Senior Grace Stewart came through in each of her four at-bats Tuesday, driving in five runs to help Perry score a 12-2 win over Gilbert in six innings of non-conference softball.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
Stewart drove in three runs with base hits, plated a fourth run with a RBI-ground out and then ended the game with one out in the bottom of the sixth by drawing a bases-loaded walk as Perry improved to 5-9 overall.
Gilbert (2-7) had a 1-0 lead when Perry scored twice in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly from Peyton Tunink and a two-out single from Stewart.
Perry erupted for a six-run third to open an 8-1 lead, with a two-run double from Jayna Kenney and a two-run base hit from Stewart doing most of the damage.
Sid Vancil singled and stole a base for the second inning in a row, then scored on an error off the bat of Adriana Eastman as Perry moved to a 9-1 edge in the fourth.
Tunink tripled with one out in the fifth, scoring moments later on Stewart’s ground out to shortstop.
The run had offset a Tiger tally in the top of the frame, leaving the Jayettes with a 10-2 lead entering the sixth.
A single from Alyssa Kruger, a walk and an all-safe on a fielder’s choice loaded the bases, with T.J. Sheehy walking to force in a run. A ground out created a force at the plate for the second out but left the bags packed, and when Stewart walked it pushed Kenney home with the final run of the game.
Kruger threw six innings for the win, surrendering two runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk. She finished with two strikeouts.
Vancil was 3-for-4 with two runs and two thefts, with Kruger scoring twice on a single and a double while Kenney had two RBIs, a double and three runs scored. Eastman and Sheehy each walked and scored twice, with Tunink providing a triple and a RBI. Stewart was 2-for-3 with a walk while accounting for her five RBIs.
In a special ceremony before the game, the Perry Girls Softball Association teams were saluted. Each squad was assigned a Jayette starter and ran onto the field at the player’s position as they were announced in the starting lineups. Coaches and players were introduced, and all were saluted by the large crowd before the playing of the national anthem.
Perry hosts ADM for a varsity doubleheader tonight (there will be no junior varsity game) starting at 5:30 p.m. The Jayettes will visit Saydel Thursday before playing twice Friday and twice Saturday in the Roland-Story Classic.
