Solid pitching from junior Waylon Huber and senior Trot O’Keefe, along with a few timely hits, boosted the Perryville Pirates (6-4) to a two-game shutout sweep over the Windsor Owls (6- 12) with a 2-0 victory on the road April 23 and a 4-0 victory at home on April 24.
Perryville coach Don O’Keefe said he was pleased with how his team performed.
“It was entertaining baseball,” O’Keefe said. “If you would have come to both games, you’d go, ‘I think I’ll show for a third.’ It felt like the 1980s [St. Louis Cardinals]- style baseball, play the small part, pitch and play defense. If we do that, that’s how we’re going to be successful.”
In the opener, Huber earning the victory on the mound after giving up 3 hits over 7 scoreless innings, striking out 7 and walking none.
“Waylon Huber threw it well,” O’Keefe said, “but on top of that, we had two bunt hits, fielded the ball, no errors, and by the time it’s over, it was 1-0, then we found a way to get the second run across in the seventh.”
Troy O’Keefe turned in a similar performance in the second game, earning the victory with another complete-game shutout, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 13 batters in 7 innings.
“We’re up 3-0 and our guy Troy looks like he’s freaking rolling,” O’Keefe said. “But then, guess what, [sacrifice fly]. There’s that fourth run and now you’ve got more breathing room. It was small things. We talked about sac flies, some timely hitting, some base running, stealing second and third — they read the pitcher — then guess what? Base hit and they’re both jogging in.”
Huber said the Pirates were well-prepared and ready to go in their first action since the Easter break.
“We went into the game with a good mindset,” Huber said, “and I knew coming in, if I could just do my thing and trust my defense, we’d come out with a win.”
In that game, Perryville scored its first run in the top of the first when Barrett Wheeler stole home with 1 out. Troy O’Keefe was caught stealing second for the second time, and a strikeout ended the inning.
Perryville’s second run didn’t come until the seventh — also on a steal, this time by Dalton Fritsche — to set the final margin.
“We’ve been trying to figure things out throughout, and we’re building off every game,” Huber said. “So I think that’s where we’re at right now.”
Wheeler, a junior catcher, led the Pirates at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with 1 run scored. Wheeler (4), Fritsche (3), and Gideon Stueve (2) combined for 9 stolen bases for Perryville.
Colton Scott took the loss for Windsor, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits over 7 innings, striking out 13 and walking none.
Landen Palmer, Brody Green, and Scott each had one hit for Windsor.
In the second game, Perryville got its first run in the second inning when Bryce Weber singled in Fritsche, then added 2 more in the third when Huber doubled the right-field line, sending Troy O’Keefe and Ty Peeler across to make it 3-0. Fritsche stole home for the second-straight game in the sixth inning and Troy O’Keefe struck out the side in top of the seventh to secure victory.
After the game, Troy O’Keefe said he relies on his routine to keep his focus on the mound.
“When I pitch, usually it’s all about the routine,” he said. “So I go out and play long toss before every game, stretch for however long. So just the routine aspect of the game.”
Green took the loss for Windsor, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits in six innings of work, striking out 4 and walking 2.
At the plate, Huber finished 1-for-2 with a walk and 2 RBI. Fritsche, who finished 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, had 3 of Perryville’s 5 stolen bases. Weber was 1-for-2 with 1 RBI.
Lincoln Forchee and Malachi Boxdorfer had 1 hit each for Windsor.
“That was fun baseball,” O’Keefe said. “That’s enjoyable. We’re starting to get better. Overall, a good couple of days. We haven’t had much of a chance to play baseball, I think, to be fair. That tornado threw more of a loop in things than even I expected. We’ve lost games, trying to find out where we’re going, all that stuff. Now it’s time to get back into the mix.”
The Pirates were scheduled to travel to Fredericktown on Monday, kicking off a string of nine games in 15 days — many against larger schools — leading up to the Class 4, District 2 tournament, which will begin on May 17.
“We don’t play a simple schedule,” O’Keefe said. “We go after dogs and that’s what we have to do and at the end of the day hopefully that makes us better.”
