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Perryman returns as Elgin wins
Updated: April 27, 2011 10:54PM
Hannah Perryman’s ideal return from almost two weeks away due to two injuries wouldn’t have included walking 10 Larkin batters.
Nonetheless, Elgin’s junior left-hander came back with her heat and rise pitch well enough to strike out 12 Royals and pitch the Maroons to a 7-2 victory Wednesday in an Upstate Eight River night game held at Judson University.
“It’s great to have her back out on the rubber and back up at the plate, too,” Elgin coach Chad Dahlman said. “I thought she pitched well enough to get the big outs when we needed them.”
Perryman got the final four outs on strikes after allowing an RBI single by Alex Buhrow in the sixth and a first-inning run by Corinne Wimmer on an error.
“In the beginning it started off good,” Perryman said about her rhythm. “Toward the middle it kind of started falling apart but toward the end I picked it up and the defense helped.”
Perryman, who has already committed to Missouri-St. Louis on a scholarship, started having upper arm soreness and had to stay out of the pitching circle while resting.
Then, she walked into a pole dividing a doorway at school and suffered a concussion.
“I was just talking to a friend and walking,” she said. “I was kind of walking fast and turned around and ... bam.”
The concussion wasn’t as upsetting to her as the arm problems, but those have vanished since she sat out as a precaution due to the head injury.
“My arm had hurt before, but it was hurting this time whenever I was just sitting down and that’s never happened before,” she said.
Perryman (6-2) displayed a lively arm, especially in clutch situations. The Royals left 13 on base against her.
“We didn’t take advantage of the walks she was giving us,” Larkin coach Larry Hight said. “To beat them you’ve got to take advantage of what they gave you, like in our St. Edward game.
“But the last time we played them they just kicked our (rears) 10-0, so this is an improvement. Our girls came ready tonight.”
The Royals (7-14, 1-7) led 1-0 after Wimmer singled, moved up on a sacrifice and scored on a two-out error. But Elgin came right back in the first with Anna Eckholm’s double deep and Kelly Bremer’s RBI single. Eckholm went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
“I don’t know where we would be without her,” Dahlman said. “She’s batting over .400 in conference, right around there overall, and she’s getting on base for us. Not a typical leadoff hitter. I don’t have anybody with the wheels, but we wouldn’t be where we’re at without Anna.”
Elgin (14-8, 3-5) went ahead for good on Jennifer Fulton’s RBI ground out back to the pitcher in the second, scoring Jaclyn Navarro, who’d singled and moved up on singles by Monica Stockman and Elizabeth Gorski off Larkin starter Megan Johnson (3-5).
Then Stockman slid in under the tag on a play at the plate following Eckholm’s grounder to third. Elgin scored in the third on a wild pitch, then hit reliever Kiernan Schock with three runs in the fourth, one coming in on Perryman’s RBI double and another on Bremer’s RBI triple. An error scored the last run.
Elgin had 10 hits off Johnson (six hits, three earned runs, one walk, three innings) and Schock (four hits, two earned runs, three strikeouts).
“We’ve been working on our approach out there, driving the ball to right field and up the middle,” Dahlman said. “At the beginning of the year we weren’t using all fields. Lately we have been trying to spray the ball a little more.”
Perryman allowed five hits, but no solid shots until the fifth. Anna Esterino had the only two-hit night for Larkin. Like the Maroons hitters, Perryman enjoyed the chance to go prime time.
“I love it,” she said. “I love the pressure. I love the night setting. I always do really good at night.
“Everybody else on the team does. It seemed like all our energy came out tonight.”
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