Baseball falls at Perry on Friday night

The Berkshire Badgers battled through a difficult start but were unable to overcome an early deficit in a 12-4 loss to the Perry Pirates.

Perry struck quickly in the opening inning, using back-to-back hits before a RBI double to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage. The Pirates continued to apply pressure in the second and third innings, capitalizing on walks, stolen bases, and defensive miscues to build a 9-0 lead through three innings.

Despite the early struggles, Berkshire continued to battle offensively. The Badgers threatened in the fourth inning when Peyton Pollock and Oliver Miller delivered singles and Brock Gabrish was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Perry escaped the jam with a play at the plate to keep Berkshire off the scoreboard.

The Badgers finally broke through in the fifth inning. Nolan Morris reached on an error and Sam Barcikoski was hit by a pitch before Christopher Brancel reached on another Perry miscue to plate Berkshire’s first run. Patrick Brancel then provided the big swing of the night, crushing a three-run homer to left field to cut the deficit to 10-4.

Perry added two insurance runs late to secure the victory, while Berkshire continued to compete until the final out.