Polk County scored in every inning and Alex Perry tossed a six-inning shutout as the Wolverines defeated Walkertown 13-0 in the second round of the 3A state baseball playoffs Friday in Walkertown.
Polk County (17-9) advances to the third round and will travel to East Rutherford on Tuesday. The Cavaliers (20-5) defeated West Lincoln 18-1 in their second-round game.
Perry was masterful in earning the win, allowing the three hits with five strikeouts. He allowed only one runner to reach third and escaped that threat with a strikeout.
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The Wolverines jumped on Walkertown early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Gunnar Alm singled, stole second and scored on a single by Noah Harden. A walk, two errors and Aaden Denton’s two-out single helped Polk County score two more runs and grab a quick 3-0 advantage.
Polk County extended the lead to 4-0 in the second when Alm singled, stole second and scored on a passed ball.
Aaron Jackson reached on an error and Zalen McCraw singled to open the third. With two outs and the runners on second and third, Matt Jarrett brought both home with a base hit up the middle to make it 6-0.
Polk County pushed the lead to 8-0 in the fourth when Denton singled home two runs, and Harden hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Alm and make it 9-0.
The Wolverines added four runs in the sixth to complete the scoring. Alm walked with the bases loaded to force in a run, Harden hit a sacrifice fly to score Gavin Waldbillig, Jarrett scored on a wild pitch and Perry doubled to score Alm.
Alm led Polk County’s offense, going 2-for-3 with four runs scored, an RBI and three stolen bases. Perry went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Denton finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Waldbillig went 2-for-2. Harden drove in three runs, and Jarrett added two RBI.
