Platte County falls to De Soto in Missouri Class 3 softball state final
Platte County softball coach Rob Davenport expected a pitcher’s duel in the final of the Missouri Class 3 state tournament, and he wasn’t disappointed.
The only disappointment came in being on the wrong end of that duel.
Platte County could manage only one hit off De Soto starter Courtney Krodinger and lost 3-0 Saturday at the Killian Sports Complex.
“She does a good job of moving the ball around, changing speeds a little bit,” Davenport said of Krodinger. “You know what? She’s very much like our pitcher. Both of them do very much the same thing.”
That would be Emily Stoner, who had held Monett to three hits in the semifinals the day before. Stoner gave up only five hits and two walks Saturday, but she couldn’t match Krodinger’s dominance.
Not that Krodinger was mowing down the Pirates. She only had one strikeout, but she coaxed a lot of groundball outs and took advantage of the Dragons’ well-spaced defense.
“We put some good swings on the ball, but we put it right at people,” Davenport said. “But that’s what happens when you get two good pitchers at the end of the season.”
Stoner was able to hold De Soto in check until Krodinger doubled leading off the fourth inning. Brooke Canada reached on a throwing error and Michaela Badger drove both runners home when she lofted the ball over the second baseman.
Platte County had a golden opportunity in the sixth when Courtney Seymour drew a one-out walk and leadoff hitter Jessie Hoover smacked one toward shortstop Brittany Krodinger.
But as Seymour reached second, Krodinger lunged at the base and put her out.
“She hit a well-hit ball up the middle and their shortstop made a phenomenal play,” Davenport said. “We were going to let our hitters hit and see what happens. But it didn’t work out.”
Platte County, 25-7 was trying to win its first state title since 2008.
This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Platte County falls to De Soto in Missouri Class 3 softball state final."