The Perryville Lady Pirates had a rough go of it last week, winning a nailbiter over Sikeston but losing two others, falling to Oakville and Hillsboro.
With the losses, the Lady Pirates fall to 1-7 on the season, but coach Jim Simpson isn’t worried.
“The girls have played fantastic,” Simpson said, “and they’re getting better each game. We’re seeing huge strides every game. With a young team, even as you’re seeing improvement, there’s still going to be those moments that you’re going to go, ‘Oh, my God! What are we doing?’ But that’s part of the learning process and the building process, so I’m really happy and satisfied and looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Hillsboro scored 12 runs in the first inning on the way to a 19-3 victory over visiting Perryville on Thursday. In the top of the first, the Lady Pirates took a short-lived 3-0 lead after taking advantage of a Hillsboro error and a sacrifice bunt from Gretchen Triller, one of only five seniors on the Perryville squad. Hillsboro wasted no time, scoring 12 runs on six hits in the bottom of the inning, including a 3-run triple from Bekah Goodman, then added seven runs on six hits in the bottom of the second inning.
Ally Uphoff hit an RBI triple, Ashley Hilton hit a 2-run single, and five Hawks players hit RBI singles to set the final margin. Freshman Adysin Vernon took the loss for Perryville, after allowing 11 earned runs on four hits in ⅔ of an inning, striking out none and walking seven. Sophomore Lilly Cowell finished the game for the Lady Pirates, giving up eight runs — four earned — on eight hits, striking out three and walking one in 1 ⅓ innings of work.
Haylie Boyette earned the victory for Hillsboro, allowing three runs — two earned — on two hits while striking out five and walking two over three innings. Madeleine Gremaud and Alyson Peeler each had one hit for Perryville, and Triller finished with 1 RBI.
For Hillsboro, Hilton, batting in the leadoff spot, finished 3-for-4 at the plate. The story wasn’t much different against Oakville in Wednesday’s game, as the Tigers scored 11 runs in the third inning, all on walks, to beat Perryville 20-0. With Oakville already leading 9-0 after two innings,
Perryville freshman reliever Abigail Unterreiner found herself in a tough spot right from the start of the inning, walking four consecutive batters to make it 10-0. A 2-RBI single made it 12-0. From there, a nasty string of bases-loaded walks and hit batters — along with a sacrifice fly — set the final margin.
“Every once in a while, you have to challenge yourself,” Simpson said. “Right now, in the stage of the program we’re at, we don’t always look at the scoreboard — we look at small victories. I was telling the girls, I was very proud of them. Our outfield reacted to the ball much quicker. We hit cut-offs. We couldn’t have that before. Our reads are much better running the bases.
“We are seeing a lot of small improvements and reason to be hopeful. It’s a work in progress. And we are definitely improving. I can see that with every game.”
Cowell took the loss for Perryville, giving up nine runs — three earned — on eight hits in two innings, striking out two and walking one. She also claimed Perryville’s only hit in the game, finishing 1-for-1 at the plate.
The Pirates claimed their first victory of the season on Tuesday after posting their highest offensive output of the season. It wasn’t a hit that gave them the victory, at least not in the usual fashion. With the game tied at 10-10, the bases loaded, and one out in the bottom of the eighth, Perryville’s Mallory Wall was struck by a pitch, driving in the winning run in an 11-10 victory.
The Lady Pirates took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the second, Sikeston tied it in the fourth, then scored three runs in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to take a 10-6 lead. Perryville scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh on a bases-loaded walk by Madyson Richardet, a 2-run single from Unterreiner, and a hit batter to send the game to extra innings.
“We got down early, and we battled back,” Simpson said. “And then in the last inning, they scored a few runs. Our young team didn’t quit. We battled back, tied it up, had a chance to win it in regulation in the bottom of the seventh, and didn’t get the job done. And then, in the eighth inning, we held them.”
Cowell struck out two batters in the top of the eighth, and another grounded out to second to give the Lady Pirates their shot. Cowell earned the complete-game victory for Perryville after giving up 10 runs — three earned — on 10 hits, striking out 12 and walking three.
Brileigh Newman took the loss for Sikeston, giving up 11 runs on eight hits in 7 ⅓ innings. She struck out 11 and walked 15. Triller was 3-for-5 at the plate for Perryville, with two RBI, while Ava Robles was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Vernon, Unterreiner, and Brooklynne Pingel each had one hit. Richardet drew four walks, and Robles had two stolen bases.
The Lady Bulldogs outhit the Lady Pirates, 10-8.
“What impressed me most was we’re such a young team, and we understand now why we can’t get down and not quit,” Simpson said. “And that just shows the heart and the integrity of the young ladies that I’m working with. With a young team, it would have been really easy to say, ‘Hey, we’re down again. We’re 0-5. We’re going to lose again.’ They didn’t. They kept working, and they got to win.”
