Perry softball makes heroic run, baseball season wraps

That’s a wrap for Perry this summer — it was a memorable one.

Softball (10-19)

After the season wrapped with a win, the Perry’s course in the postseason was set for a road trip to Denisons-Schleswig on June 11.

Putting in 150 miles on the odometer, the Jayettes moved on to the semifinals with a a 6-0 win over Denison-Schleswig in tow, boasting a three-run, two RBI performance from Kalley Whelchel.

They’d travel another 210 miles to Storm Lake (22-4) where the Jayettes managed some timely hits in the seventh inning to pull out a 4-3 win, leading Perry to its first regional championship since 2017.

“Right after the game, they’re just so thrilled. Just so excited and they’re playing to their capacity, pushing their limits and just doing things they didn’t think they could,” head coach Tina Lutterman said on Tuesday. “It was such an exciting night to have. To be able to take that home with us. It’s a grind to play softball and just the fact that we were able to win that one. Just so proud.”

That set up a date with a much closer second-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes on Tuesday for the right to move on to the state tournament for the first time since 2016. After escaping the first inning 0-0, the game went to the Mustangs 10-0 in the fourth inning, bringing the 500-mile trip to a close.

Perry rostered six senior starters — Maci Tunink, Sydney Barkley, Emmalee Bell, Maddy Hollingsworth, Callie Steva, Kassidy Atwell — something that Lutterman gave credit to for the team’s successful run this past week.

Baseball (11-18)

Perry baseball wrapped its season on Friday, falling to Grinnell (26-11) on Friday by a score of 4-0 in the first round of substate action.

Having won their last two games of the regular season, the Bluejays surpassed last year’s 10 wins and tied the 2016 team’s 11 win total. The program now says farewell to three senior starters — Kain Killmer, Drake Levan and Kaelan Davis.