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SOFTBALL: Northland teams have ups, downs at tournament
By Bill Knust
As you might expect with any season-opening tournament, there were highs and lows for each Northland team that participated in the Greater Kansas City Suburban Softball Invitational.
Staley High got its program’s history off to a great start with a 2-0 performance in pool play. The Falcons knocked off Raytown 4-1 and then beat Blue Springs South 1-0 to advance to the pool winner’s bracket. After falling to Belton and Oak Park in bracket play, the Falcons finished on a high note, knocking off Lee’s Summit West 4-3 in the seventh-place game.
“We did pretty well,” coach Jairus Tapp said. “We probably should have won another game, but that is how it goes sometimes. As a whole team I was pretty impressed with how we gelled pretty quickly.”
Oak Park also found itself in the pool winner’s bracket after a 2-1 win against Fort Osage and a 4-3 win in extra innings against Smithville. After falling to eventual tournament champion Platte County in bracket play, the Lady Oakies bounced back for a win against Staley before falling to Lee’s Summit in the fifth-place game.
In the third-place game of the second-place bracket, Smithville knocked off Winnetonka 4-2. A four-run first inning set the tone for the Warriors, and a late rally by the Griffins was thwarted by an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
“We have a couple of new people at some new positions and we saw some good things out of some of them and some not-so-good things out of some of them,” coach Ken Steeples said. “We know we have to work on hitting the ball because we didn’t hit the ball well. Some of our girls who don’t play in the summer are struggling to get back in it.”
Entering the season with a healthy squad, North Kansas City liked its chances to do some damage in the tournament, but errors and early season jitters sent the Hornets to the third-place pool after an 0-2 start in pool play. The Hornets committed too many errors against Lee’s Summit and Odessa to have a shot, but picked it back up in bracket play with a win against Harrisonville.
Northtown coach Chris Clark said he thinks the Hornets can play with any team in the city if they play error-free softball and hit like he knows they can.
Park Hill had a rough tournament, but finished on a winning note with a 16-1 victory against St. Mary’s in the seventh-place game of the third-place bracket.
“I wanted to see who could perform at the varsity level as opposed to the junior varsity level because we are real young,” coach Stuart Sullinger said. “We have only one senior, five juniors, the rest are sophomores and one freshman. I wanted to see who could play where, and I was able to put them in different spots and see who could handle the bat.”
Sports writer Bill Knust can be reached at 389-6605 or billknust@npgco.com.
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Staley High got its program’s history off to a great start with a 2-0 performance in pool play. The Falcons knocked off Raytown 4-1 and then beat Blue Springs South 1-0 to advance to the pool winner’s bracket. After falling to Belton and Oak Park in bracket play, the Falcons finished on a high note, knocking off Lee’s Summit West 4-3 in the seventh-place game.
“We did pretty well,” coach Jairus Tapp said. “We probably should have won another game, but that is how it goes sometimes. As a whole team I was pretty impressed with how we gelled pretty quickly.”
Oak Park also found itself in the pool winner’s bracket after a 2-1 win against Fort Osage and a 4-3 win in extra innings against Smithville. After falling to eventual tournament champion Platte County in bracket play, the Lady Oakies bounced back for a win against Staley before falling to Lee’s Summit in the fifth-place game.
In the third-place game of the second-place bracket, Smithville knocked off Winnetonka 4-2. A four-run first inning set the tone for the Warriors, and a late rally by the Griffins was thwarted by an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
“We have a couple of new people at some new positions and we saw some good things out of some of them and some not-so-good things out of some of them,” coach Ken Steeples said. “We know we have to work on hitting the ball because we didn’t hit the ball well. Some of our girls who don’t play in the summer are struggling to get back in it.”
Entering the season with a healthy squad, North Kansas City liked its chances to do some damage in the tournament, but errors and early season jitters sent the Hornets to the third-place pool after an 0-2 start in pool play. The Hornets committed too many errors against Lee’s Summit and Odessa to have a shot, but picked it back up in bracket play with a win against Harrisonville.
Northtown coach Chris Clark said he thinks the Hornets can play with any team in the city if they play error-free softball and hit like he knows they can.
Park Hill had a rough tournament, but finished on a winning note with a 16-1 victory against St. Mary’s in the seventh-place game of the third-place bracket.
“I wanted to see who could perform at the varsity level as opposed to the junior varsity level because we are real young,” coach Stuart Sullinger said. “We have only one senior, five juniors, the rest are sophomores and one freshman. I wanted to see who could play where, and I was able to put them in different spots and see who could handle the bat.”
Sports writer Bill Knust can be reached at 389-6605 or billknust@npgco.com.