Five of Perry’s seven hits against Class 3A No. 13 Des Moines Christian Monday were for extra-bases, but a bevy of errors combined to allow the Lions to escape with a 10-5 win at the PAC.
Sophomore Kennedy Tunink and eighth-grader Lydia Olejniczak each launched their first career home runs and senior Gabby West was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, but it was not enough to carry the hosts to victory. Tunink would late add a double of her own and Olejniczak a single while scoring twice more, but Perry still came up short.
The Lions, third at the 2018 3A state tourney, scored four unearned runs, with half of their runs coming after two outs had been recorded in an inning.
Freshman Jayna Kenney was saddled with the loss, yielding 10 runs (six earned) on 10 hits and four walks. She hit one batter and struck out one.
Kenney escaped trouble in the first by stranding two in scoring position with a ground out, but a critical two-out error turned into three DMC runs in the top of the second.
Tunink cut into the lead with a one-out laser-shot over the fence in left-center in the Perry second. Bella Nath drew a two-out walk, but Perry could not add to their total.
Kenney breezed through an eight-pitch third, with Olejniczak making her first varsity hit a memorable one by depositing the ball deep over the fence in straightaway left as the deficit shrank to 3-2. West just missed a homer of her run with a two-out double off the bottom of the fence, but a liner back to pitcher Caitlin Kellner snuffed the threat.
DMC added single tallies in the fourth and fifth frames, with Olejniczak singling and then moving all the way around to score on two wild pitches and a passed ball to move the score to 5-3. West added a second two-out double, but courtesy runner Jasmine Shriver was, as in the third, left stranded.
Three singles and an outfield misplay plated two Lion runs in the sixth, with a hit, two walks and two more errors turning into three more DMC scores in the seventh to push the margin to 10-3.
Perry had a staged a small threat in the sixth on eighth-grade reliever Kaleigh Friend when Jasmyn Barck walked with one out. Pinch runner Taylor Atwell stole second base, but a double play silenced the rally.
Olejniczak was hit by a pitch with one down in the bottom of the seventh, with two wild pitches moving her to third as Kenney walked. A sacrifice fly from Adriana Eastman plated Olejniczak, with West scoring Kenney on a RBI-single with two outs, but that was as close as the Jayettes would come.
Kellner went five innings for the win, yielding three rusn on six hits and a walk. Friend threw two frames, allowing two runs on a hit, two walks and a hit batsman. Both DMC pitchers recorded a single strikeout.
Perry will visit North Polk tonight before returning to the PAC Friday to host Norwalk.
