-place St. Joseph Central — and were led by senior Hossam Hassan, who won the individual competition with a time of 14.18 on the 2.6-mile course. Six more Blue Jays rounded out the top seven.

The girls won the team competition as well, but it was a little closer. Liberty finished with a score of 34 points, while Truman came in second with 63. The Blue Jays were led by senior Megan Yohe, who won with a time of 17:16, more than 41 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Liberty also had three more runners place in the top 10.

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-10-27 14:27:01