Perryville turns on offense in opener

~ The Pirates scored 10 runs in the second inning and went on to defeat Central 13-2

The Perryville Pirates manufactured a run in the top of the first inning with a single, bunt and RBI double.

In the top of the second, they just flat-out scored.

The Pirates tallied 10 runs in the second inning and went on to defeat Central 13-2 in five innings Monday in the season opener for both teams.

"The second time through they hit the ball," Pirates coach Jeff Steffens said. "Hard to say what caused it, but it seemed like they started to relax a little bit after the first inning and came through. They all put a lot of time in over the summer going to hitting coaches in St. Louis. We know we are pretty athletic. A lot of them have started three or four years in a row now. They are a very talented, a very hungry group of kids who want to play."

Perryville's Casey Hotop delivers a pitch to a Central batter Monday at Central. The Pirates opened their season with a 13-2 win. (Fred Lynch)

Central pitcher Brittany Perkins started the top of the second with a strikeout. She then issued two walks before Rebecca Hanquist roped a two-run triple to left field.

"I was really happy about that," Hanquist said. "I usually don't hit that great."

Alexandria Rollet followed Hanquist with an RBI triple before Morgan Baer ripped a triple to center field. Two walks, two hits, a pitching change and an error later, Hanquist smashed a two-run double to left field to extend the lead to 11-0.

"We got one good hit," Hanquist said, "and I think it kept going."

Scoring wasn't the the Pirates' only strength.

Perryville's Desiree Buhler reaches third base on a hit by Morgan Baer as the throw eludes Central's Tori Ourth during the fourth inning.

Sophomore hurler Casey Hotop shut down the Tigers, working out of jams in the second and third innings.

Hotop faced runners on first and second with no outs in the second, but two pop-ups and a strikeout took care of the problem.

"I play tons of games," Hotop said. "I've been in a lot of pressure situations, so I just really don't get frazzled that easily."

Hotop pitched around two walks and two hits in the third inning, only allowing one run.

"She kept the ball on the inside," Central coach Amy Blattel said. "She threw strikes for the most part. We just didn't hit the ball."

When the Tigers did hit the ball, the Pirates' defense smothered it.

Central's Taylre Scott led off the fifth with a walk, after a fly out to second, and Lexi Smith hit a sharp grounder up the middle. But second baseman Casey Brewer backhanded the ball and made a nice flip to the shortstop for an out.

"Definitely it's a team sport," Hotop said. "Nobody can do it by themselves."

Sophomore catcher Morgan Baer also was sharp defensively, gunning down Victoria Schabbing trying to steal in the first inning and not allowing a passed ball.

"It takes both of us to get the job done," Baer said of Hotop. "If she doesn't pitch good, I can't catch good. So I guess we are like our own little team."

Baer also had a big game with the bat. She had a double, triple and four RBIs in the explosive second inning.

The Tigers won't have long to regroup as they travel to Notre Dame on Wednesday to face the state runner-up in Class 3 last year.

"We'll come out to practice tomorrow and work hard," Blattel said. "We know what we need to work on. It's the first game of the season so there's no panic. We've got time to correct mistakes that we're making right now. And the ultimate goal is to be playing well at district time. We don't want to reach our peak today."

Perryville 1(10)1 10 -- 13 12 0

Central 001 10 -- 2 4 4

WP -- Casey Hotop, 1-0. LP -- Brittany Perkins, 0-1. 3B -- Rebecca Hanquist (P), Alexandria Rollet (P), Morgan Baer (P). 2B -- Baer (P), Ashley Hotop (P), R. Hanquist (P), Emily Hanquist (P), Tori Ourth (C), Perkins (C). Multiple hits -- Perryville: Rollet 2-4, Baer 2-4, R. Hanquist 2-3; Central: Perkins 2-3. Records -- Perryville 1-0, Central 0-1.