The Perry softball team was determined to avoid the mercy rule Wednesday and rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend their Raccoon River Conference outing with visiting Carroll.
Trailing, 11-0, the Jayettes (3-17, 0-8) pushed three tallies across the dish in the fifth frame, but could come no closer as the Tigers (11-8, 2-5) added a final run to finish off a 12-3 victory.
Carroll starter Julia LaRue handcuffed Perry through four innings, allowing a walk to Lydia Olejniczak, with Olejniczak and Kennedy Tunink reaching on errors to account for the three runners she allowed while striking out four.
Alyssa Brant entered to begin the fifth and Perry took swift advantage of the change. Bella Nath singled and Peyton Tunink walked, with a fielder’s choice leaving two on the bases before Ojeniczak reached safely when an attempt to force Shriver at second was late.
Peyton Tunink and Shriver scored when Jayna Kenney pulled a double down the left field line, with pinch-hitter Libby Hastings scoring Olejniczak with a RBI-ground out.
Macy Killmer singled to start the sixth but was doubled off on a line drive, with Peyton Tunink singling but being stranded in the seventh.
The top of the Tiger lineup haunted the Jayettes throughout, with Rylee Ludwig on base four of five times with two hits while Joselyn Ayala had four hits and reached on an error. Ludwig scored four times and Ayala five times, with number-three hitter Chloe Gallegos using two singles, a double, a sacrifice fly and RBI-ground out to drive in six runs.
Clean-up hitter Ashley Onken was also heavily involved, smacking a double and two singles and driving in two runs.
Carroll repeatedly exploited the Perry defense by stealing bases almost at will. Ludwig swiped six bases and Ayala four, with the team finishing with 11 thefts without being caught.
Brant allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in her three frames of relief, but the Tigers had long since done enough damage that their lead was hardly threatened.
Peyton Tunink was chased after 1-2/3 frames. She allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks. Kenney surrendered six runs (four earned) on nine hits in 5-1/3 frames while striking out two.
Perry hosts Boone in a varsity-first game at 5:30 p.m. today. The team is off Friday but plays Grinnell at 10:15 a.m. and host Pella Christian at 1:45 p.m. in tourney play Saturday.
