GATES MILLS—Perry scored five unanswered runs to pull away from host Hawken in an 8-3 Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division showdown on Wednesday.
The Pirates plated two runs in the top of the fifth and delivered the knockout punch with a three-run seventh for the win.
“We had some timely hitting, ran the bases well, and we were able to push some runs across,” said Perry head coach Matt Platt. “We knew we needed to add on, and we had some tough at-bats. The guys got some swings in play, and we put ourselves in a spot to push those runs across.”
Luke Sivon led off the Pirates’ first inning with an infield single and came around to score on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead after one.
Kyle Rhineberger singled to lead off the Perry third. He stole second and moved to third on an Owen McKoon single.
Rhineberger scored on an errant throw on a McKoon steal, and Michael Niedzwiecki ripped an RBI single to center for a 3-0 Pirates lead after three.
Jacob Stovsky doubled to start a three-run Hawken rally in the fourth, followed by Miles Hamilton’s bloop single that led to an Ethan Gipson two-run single, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Cole Twardokus poked an RBI single to right to tie the game at 3-3 after four.
McKoon worked a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on Cade Henderson’s go-ahead RBI single, and Carter Hopkins drove in Logan Buehner, who pinch ran for Henderson, on a fielder’s choice for a 5-3 Perry lead.
Carter Crofoot reached on a two-out single to center in the top of the seventh, stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch. Brody Petrucelli walked and stole second, setting the table for Hopkins, who delivered with a two-out, two-run double and came around to score on a wild pitch for an 8-3 lead, capping off the win.
“I just tried to put the ball in play, move the runners, and score them,” Hopkins said of his approach.
This win for Perry brings them to 2-2 in conference play, sweeping Hawken in what is set to be a fight to the finish in the CVC Chagrin Division.
“I just told the guys that it feels like we’re getting right just in time,” Platt said. “The CVC Chagrin is going to be a battle for everyone. Every team can beat each other, so you just don’t know what to expect. Every game’s going to be a war. Two losses in the CVC Chagrin doesn’t mean your season is over.”
Coach Platt knows one loss doesn’t make-or-break conference title odds, but the mentality for this week, coming off two losses to West Geauga last week, is the same ideology his Pirates team will carry the rest of the season.
“We have to play it one day at a time, no matter what the record is,” he said. “Once the game starts, the records go away, you have to go 1-0 that day. We try to harp that every day is a chance to go 1-0 and win a ballgame, no matter where you’re at in the standings. We have to keep grinding every day, no matter what. If we take care of each day, we’ll put ourselves in a better spot.”
Sivon paced the Perry offense, going 3-for-4, Hopkins finished 1-for-3 with two RBI, while Crofoot and Niedzwiecki each went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Trent Taylor was 2-for-4 at the plate.
Hopkins earned the win, going four innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with one strikeout.
Jimmy Ashburn finished the game with three innings pitched, giving up one hit with one walk and one strikeout.
The Hawks started the year 5-0, and have since lost three straight.
“We have to figure out what we did (right) the first five games, and get back to that, so this doesn’t happen again,” Gipson said.
Hawken did find part of that success, battling back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game, but some minor mishaps were the difference.
“We were struggling early to take good approaches, we got better at that and strung a few things together,” said Hawken head coach Aaron Brandt. “Give credit to Perry for answering back. A two-out walk (in the seventh), and a couple of missed plays, then all of a sudden it snowballs. That’s what happens in high school baseball when you play good teams. We didn’t play our best ball against them that last two games.”
Gipson went 1-for-3 at the plate with two RBI, while Stovsky and Hamilton both went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Gipson took the loss, going five innings and allowing three earned runs, five total, on eight hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Twardokus went two innings, allowed three earned runs with four walks and one strikeout.
Perry hosts Greenview on April 19, while Hawken hosts Rhodes, Eastlake North, and Western Reserve Academy on the same day.
