Perkins offense, defense click in win over Huron

SANDUSKY — Perkins needed a boost heading into the softball postseason next week and it got one Tuesday. The Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak by dominating Huron 11-2 at Sports Force Parks. Five of Perkins' 11 hits went for extra bases and Sicily Brownell and Avery Baker each hit inside-the-park home runs on the fast turf, which allowed the two teams to play on a day when most area games were washed out. It was the second straight year Baker hit a homer on May 6. She hit one over the fence on the same date in 2024 at Port Clinton. On Tuesday, she smacked an opposite-field line drive past the Tigers' left fielder in the fourth inning and cruised around the bases. "That's crazy. It must be a lucky day," said Baker, one of five Perkins seniors. "They shifted their defense over and that's where I always hit. I knew if I got a decent hit I would keep running and score. I ran as fast as I could." Brownell's homer — also to left field — was part of a six-run second inning for Perkins, which improved to 7-11. "It changes the game on turf, but both teams play on it," Huron coach Jude Schmidt said. "We have to make those adjustments and come up wanting to hit the ball. We were flat today. They came out with energy, we didn't." The Pirates did not ease up after they built a big lead. "We were up 6-0 on Tiffin earlier this year and lost 9-7, so 6-0 kinda scares me a little bit," Perkins coach Scott Dickman said. "But it's nice to get a lead. Everyone's more relaxed and it's a lot better for the pitcher." The Pirates' pitcher — senior Caden McClellan — scattered five hits and did not allow an earned run. She struck out four and walked two. "I felt pretty good. I've been having some shoulder problems recently with my rotator cuff," McClellan said. "Even though I felt myself slowing down, they didn't really do much with me. It's great to have my defense behind me." Huron's first hit came in the bottom of the fourth when Kaylee Albrycht lined a single that rolled through the right fielder's legs, allowing her to circle the bases for the Tigers' first run. Maddie Holeman had two hits for the Tigers and threw the first 3 1/3 innings to take the pitching loss. Huron is the No. 4 seed in the seven-team Division V Clyde district. The Tigers host sixth-seeded Galion in a tourney opener next Tuesday. Huron saw its seven-game winning streak end while dropping to 14-7. The Tigers, 6-1 in the SBC Bay, plays 7-0 Edison next Friday in a rescheduled game. "We have to learn from this. We have to play our game every day," Schmidt said. "Tournament starts next week and we got three conference games left. There's a lot still in front of us. This is a good game to get reps, but we should've showed better than we did today." Aubrey Ransom and Allie Brunner each had two hits for Perkins, which travels to Norwalk on Wednesday and Clyde on Friday. The Pirates were leading 6-0 in the third inning Monday at Columbian when the game was suspended due to inclement weather. That game could be resumed Thursday. Perkins is the No. 3 seed in the six-team Division IV Fremont District and hosts sixth-seeded Rossford in a tourney opener next Tuesday. Dickman is looking for some consistency heading into the tournament. "We've been looking for a consistent starting lineup," Dickman said. "This is only the second time all year we've started the same nine. We have some freshmen playing now. We're trying to find the right combination. "We've been playing well. We beat a really good team today. We hit a good pitcher. (Holeman) spins it really well. I'm very happy." McClellan echoed the sentiments of her coach: "It's really big. We've been playing really good even though we've come up short of the win. It felt very nice to pull it all together and get our bats going." Perkins 060 302 0 — 11 11 2Huron 000 110 0 — 2 5 5 WP: McClellan. LP: Holeman 2B: (P) A. Brunner. 3B: (P) Ransom, Koelsch. HR: (P) Baker, Brownell