Jun. 19—PERU — Euphoria.
That’s the word Peru senior Kayleigh Jackson used to describe what winning a championship feels like.
Jackson and the Nighthawks coasted to a win in the Section VII Class B softball title game thanks to a 15-2 defeat of Saranac.
Jackson led the Peru offense with a 4-for-5 day at the dish that featured four singles, three runs batted in and two runs scored.
Meanwhile, Nighthawk ace Emily Beattie had it all working in the circle.
The Brockport commit finished her high school career with a complete-game performance, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks to go along with seven strikeouts.
She faced the minimum in the final four innings, sending down the Chiefs in order each frame and snatching any hope of a comeback away from Saranac.
“I just settled down and really placed my pitches well,” Beattie said. “I got in my groove and stuck with it and kept going until the final out.
“This is really unbelievable. We have lost every year in the semifinals I have played varsity, and to have this year be the year we finally win it is so nice.”
While Beattie was mowing down the Chief lineup, her offense, including herself, was clicking.
Peru’s big innings came in the third and sixth.
The Nighthawks sent nine to the plate in the third and plated four runs on two hits, two hit batters and a Saranac error.
After loading the bases with nobody out, an E5 brought two runs home for Peru before a wild pitch plated another. Then, the Nighthawks’ Aoife Lawliss really delivered a blow with a bloop RBI single to right.
“What Peru does is they play really good defense, and they put the ball in play,” Chiefs coach Sam Campbell said. “It does not have to be hard. They put it on the ground somewhere, and they make you make the plays. They also run the bases really well. If you are not ready for them in those aspects, you are in trouble.”
The third frame made a 3-2 deficit and 7-2 hole in what seemed to be a blink of an eye.
Peru took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Saranac fought back with two in the second.
Skylar Staley blasted a homer before McKenna Macomber brought home another run with an RBI single.
The Chiefs’ Olivia Davis nearly brought home one more after a single, but a nice defensive play by the Nighthawks cut down Aislyn Liberty trying to score at the plate.
“We had a real opportunity there to change the narrative of the game, but after that, we had a letdown and never could get back on the right track,” Campbell said. “Peru was just the better team today, but I am proud of my girls and what they were able to do in this wacky season.”
The Nighthawks put the game entirely out of reach with a seven-run sixth inning where Jackson recorded her fourth hit of the day, which was an RBI single up the middle.
Peru had five hits in the frame and brought 11 batters to the dish. The Nighthawks’ momentum was through the roof as the inning went on, and each batter was feeding off the teammate before them.
“We have been practicing batting and have really focused on that since we had one bad game, and it’s really helped,” Jackson said. “It’s a great feeling. We are just energizing each other and keeping it going.”
Rachel Madore, Beattie and Isabella Sypek all added two more hits to help the Peru charge.
Payton Couture and Olivia Benjamin both smacked doubles for Saranac, but it was not nearly enough to beat the Nighthawks.
“This season was honestly a sprint to the start and a sprint to the finish,” Peru coach Amie Marshall said. “There’s a part of me that almost thinks it was nice because there was not time to really think about stuff. You just had to go and play and correct on the fly.
“For us, it’s been a season of a total team effort. Every kid has been a part of this from making great plays in the field, to hitting, to defending and being a great team player even if they are not in the game.”
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Peru 15, Saranac 2
SCS 020 000 0 — 2 5 7
PCS 304 107 X — 15 13 0
A. Liberty, H. Liberty (2) and Benjamin, Denis (6). Beattie and Sypek. WP- Beattie. LP- Sypek. 2B- Couture (SCS), Benjamin (SCS). HR- Staley (SCS).
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