The scissors cut seamlessly through the large patriotic ribbon as SHS senior Gabe Harman and Perry Meridian senior Macy Stroud stood honoring the grand opening of Holder Field. The crowd stared in awe as the two started a new era for Southport and Perry baseball and softball.
After the ribbon ceremony concluded, the softball and baseball teams returned to their fields to get their last stretches before the start of their rival games.
“We felt excited at first and happy to be there,” junior Dylan Pearcy said. “And then a lof of players had nerves… No one has ever been to a game where there’s that many people watching, and I think that kind of dictated what happened.”
After the ceremony and a hard fought game, the Falcons run-ruled the Cards, 10-0 on April 17. Throughout the game, the Cards only managed to get one hit and five errors.
When the game started, the stands roared when the starting lineup of both teams were announced. Perry’s first hitter walked up to the plate as the Cards ran out to their starting positions.
Pitching first for the Cards, Pearcy stepped up to the mound with confidence. He ended the top of first with one strike out and the other two outs at the bags.
At the bottom of the first, the Cards couldn’t get the bat swinging, exiting the inning with zero runs and quickly transitioning into the second inning.
The Cards returned to the field on defense, hoping to get three quick and easy outs for the top of the second inning.
The three outs came quickly to the Cards, with the last out being Pearcy’s second strike out of the game and ending the top of the second inning.
The Falcons promptly got the next three outs, putting an end to the second inning and swiftly moving into the third.
Pearcy struck out the next three batters by swinging, bringing his strike out number to five.
The Falcons stayed on top of their defense, only letting a few balls by. Even with a few balls slipping past, the Falcons got the three outs they needed to close up the inning.
With a very uneventful top of the fourth inning, the Cards got the outs they needed and quickly got ready to bat.
Perry continued to stay strong on defense, letting no one on base and ending the fourth with certainty.
The fifth inning passed by with ease. Both teams continued to sit at a score of 0-0.
The lights dimmed and tension rose in the top of the sixth inning.
After the first batter hit a short ball and the Cards struggled to field it in time, Perry had one runner safe on first.
A couple of plays later, the bases were loaded, and the stands were loud.
Then, a Perry batter hit a towering shot that bounced off the turf and over the fence, making it a ground rule double and the score 2-0.
The Cards gave up two more runs as a result of two Perry batters bunting and the Cards struggling to field the ball. The score doubled, 4-0.
“We’ve got to field the ball better,” head coach Brendan Dudas said. “We’ve got to hustle around the field a little better, and we’ve got to come out ready to play.”
After the Falcons scored another run, the Cards switched out pitchers, letting senior TJ Duncan now pitch.
The Cards eventually got the last out they needed after a few overthrown balls and three more runs scored, ending the Falcons streak at 7-0.
With three pop flies and a strike out, the Cards quickly returned back to the field for the last and final inning.
Duncan continued to pitch until the final inning, while the Cards gave up three more runs.
The Cards battled through the last of the game, with the final out being a strike out.
The game came to an end with a final score of 10-0.
Pearcy and Duncan ended the game with a total of 11 strike outs, four walks, four errors, 10 runs and nine hits between the two of them.
“I feel like I commanded the zone very well,” Pearcy said. “But I let the negatives get to my head, and I feel like I could’ve done better at not letting that happen.”
Though they did not receive the outcome they hoped for, the Cards will not hang their heads over this loss.
Dudas expresses his intentions to get back to practice and hit it hard for their next games.
“A loss in a game like that, where we kind of feel like that’s one of the bigger games of the season, can lead the team to feeling like that’s kind of the end of the season…” Dudas said. “A bounce back is huge, and showing the guys that, ‘hey, we still have (the) season left to play and there’s still opportunities that we might get to play that team again.’”
