Chalk this one up as one of those “we will take” type of victories.
The Perry girls golfers defeated both Ballard and Norwalk Tuesday at the Perry Golf and Country Club while playing rounds head coach Joel Happel knew could have been even better than what was recorded.
“We got a win on a night where everyone shot a round that they can improve on,” he said.
Perry finished with a 228, eight strokes better than Ballard’s 236 and 14 clear of Norwalk’s 242.
A strong south wind made several holes play longer than normal, particularly the 415-yard par 5 eighth. None of the 18 players on the course had par on the hole, with the four scoring Bombers playing the eighth at 12-over, the four Warrior scorers at 14-over and the four Jayette scorers at 16-over.
Where the hosts made up the difference was on the 403-yard par 5 fourth and 350-yard par 5 fifth. Perry’s scoring foursome went through the pair at a combined 5-over 45, thanks to pars on the fifth from Sarah Sweet and Ellie Nielsen and a sparkling eagle-3 from Alyssa Kruger on the fourth. Both opponents lost 12 strokes to the host over the same stretch, as each combined to shoot 17-over 57’s.
Sweet led Perry with a 55, with Kruger and Nielsen each shooting a 57 while Hannah Roberts carded a 59. The hosts discarded the rounds of 61 from Brooke Huntington and of 65 from Skylar Cunningham.
Ballard was playing without their expected number one and number four golfers. They were paced by runner-up medalist Kaylee Kluder’s 52, with the Bombers also using the scores of Andrea Bollig (59), Madison Knutson (60) and Hailey Birdsall (65), with Afton Stark (66) and Abby Vincent (73) also playing.
Medalist Rachel Frescoln shot a 48 for Norwalk, with the Warriors using rounds of 59 from Rachel E. (last name n/a), of 67 from Camry Vivone and of 68 from Lizzy (last name n/a).
Perry travels to Greene County Thursday for a triangular that will also include Des Moines Christian. Tee time is 4 p.m. Perry will then host the Jayette Invitational Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Norwalk will return for the 18-hole event, with teams from Dowling Catholic, Humboldt, North Polk and South Hamilton also expected to compete.
