Peck ends HTC's season for a second time

CORYDON — Kallie Peck ended Holy Trinity’s softball season again, this time at a different school.
Peck threw a two-hitter and drove in five runs with her first two home runs of the season as No. 9 Wayne defeated the 15th-ranked Crusaders 9-1 in a Class 1A Region 8 semifinal on Friday night.
Wayne (20-7) will play No. 7 Southeast Warren (21-4) in Monday’s regional final, with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Fort Dodge.
Holy Trinity, which came into the game on a 10-game winning streak, finished the season 23-6, setting a program single-season record for wins.
“We built a foundation a while ago,” coach Loren Menke said. “The last couple of seasons, we really pushed it. We pushed it more this year — 23 wins, we were ranked for the first time, shared the (Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division) title for the first time ever. I told the girls obviously we’re disappointed, but don’t be down for very long. We had a great season.”
It was the second consecutive season Peck helped eliminate the Crusaders in the regional tournament. She was the winning pitcher for Seymour in a 2-1 win last July.
Holy Trinity got its lone run off Peck in the first inning. Sydney Jarvis doubled with two outs, then courtesy runner Kat DiPrima scored on a throwing error.
“It felt great to get that first run and get on top, for sure,” Menke said. “But I knew it was going to be a tough game. I do think it gave us a little momentum.”
Peck delivered her first home run, a two-run shot to left field, in the bottom of the first, after Ella Whitney walked on a 3-2 pitch.

“I think Sydney threw four straight strikes (to Whitney), and the first one the umpire called an illegal pitch,” Menke said. “She ends up walking (Whitney), and then the next girl worked the count and got a pitch down the middle. All of the sudden it’s 2-1. It’s a little bit of a smack in the face after we got up, but still we felt fine.”
“We needed to come back and pressure them more than we did.”
Peck hit a three-run home run in the third inning, then Cora Bethards later singled to drive in Brystal Peck for a 6-1 lead.
Brystal Peck’s two-run double in the fourth extended the lead to 8-1, then Peck scored on Lacie Peck’s single to close the scoring.
Holy Trinity had just one baserunner over the final four innings — Jarvis was hit by a pitch to open the fourth inning.
“I think when we got behind, we pressed a little bit,” Menke said. “Super-tight strike zone, and we did not take advantage of it like they did. They worked the counts better than we did and got better pitches to hit because of the way the game was being called. And we did not do that.
“You get behind by a few and you start pressing a little bit. And it just snowballed.”
Holy Trinity loses just one senior — second baseman Izzy Behne.
“She did a great job for us this year, and we’re going to miss her,” Menke said. “We have a good group coming back next year. Next year we want to be in a position where hopefully this game tonight is at our field. It’s not easy to drive two hours on a bus, play on a field you’ve never played on, and play a team with a lot of confidence — they’ve been to the state tournament.
“It’s a building block for us. But obviously we’re disappointed — we wanted to take the next step.”