Two days, two tight games, and one dramatic finish.
The Perry baseball team needed eight innings Thursday, but the Pirates delivered when it mattered most, walking off visiting Hawken for a 3-2 win to complete the season sweep after a 5-0 victory on Wednesday.
“Whenever your pitching and defense have been playing so well, you want to do everything you can to complete the game and get out of there with a win,” said Perry head coach Matt Platt. “It was a huge relief.”
The Pirates improved to 3-3 with the win, while Hawken also dropped to 3-3.
How it Happened
Perry struck first in the opening inning when Brody Petruccelli singled, swiped second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on Trent Taylor‘s RBI groundout.
Hawken answered in the third. Rees Mitchell reached and advanced into scoring position before Patrick Murphy worked a walk, and Eli Mester singled to load the bases. Cole Twardokus delivered the big swing, ripping a two-run double to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
Perry responded in the fourth. Carter Crofoot drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Michael Niedzwicki‘s RBI single, tying the game at 2-2.
From there, both teams had chances — and both pitching staffs answered.
Hawken loaded the bases in the sixth but couldn’t push a run across. The Hawks threatened again in the eighth with a one-out double from Twardokus and a walk to Ethan Gipson, but Perry escaped with back-to-back groundouts.
Walk-off Magic
In the bottom of the eighth, Perry finally broke through.
Connor D’Astolfo sparked the rally with a two-out single. Jimmy Ashburn entered as a pinch runner and immediately stole second, putting the winning run in scoring position.
That set the stage for Carter Hopkins.
“Those last few sequences of plays truly demonstrate a team effort,” Platt said. “Connor starts off with a two-out hit, Jimmy pinch runs and steals a bag, Hop works a count and puts a good backside swing on a pitch. I’m confident we’re going to hit whenever Hop steps in the box.”
Hopkins delivered, lining a walk-off single to bring home Ashburn and seal the 3-2 victory.
“Coach Platt came up to me before my at-bat and told me to take the first pitch to let Jimmy steal and let me walk it off. I was thinking fastball, but all I was getting was curve, so I was sitting 3-1, and I knew he was going to give me a fastball for a strike, and I hit it backside and got the sweep.”
Dominant on the Mound
Perry’s pitching trio kept the game within reach all afternoon.
Nolan Andrejack handled the bulk of the work, allowing two runs over five innings. Sheamus Matson followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, and Hopkins closed the door with 2/3 of an inning to earn the win.
“I can’t say enough about the job Nolan, Shea, and Carter did on the mound,” Platt said. “It’s so important in high school baseball to simply throw strikes, and that’s what they did. They gave us a chance, the defense had their back the whole way, and we found a way to scrape across enough runs to win a ball game.”
Hawken’s Twardokus was equally impressive, striking out nine over six innings while also driving in both runs at the plate.
Top Players
Perry
- Carter Hopkins — Walk-off RBI single, winning pitcher
- Michael Niedzwicki — 1-for-3, RBI, walk
- Brody Petruccelli — 1-for-4, run scored, set tone early
- Nolan Andrejack — 5 IP, 2 ER on the mound
Hawken
- Cole Twardokus — 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B; 9 Ks in 6 IP
- Eli Mester — 2-for-4, run scored
- Rees Mitchell — 1-for-3, run scored
What’s Next
Perry returns home Saturday to host Greeneview, while Hawken travels to Gilmour Academy.
