PERRY—No. 13 Girard upset host and No. 5 seed Perry, 7-6, in a Division IV district semifinal on Tuesday.
The Pirates trailed 1-0 early but rallied for four runs in the fifth before the Indians stormed back with a six-run sixth inning, leading to the upset win.
“Our mentality throughout the program for years has been never to stop punching (back),” said Perry head coach Matt Platt. “We’ve come back and won a lot of games that way. We were close (in the seventh), but we just couldn’t make it work. (Girard) did a nice job hitting the ball hard, we answered back but came up one run short.”
Girard’s Zach Ward drew first blood in the top of the second with a leadoff solo home run for a 1-0 lead that lasted until the bottom of the fifth.
In that frame, Perry strung together a four-run rally to take the lead.
Trent Taylor singled to start the inning and came around to tie the game on a wild pitch, and Luke Sivon gave the Pirates the lead with an RBI groundout.
Carter Crofoot ripped an RBI double, and Cade Henderson added an insurance run by grounding into an error that allowed Owen McKoon to score for a 4-1 edge after five.
The Indians rallied for a six-run sixth.
Camron Herrick scored on an error, Kaiden Clare crossed the dish on a passed ball, and Will Hynes’ RBI single knotted the game at 4-4.
Dominic Phillips put Girard on top with an RBI double, Ja’den Royal added with a run-scoring single, and Evan Tuttle worked a bases-loaded walk for a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
Perry rallied again with a McKoon two-out, two-run double, trimming the deficit to one before Girard slammed the door in the seventh.
The Pirates’ offense had been held to one hit entering the bottom of the fifth before the bats got rolling.
“We just have to play a full game, we can’t go away in any inning,” Taylor said. “That just happened today. We have to be there the whole game.”
Taylor, a junior, will be part of a strong core group of returning players next year, who saw a lot of action throughout the 22-win regular season and even got a taste of the playoffs.
“We’ve tried to put ourselves into pressure situations down the stretch here,” Platt said. “So many of those guys have been in those spots throughout the year, and they’ve done a nice job for us.”
There are six seniors on the squad, some of whom will go on to play at the college level and have accomplished a lot in their time as Pirates on the diamond and elsewhere.
“They showed me a lot of dedication,” Taylor said. “Baseball is their whole life, and a lot of them are going to do it in college.”
Platt added, “They raised the standard. Not just with their play on the field, but their work in the gym, as well. We work out in the offseason a ton, and they’re always there for us. They show up to all of the offseason stuff in the winter, and that’s the culture that changed.”
McKoon led the offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Crofoot went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Kyle Rhineberger, Michael Niedzwiecki, Brody Pertrucelli, and Taylor each recorded hits. Sivon added an RBI.
Connor D’Astolfo started on the bump and worked 4 ⅓ innings, allowing one run on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Jimmy Ashburn took the loss and worked 1 ⅓ innings, allowing five runs on five hits with one strikeout. Sheamus Matson worked a third of an inning and allowed one run on two hits with two walks. Carter Hopkins pitched a perfect inning of relief.
Perry finished the season 22-6 overall and 7-3 in Chagrin Valley Conference play.
