A challenging season continued Thursday for the Perry baseball team as visiting Ballard cruised to a 13-1 win in five innings of Raccoon River Conference play. The loss, coming after a 10-0 six-inning setback at Bondurant-Farrar Wednesday, dropped Perry to 0-10 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
Ballard (9-2, 5-1) capitalized on a walk and a hit batsman to plate two runs in the first inning. Free passes and errors set the stage for an eight-run third, with all scoring done after two were out. Six of the eight were unearned.
Three more unearned runs in the fourth pushed the score to 13-0, with Perry scoring in their fourth at-bat when Keghan West — who had walked for the second time — was driven in on Fausto Beato’s second single of the game.
Beato went 2-2/3 innings as the Perry starter. He allowed seven runs (two earned) on just two hits, but struggled throwing strikes and walked six batters while hitting another. Kato Dougan tossed 2-1/3 frames of relief, yielding six runs (all unearned) on five hits. Dougan hit two batters with pitches and joined Beato in recording one strikeout.
Connor Finch struck out seven and yielded a run in four frames for the win. He walked West twice and allowed both Beato hits. Jacob Ross struck out the side in his one inning of relief.
Cory Hennick had a triple, single, walk, run and RBI for Ballard. Kade Reinertson drove in three runs, as did Mason Akselsen, with Sam Petersen and Kyler Watson each scoring three times.
B-F was in complete control of Wednesday’s game. The hosts scored once in the first, four times in the fourth, three times in the fifth and twice in the sixth to stop the game early.
Jake Edenburn allowed two hits while plunking one batter and striking out two for the win.
Hunter Hetzer had a home run, a triple and four RBIs, with Kameron Doughman adding two singles and a double.
Perry statistical information was not available despite repeated requests.
Perry hosts AC/GC Monday, visits Nevada Tuesday and travels to West Central Valley Thursday and North Polk Friday for four consecutive non-conference games.
