Last week was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the Perryville Lady Pirates softball team.
After suffering a 15-0 loss to Kelly on the road Sept. 15, the Lady Pirates played four home games in a row, including a doubleheader with Naylor.
During that run, Perryville picked up its second victory of the season, topping Herculaneum in a close 4-3 game on Sept. 16; then lost a controversial matchup with Jefferson on Thursday, falling 8-4; then getting swept by Naylor, 6-3 and 9-0. Their season record now stands at 2-11.
The loss to Jefferson (5- 7) was likely the hardest pill to swallow, as both coaches grew increasingly frustrated in the middle innings. The game featured several controversial calls by the umpires, which caused delays and disrupted the focus and momentum of both teams.
“It was a difficult game to play, and it was because with all the controversial calls and the gap that it took for the umpires to straighten it out,” said PHS coach Jim Simpson. “I just felt like we kind of lost our mojo there for a little bit. When you have two 30-minute delays talking about calls, we just kind of lost our focus, our momentum a little bit. I felt that hurt a young team. That’s probably the first time our girls experienced anything like that. They weren’t sure how to handle themselves.”
Despite that difficulty, Simpson said his team did their best to stay competitive.
“We played competitively for seven innings,” Simpson said. “We never gave up. Even in the last inning, we had some runners on. The difference in that ball game was Jefferson put the ball and play more and put more pressure on our defense.”
Sophomore pitcher Lilly Cowell took the loss for the Lady Pirates, giving up 8 earned runs on 10 hits while striking out 9 and walking only 2 in 7 innings.
At the plate, the Lady Pirates finished with 3 runs on 3 hits, led by Cowell, who finished the day 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Sophomore Ava Robles drew 3 walks and scored 2 runs, and junior Madeleine Gremaud finished 1-for-3 with 1 run scored.
As for the doubleheader with Naylor, Simpson said his team had trouble hitting the gaps, especially in the first game.
“I felt like we just when we hit the ball, we hit it right at people,” Simpson said. “We had a couple mistakes that we’re working still to clean up. We were able to break through in the sixth inning, and we got some bumps down on things, but when we hit the ball hard, we hit it right at somebody.
“It was just one of those bad-luck scenarios, and I told the girls after the game, I said, ‘You’re going to have those days where we hit the ball extremely well, and we’ve got nothing to show for it.”
In the opening game, Naylor built a 3-0 lead in the third inning, then went up 6-0 in the top of the fifth. The Lady Pirates answered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, when Robles hit an RBI double and Cowell hit a 2-run home run to left.
Perryville outhit Naylor 7-6, led by Robles, who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and 1 run scored. Brooklynne Pingel finished 2-for-2 with 1 run scored, and Cowell was 1-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. Olivia Difani finished 1-for-3. Cowell again took the loss in the five-inning game, giving up 6 runs — 1 earned — and striking out 7 with no walks.
In the nightcap, things took a bad turn early, as the Lady Eagles built a 5-0 lead after two innings, then added 4 more runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 9-0. Perryville, faced with one last chance in the top of the fifth, recorded 3 consecutive outs to end the inning and the game.
“It just wasn’t our day,” Simpson said. “I felt like we were a little tired going into Friday. That was our fifth game in five days. I thought we were a little tired, but they come out and we competed real well. We’re closing the gap. I know that doesn’t mean a whole lot to the players right now, but if you watch, the scores are getting closer. We’re in the ball game. We’ve got to be able to limit the damage a little bit better. I think there’s one big inning that’s getting us every game.
“We’ve got to be able to figure out when they’re going to hit a little bit and help our pitcher out a little.” Cowell again took the loss, giving up 9 runs — 6 earned — on 6 hits, striking out 4 and walking 4 in 4 innings.
The Lady Pirates were held hitless at the plate, but recorded only 4 strikeouts in 15 at-bats. Simpson said the Lady Pirates are still working to improve at the plate.
“We want to continue to improve, continue to strive,” Simpson said. “I really want to see better reaction time at the plate. We’re still late. We’ve got to be able to get that front foot down. I want us to be aggressive, and if we’re going to make an out, I want to put the ball in play.”
