Perryopolis routs Cal Impulse to open Senior Swing
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Perryopolis wasted no time opening up the Mon Valley Independent Senior Swing Tournament in impressive fashion, scoring 14 runs in the opening inning en route to a 23-0 win over Cal Impulse in the opening game of Blue Division play at Commodores Field.
Perryopolis, which includes plenty of players from defending state champion Frazier, celebrated the chance to finally have their senior day and played with emotion from the start.
None was more evident than hurler Logan Hartman, who fired a three-inning no-hitter and struck out eight of the nine outs overall. She admitted it was an emotional release toeing the rubber on her home field.
“It feels so good to be back out there. It feels like we just started the season,” she said. “The best thing is we didn’t miss a beat. I was actually a little nervous. That first inning, though, I was throwing and it was like three months of bad energy was coming out.”
Perryopolis sent 19 batters to the plate in the first inning with Hartman getting three at-bats. The Commodores finished with 14 runs on only seven hits in the inning. They took advantage of a pair of Impulse errors and eight walks.
Big hits in the opening inning for Perry included a two-run triple from Emi Curcio and a ground-rule, two-run double off the bat of Delaney Warnick.
Curcio finished a perfect 3 for 3 in the game with a pair of doubles added to her triple. Warnick was 2 for 2 with three RBIs.
“It’s definitely a pressure situation coming in here and playing against Donnie,” Impulse coach David Young said. “They take advantage. I knew when we made that first error, his team is going to pounce all over it. Plus, these girls are students of his, so I think there were a lot of nerves there and they really pressed to try to impress him.
“We just need to fix some of our errors and some mental things before the next game.”
The Impulse went through three pitchers. Marlee Renner took the loss and lasted midway through the first before she was relieved by Jenna DeFranco. Britany Bevan pitched the third.
“We’re young and our errors killed us. Good teams take advantage of your mistakes and we made a few that they pounced all over us,” Young added.
Rylee Evans finished 2 for 3 with a double and Jensyn Hartman was 2 for 2 with three runs scored and an RBI for Perryopolis. Kathryn Barch was 2 for 3 with a pair of singles and two RBIs.
“I’ve never been happier,” Barch said. “It was so awful how our season ended. I remember throwing my bag in my room and never expecting to open it again. But then I got the text we were going to be in this tournament and we get to see our coach happy again.
“We came into the season expecting to go out and take everything again. Section, WPIAL and states, so it’s sad to think about what could have been. But it’s like we never left. I’m so happy.”
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