Perry senior Kyle Nevitt tossed 6-2/3 innings Monday, allowing two hits and two walks and hitting one batter with a pitch. He allowed two runs and struck out six. And he lost.
Grinnell (18-14) made the most of their scant opportunities and Jayden Gibson surrendered just one run on six hits and a walk while striking out 10 as the Tigers spoiled Senior Night for the Bluejays with a 2-1 non-conference victory.
Nevitt walked Luke Roudabush to open the game, with Roudbush promptly stealing both second and third bases and scoring on an Ethan Mitchell ground out.
Gibson was hit by a pitch and later scored in the top of the fourth for a 2-0 Tiger lead, but Janier Puente cranked a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the frame and halve the Bluejay deficit. The dinger was the third of the year for Puente.
Perry (6-18) had stranded two men on base in the third inning and left two aboard in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Alexis Garrido relieved Nevitt with two outs in the seventh and struck out the lone batter he faced.
Brandon Kenyon and Aaron Lockwood each had two singles for Perry, with Kaleb Olejniczak adding a base hit to Puente’s dinger to account for the six Bluejay hits.
The Perry defense did their part, with second baseman Adan Medina and third baseman Lockwood each throwing out a runner at the plate who was trying to score on a ground ball.
Medina, Nevitt, Puente and Andrew Pentico played on Progressive Field as preps for the final time in the setback.
Perry visits Kuemper Catholic Thursday and Pella Monday, with a trip to Winterset for a Raccoon River Conference game Wednesday wrapping the regular season.
