After a scary, six game losing streak, the Pumas made a comeback, winning four of their next five games.

Head coach Shane Hillstrom said, “You lose six in a row, it’s real easy to quit, you know what I mean, and the kids didn’t quit…we all just started playing better, together.”

They ended up as the nineteenth seed out of the 24 schools that make playoffs. Even though they lost against Sunnyslope 10-4 in the first round of the playoffs, the season was positive overall with a 17-11 record.

“We got back into the state tournament, first time ever, Division I. You know it ended sooner than we wanted it to, but they all do,” Hillstrom said.

One positive aspect about the season was in the game against Basha, the Pumas’ biggest rival, the team took home the win with a score of 12-6.

Another big game was the 4-3 loss to Hamilton. They were ranked No. 1 and Hillstrom believes they played their best regardless of the loss.

“You know, we lost to a good team. That’s the bottom line. I don’t second guess anything we did, they’re just a great team,” Hillstrom said.

This season’s defense was also a plus with some of the best defensive players Perry has ever seen. Senior Tylor Kerpan had a great season with a fielding percentage of .949. He also won the Perry baseball award for best fielder of the year.

As for hitting, Junior Jeremy McCuin and Senior Brady Hettinger had the two best hitting averages with McCuin’s being .449 and Hettinger’s being .378.

Pitching was a strong asset for the team with almost half the team being able to pitch. Senior Joey Bostaph stood out the most and set the school’s ERA record at 1.43.

“It was a great accomplishment and I thank the defense behind me,” Bostaph stated.

Hillstrom believes, “Our seniors were our leaders,” and next year he hopes the current Juniors can step up and push the teams.

“We want [making playoffs] to be an expectation, and to do that every year, and to go as far as we can every year, and not be satisfied.”