Perry delivers as Wash High handles Waynesburg
Washington left fielder Isaiah Perry connects for a home run in Wednesday’s 7-3 win over Waynesburg. Perry had three hits and knocked in three runs.
Waynesburg coach Kevin Pincavitch yells at players to keep running afer Colton Higgins doubled in the fourth inning. Three runs scored on the the play.
Waynesburg pitcher Hunter Robinson and catcher BrandonTurchek converse during Wednesday’s game against Washington.
Washington’s Isaiah Perry rounds third after hitting a home run during Wednesday’ game.
Washington High School’s quest for a third section title became much more difficult with the addition of Waynesburg to the league this year.
The Raiders dropped from Class AAA to join Section 2-AA, which includes the Prexies, Brownsville and Chartiers-Houston. Another strong contender added to the group was the least of Wash High head coach Rocky Plassio’s concerns.
Though Wash High has six core players back from last year’s playoff team, the Prexies need depth players to emerge and an unsung player to thrive in big situations.
Sophomore left fielder Isaiah Perry, the Prexies’ No. 9 hitter in the order, filled the role of hero Wednesday afternoon at Washington Park’s Colt Field.
Perry, who played sparingly as a freshman, went 3-for-3 with his first varsity home run and three RBI to lift Wash High over Waynesburg, 7-3.
Perry had RBI singles in the second and third innings, and he drilled a fastball over the fence in left field for a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to give the Prexies (2-0, 2-1) a 6-3 lead.
“That’s huge. He has been struggling in practice,” Plassio said. “I’m not going to lie to you, I was a little worried about him today, but for him to step up like that is huge for his confidence. That’s going to help him so much down the line.”
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Connor Bedillion earned the victory by throwing five innings, allowing three earned runs, striking out five and not walking a batter.
His offense did everything to back him.
Wash High second baseman Connor Anderson reached first on an error and advanced to second on a passed ball in the bottom of the second. Two batters later, Perry hit a two-out, hard-hit ground ball that snuck by Raiders third baseman to score Anderson and give Wash High a 1-0 lead.
“Coach has been working with me to get my hands behind the ball, focus on the ball and hit the ball up the middle,” Perry said. “My first at-bat felt pretty good. I picked up from there. Coach kept motivating me and that’s all.”
Bedillion did not allow a hit through three innings and the only baserunner reached after a called third strike was mishandled, allowing Waynesburg’s Braden Boosel to take first.
The Prexies added to their lead in the third when junior Jordan West and senior Jonathan Spina, who went 4-for-4 with two runs, hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Right fielder Jordan Mooney, third baseman Kurt Adkins, Anderson and Perry hit RBI singles to give Wash High a 5-0 lead.
Perry smacked a fastball up the middle on a 0-1 count to score Adkins.
“He’s a lot more mature and his approach to everything on a day-to-day basis,” Plassio said of Perry. “He understands his role and you can see a big difference in him. I’ve seen him grow a lot as a person and that’s translated to his play.”
Waynesburg (0-2, 1-3) finally broke through in the fourth inning when it loaded the bases with two outs after a close play at first was ruled an infield single. Third baseman Colton Higgins then hit a three-run double to the gap in left-centerfield, cutting Wash High’s lead to 5-3.
The Raiders could not do much offensively the rest of the game, finishing with just five hits.
“They hit very well and put the ball in play,” Waynesburg head coach Kevin Pincavitch said. “They had timely hitting. That’s how you win games – take advantage of the other team’s mishaps. They looked like they wanted the game more than we did.”
Wash High added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings on the solo homer by Perry and a sacrifice fly by Bedillion that scored Spina, who led off the sixth with a triple to right field.
Inclement weather had prevented Plassio from stretching out Bedillion, who will be a key member of Wash High’s rotation this spring, but the sophomore reached five innings and looked dominant.
The emergence of another starting pitcher and the maturation of Perry has Plassio pleased.
“There was that inning-and-a-half that I was so proud of us as a baseball team in terms of execution on the mound, in the field and at the plate,” Plassio said. “We really did a good job putting the pressure on and we had timely hits to go with it.”