Perry girls split pair at Pella Christian Classic

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Alyssa Kruger races to third base and Rachel Kinney to second on KInney's bases-loaded double against Carroll in the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday.

PELLA — The opening game of the Pella Christian Classic Saturday proved worthy of state tournament status.

The host Eagles (21-6) are ranked eighth in Class 2A, and their opponent, Perry (22-8) is rated seventh in 4A. The teams lived up to their billing, each allowing the other only three hits.

The difference ended up being two doubles in the bottom of the fifth, just enough to lift Pella Christian to a 1-0 victory.

The Eagles received a lead-off double in the fifth, but Jayette ace Emma Olejniczak recorded consecutive strikeouts before a second two-base hit plated the only run of the game.

Jo Diw, Sid Vancil and Maddie West each had singles for Perry in the loss.

“The defense was great, we just didn’t execute well at the plate,” head coach Tina Kenney said.

Olejniczak more than did her part, yielding just the one run on only three hits while striking out 13 and walking none. The senior apparently liked her statistic line she nearly mimicked it in the second game, allowing one hit — a Megan Doty home run in the top of the fourth — while fanning 13 and once more issuing no walks as Perry topped Grinnell, 10-1.

The Jayettes struck for two runs in the first, with Diw starting the frame with a triple. She trotted home on a Sid Vancil base hit, with Vancil stealing both second and third and then scoring on a passed ball for a 2-0 Perry lead.

Doty’s solo shot brought the Tigers to within 2-1, but Perry plated eight runs in the home half of the sixth to salt away the victory.

Alyssa Kruger walked and Rachel Kinney singled before a double steal put runners on second and third. Olejniczak sent both home with a double and then scored on a passed ball.

West kept the rally going with a single, with pinch-runner Cassidy Heck stealing second. Adriana Eastman singled and moved up on an error, with Brooke Huntington cleaning the bases with a two-run double. Diw added a RBI double, as did Vancil, to add to the onslaught.

Perry was active on the base paths, finishing with nine swiped bags on 10 attempts.

Even with the narrow loss to the Eagles, Olejniczak has been outstanding of late in the ring. She has allowed only two runs in her last 34 innings and has struck out 60 while walking only four over the span. Last season she struck out 315 in 224-2/3 innings and issued 74 walks; as of Sunday she had 292 strikeouts and just 29 walks in 177 frames this year.

Perry faces a critical game at Carlisle Monday, with a trip to Des Moines North slated for Tuesday before Bondurant-Farrar visits the PAC Wednesday. The Jayettes will then travel to Ballard for another important Raccoon River Conference battle Thursday.

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