STRAHAN SAVES THE DAY FOR PERRY
DALTON OH- It doesn’t get more clutch than this. Down 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on, Perry’s Elise Strahan stepped into the box and launched a three-run bomb to straightaway center, walking it off in dramatic fashion and punching the Pirates’ ticket to the regional final.
Perry will now square off with the winner of Elyria Catholic vs Lakeview on Friday at Dalton with a shot at a regional crown.
This one had the tension of a championship bout. Perry jumped ahead early in the first, scratching a run across on a Morgan Winters RBI knock. But Field didn’t flinch. Lilli Sutkowy evened things up in the sixth with a missile to center, knotting the game at 3-3. Then in the top of the seventh, Maddie Burge lifted a sac fly to give the Falcons a 4-3 edge, and it looked like Field might sneak out with it. But Strahan had other plans.
Sophie Sivon went the distance in the circle for Perry, gutting out seven innings while scattering nine hits and giving up four runs, striking out three without a walk. Burge took the loss for Field, giving up nine hits and six runs—five of them earned—across six gritty innings.
At the plate, Strahan led the Pirates with three RBIs off that game-winning swing. Winters and Arianna Rogers chipped in two hits each to keep the offense rolling. For Field, Sutkowy was the engine—going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs—while Abby Harlin and Jessica Pollard each added two hits of their own. In the end, this one came down to who had the final punch. And Perry landed it with authority.