PERRYVILLE — The rainy conditions throughout the duration of Thursday’s 1A East Region Quarterfinal did not stop Perryville from taking care of business on the field. The Panthers defeated Kent County 15-2 and advanced to the region semifinals.
Perryville starter Taegan Spier had a strong outing in the circle, giving up two hits in four innings of work. Spier also went two-for-four at the plate with three RBIs.
“It feels really good to give the team a sense of security at certain points of the game and just really get the momentum going,” Spier said. “It really was a mental battle today with the rain.”
Perryville’s offensive production was highlighted by a nine-run fourth inning that put the game out of reach. Already up five, the Panthers started the fourth with an RBI single from Taylor McGuirk. Three batters later, a two-run triple by Sarah Cantrell put the Panthers ahead 10-1. Errors in the field, plus a two-run double by Spier grew Perryville’s lead to 14.
After his offense struggled to produce runs at times this season, Perryville head coach Ryan Jackson feels his team is starting to swing the bats well at the right time. Spier, Cantrell and Emma Cavall all drove in multiple runs.
“We’ve definitely taken an approach in the second half of the season about making adjustments earlier and getting on top of pitches,” Jackson said. “That mindset change has helped a lot.”
Perryville will travel to Caroline County on Monday to face top-seeded Colonel Richardson. Despite the tall task ahead of them in the next round of the playoffs, Jackson feels that Thursday’s performance — coupled with his team’s improvement throughout the season — is proof that they can compete with the best teams in the region.
“If we play defense like we did, swing the bats, stay aggressive on the basepaths and have good pitching, we can hang with anyone,” Jackson said. “I’m feeling very confident with where we’re at right now heading into the next game of the playoffs.”
Cecil County Softball Scoreboard
2A East Region Quarterfinals
North East 5, North Harford 4
The Indians used a four-run fourth inning to overcome a 4-1 deficit in the 2A East Region Quarterfinals and take a 5-4 lead over the Hawks, which North East kept intact to advance to the region semifinals. A double by Victoria McGee kickstarted the Indians four-run fourth. McGee’s two-run double put North East within one. A sacrifice bunt by Abby Cisneros in the next at-bat tied the game and advanced a runner to third. A sacrifice fly by Haven Anton gave the Indians their one-run lead. McGee, Skyla Contreras and and Reagan Hassell each finished with two hits. Jazmyn Martin pitched seven innings for the Indians. North East will visit Rising Sun in the region semifinals on Monday.
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