Jayettes dominate to claim title at Graves Tourney

Emma Olejniczak tosses 12 scoreless frames, striking out 25 while walking just one as Perry wins own tourney.

0
1559
Perry won the Paul and Mary Ann Graves Tourney Saturday, with the Jayettes pleased to pose with Mary Ann Graves afterward. The Jayettes are, front from left: seniors Rachel Kinney, Brooke Huntington, Emma Olejniczak and Maddie West. Standing, from left: Gabby West, Grace Stewart, Cassidy Heck, Jo Diw, T.J. Sheehy, Alyssa Kruger, Sid Vancil, Kennedy Tunink and Adriana Eastman.

Perry scored late to post a 3-0 win over Class 2A No. 1 Interstate-35 before blanking Van Meter, 8-0, in the championship game of the Paul and Mary Ann Graves Tournament at the PAC Saturday.

Van Meter was a 3-1 winner over IKM-Manning in the other semifinal, with I-35 roaring to a 15-3 win in five innings over IKM-Manning in the consolation bout.

Class 4A No. 7 Perry (7-2) was held to only four hits in their semifinal game against I-35 but finally broke through in the sixth inning.

Brooke Huntington led off with a single, with T.J. Sheehy drawing a base on balls. A Gabby West sac bunt moved the runners up a base, with Jo Diw doubling to left field.

Perry’s Brooke Huntington shows a catcher’s eye by taking this pitch off the inside corner. The senior singled on the next offering.

Huntington scored easily, with the run to cut Sheehy down at the plate arriving late and allowing an alert Diw to risk breaking for third base. The throw to the bag sailed wide, with Diw trotting home on the error for the third and final run of the game.

Perry other hits were singles from Diw and Emma Olejniczak.

Olejniczak yielded six hits but kept the Roadrunners from scoring thanks to issuing just one walk while retiring 11 batters on strikes.

The senior ace needed only nine pitches to strike out the side in first inning of the title game against Van Meter (7-3). She allowed singles in the second, third and fourth innings and dodged damage from a Hailey Forret two-out double in the sixth with her 14th strikeout.

By then more than enough damage had been dealt to the Bulldogs.

Diw opened the Perry first with a home run to left field, with Sid Vancil singling and then racing home of the first of two ringing doubles from Alyssa Kruger. An error, singles from Olejncizak and Maddie West and the first of two RBI-ground outs from Brooke Huntington helped put the score at 5-0.

After striking out 11 I-35 batters in the first game, Emma Olejniczak came back to sit 14 Van Meter batters down on strikes in the title game.

A single and outfield error put Diw on second to start the second for the hosts. She moved up a ground out, then trotted home on a Kruger single.

Maddie West walked, moved to third on two wild pitches and scored on a Huntington ground ball to move Perry into a 7-0 lead after three innings.

The Jayettes tacked on a final run in the fifth when Diw singled and sped home on Kruger’s line-shot double to right-center.

Vancil pitched the seventh for the hosts, striking out one before allowing a pair of two-out singles. A ground out ended the contest.

Molly Blomgren tossed the first three frames for Van Meter, yielding seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and three walks. She struck out one. Bailey Harding surrendered a run on five hits in three innings of relief.

Diw was 4-for-4 with a RBI and three runs scored, with Kruger 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Maddie West was 2-for-3 with a walk, with Olejniczak adding two base hits while Vancil, Huntington and Gabby West also provided hits.

Senior Sid Vancil cleaned up for Perry by pitching the seventh inning of the title game Saturday.

While handcuffed by Olejniczak, I-35 flashed their firepower in the consolation game with IKM-Manning.

The Roadrunners (6-2) scored four runs in the first inning, three more in the second and single tallies in the third and fourth to grab a 9-3 lead. A six-run fifth ended the game early.

Josie Wickett went wild at the dish, ripping two RBI doubles before clobbering a sole home run in the fourth and a two-run bomb that ended the game in the fifth.

Perry faces a heavy slate of games in the upcoming week. They host Carlisle Monday, visit Greene County Tuesday and Bondurant-Farrar Wednesday before entertaining Ballard Thursday. They will then play twice both Friday and Saturday in their annual visit to the two-day Woodward-Granger Classic.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.