The Perry Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the Elyria Catholic Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Perry came out on top against Wickliffe on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run sixth inning. The Pirates were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over the Blue Devils. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Blue Devils recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Haylee Reed was incredible, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Arianna Rogers, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Elyria Catholic never let their opponents score on Thursday. Everything went their way against North Ridgeville as they made off with a 7-0 win.
Not much got past Kailey Tomasch, who gave up just four hits and racked up seven Ks to keep North Ridgeville off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jessica Conner, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Lillian Ciryak was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Perry's record is now 21-4. As for Elyria Catholic, their record now sits at an identical 21-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Perry hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Elyria Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Perry came up short against Elyria Catholic in their previous meeting back in April of 2022, falling 6-1. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
