Senior catcher Ashley Tennant upped her season total to eight home runs with three dingers in a Raccoon River Conference doubleheader Wednesday, leading Class 4A No. 4 ADM to wins of 4-0 and 9-3 over Perry.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
Sophomore Abbie Hlas struck out 23 Jayettes in the twinbill to damper the Perry offense, but Alyssa Kruger had her moments as well for the hosts, with the potent Tiger attack never able to produce a huge single inning.
Hlas walked and Tennant launched a towering two-run shot well over the left field fence in the bottom of the first inning in the opener as ADM (20-2, 6-0) jumped to a 2-0 lead. Two singles and a RBI ground out sent added a run to the lead in the second, with a Brynn Busta double followed by an error as ADM pushed their edge to 4-0 in the fourth.
Perry (5-11, 0-6) had their chances. Jo Diw and Sid Vancil hit consecutive singles to open the top of the first, but Hlas recorded three consecutive strikeouts to silence the threat.
Vancil, who reached on an error and was stranded in the third, was aboard for the third time with a one-out single in the sixth. Kruger followed with a base hit to put two runners on, but a fielder’s choice and a strikeout kept Perry off the board.
Kruger yielded four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out two.
Perry was off to a 1-0 lead in the nightcap when Diw singled and Kruger drew a one-out walk, with Bella Nath was brought in as courtesy runner. A strikeout followed for the second out, with Adriana Eastman doubling off the base of the fence in left field. Diw scored on the play, but Nath was easily thrown out on a strong relay throw from shortstop Olivia Tollari.
Neither team scored until Sierra Wyant doubled and scored when Tennant homered for 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth. Perry failed to score in their following at-bat, with a lightning delay, followed by a brief shower, caused a 38-minute delay.
Four singles and a run-scoring ground out helped ADM score four times in the fifth, with three hits in the sixth plating one run and upping the Tiger advantage to 7-1.
Vancil and Kruger each singled to start the sixth, with a wild pitch moving the runners to second and third. Both scored when Gabby West plunked a single onto the grass in left-center, with West racing to third when the throw home to catch Kruger was late.
Eastman walked to put two aboard, but consecutive strikeouts weakened the chances for a big inning. Peyton Tunink singled to load the bases and keep the opportunity alive, but Hlas induced a ground out to shut the door.
ADM added two final runs in the seventh, with two doubles and a single following a laser-like line-drive shot from Tennant to open the frame, her third dinger of the twin bill.
Hlas allowed three runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out 10.
Kruger surrendered nine nine on 14 hits and a walk while striking out two.
Vancil and Tunink each had two singles, with Diw, Kruger, West and T.J. Sheehy adding base hits while Eastman had a double and walked once. Kruger and Jayna Kenney also drew walks.
Perry plays North Polk at 5 p.m. and Solon at 7 p.m. in the Roland-Story Kiwanis Tournament today. They return to Roland to play Gilbert at 9:30 a.m. and Nevada at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The Jayettes will not play at home again until a June 25 meeting with No. 3 Carlisle.
