Perry learned the first piece of their playoff puzzle Thursday, with a 5-0 by host Waverly-Shell Rock over Webster City sending the Go-Hawks to the PAC Saturday for a Class 4A Region 3 Semifinal at 7 p.m.
The other side of the bracket will feature Norwalk at Carlisle Saturday after the Warriors scored a 6-2 win against Pella. Saturday’s winners will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. to determine a quarterfinalist spot at the state tournament. Provided Perry advances, the Jayettes would either travel to Carlisle or host Norwalk.
The Go-Hawks improved to 23-17 with the win. Perry holds edges in team batting average (.338-.307), doubles (58-49), triples (5-1) and home runs (20-19) as well as total hits (31-308) while W-SR has a 250-204 edge in runs scored.
Senior third baseman Jaylie Reints has 44 hits and 37 RBIs and has ripped 11 home runs while batting .407 and scoring 42 runs. Fellow senior Kelsey Young is a speedster in center field, having swiped 29-of-31 bases. Young has 44 hits and 34 runs scored and bats .333.
Catcher Emma Robson possesses a strong arm, having gunned down 7-of-21 would-be base thieves. She is hitting .374 with 10 doubles and 28 RBIs and leads the team with 46 hits.
The teams vary widely in defense, with W-SR guilty of 76 errors, including eight in the outfield, while Perry has committed 47 errors, only two of them in the outfield. The Go-Hawks have yielded 166 runs, 119 of them earned, while the Jayettes have allowed only 72 runs, just 33 of them earned.
Hanna Fanter is the lead pitcher for W-SR. She is 17-11 with a 2.98 ERA in 166-2/3 innings. The sophomore has walked 40 batters and struck out 131, with opposing teams bating .218 against her. She has a WHIP (walk, hits per inning pitched) of 1.22.
Fanter’s numbers are solid, but they pale to those of Perry senior Emma Olejniczak, whose 339 strikeouts is second in all classes and leads 4A by a whopping 90 sit-downs. Olejniczak has issued only 31 walks in 206-1/3 innings, with a miniscule WHIP of .78 and a class-best ERA of 1.12 among those with at least 80 innings in the ring. The opposition bats .163 against the UNI-recruit.
Ranked 10th, Perry is 25-10 overall and has played a demonstrably tougher schedule. Five other Raccoon River Conference teams are ranked (Winterset is second, Ballard fourth, Carlisle ninth, ADM 10th and Boone 11th) while only Charles City (14th) is ranked from the Northeast Iowa Conference. The Comets defeated the Go-Hawks 4-0, 7-6 and 4-1 in their three meetings this season.
Shortstop Jo Diw has sparked Perry from the lead-off spot all season and has produced impressive numbers. She has 59 hits (12 doubles, four triples and 13 homers, tied for second in 4A) while driving in 40 runs and scoring 42 times. The junior has been safe on 15-of-18 base stealing attempts.
Senior right fielder Rachel Kinney hits .417 with 47 total hits, including nine doubles. She has 25 RBIs and has scored 25 times and has struck out just four times in 118 total trips to the plate.
Junior center fielder Alyssa Kruger (.320, 32 hits, 10 doubles, 20 RBIs) is also a tough out. She has drawn 20 walks and has been retired on strikes just eight times in 126 plate appearances.
Olejniczak has helped herself at the plate by hitting .389 with 24 RBIs and 38 hits. She has scored 18 times and produced eight doubles.
Second baseman Sid Vancil has also played a key role. The junior has overcome a slow start to hit .319 with 38 hits (five doubles) and 16 RBIs. She has scored 25 times and is 17-of-20 to lead the team in stolen bases.
Perry is seeking to return to the state tourney for the second consecutive season after finishing sixth last year with a 25-14 record.
