Perryman sisters power Elgin past Larkin

Updated: May 12, 2011 10:08PM

Whether it was switching from a DeMarini bat to a Rocket Tech, or simply coaching advice, Elgin freshman Jennah Perryman found a big surge in power Thursday against rival Larkin.

Perryman hit two home runs to back the five-hit pitching of her junior sister, Hannah, and the Maroons beat Larkin for the second time in two Upstate Eight Conference River Division games this season, 10-3.

“I was swinging a different bat and I decided to change to a new bat, and I guess it helped me out a little bit,” Perryman said. “It’s the same size and it just has more pop on it if you hit it hard.”

Jennah Perryman’s two-run home run in the third came after her sister hit an RBI double and Kelly Kruse an RBI single off losing pitcher Kiernan Schock (6-9).

The second home run came leading off the fifth, gave Elgin a 6-0 lead, and knocked Schock from the game. The first one went to left-center and the second one, her fifth of the year, went to right-center.

“Any time a freshman has got five (homers), that’s great,” Elgin coach Chad Dahlman said. “One thing I’ve been telling her is we’ve got to get you hitting to right field. If she starts hitting opposite field, she’ll be hitting it for a lot more power.

“Today, she hit the first one to the middle (left) and I told her you’ll hit another if you think right side. And she did.”

Jennah has a lofty goal still with the bat. Her sister hit nine homers as a freshman.

“I’m trying to get up to her height on hitting and stuff, so I’ll try to step it up a bit,” she said.

The Maroons (17-13, 6-10) collected 13 hits total. Hannah Perryman had an RBI double in the fourth and joined her sister, Monica Stockman, Kruse, and Jaclyn Navarro in collecting two hits each. Navarro hit a two-run double and Kruse an RBI single off reliever Megan Johnson in the three-run sixth. The Maroons added a run by Kenyatta Scales scored on a wild pitch after a single and two stolen bases in the seventh.

Hannah Perryman (9-4) had a two-hit shutout until the sixth, when Larkin’s Jaclyn Saurbaugh hit an RBI single after Corinne Wimmer’s double and walks to Anna Esterino and Johnson. Then Esterino scored on a wild pitch. Esterino had an RBI single in the seventh.

Perryman struck out 12 and walked five.

“I thought our approach to the plate the first five innings was horrible,” Larkin coach Larry Hight said. “We took 16 strikes the first five innings. I was counting them. We scored no runs.

“The last two innings I counted none. We didn’t take any strikes and we had seven runners and three runs. We swung the bats.”

The Royals (9-20, 2-10) continue playing with a handicap. Their earned run average leader, pitcher-second baseman Lexi Smithberg, broke a thumb in two places. She was a courtesy and pinch-runner against Elgin.

“We have to move three positions around to make our team the best we can and when you do that, and you haven’t had the chance to practice much because we’re playing games, we’re just learning on the job at those positions,” Hight said.

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