The 2016 high school softball season ended on Thursday night in Perry for the Greene County Rams. Coach Tom Kennedy’s team fell to number 15 Perry by a 13-7 final in a Class 4A Region 7 opening round game to end with a 16-14 record. The Jayettes (22-12) advance to a semifinal in Norwalk vs. Norwalk on Saturday night.

The Rams did much better offensively on Thursday compared to June 7 when they lost 9-0 and had no hits. This time Greene County scored seven earned runs on 11 hits against junior Emma Olejniczak, a University of Northern Iowa recruit. Freshman Megan Carey had four singles in as many at-bats, while sophomore Megan Durbin and senior Carleigh Paup both hit home runs. It was Durbin’s fifth of the season, all in the last five games, and Paup’s fourth, the second time the slap hitter has cleared the fence, and both were in the last two games. The Rams finished with 19 homers on the season. Junior Hannah Promes singled twice and drove in a run, and Paup and Durbin each had one RBI. Senior Sydney Koch had three RBI on a bases loaded double in the fourth to bring the Rams within 6-5. The Rams were also within a run at 7-6 after five innings, but a sixth run sixth put it away for the Jayettes.

Promes was the starting and losing pitcher. She was relieved by freshman Jenna Beyers in the fourth innings, but returned to pitch in relief of Beyers with two outs in Perry’s six run sixth.

Sophomore Johanna Diw had a monster night at the plate with a single, double, triple, walk, and grand slam homer in that order. The shortstop drove in six runs and scored four.

The winning season is the ninth straight for the Rams, all under Kennedy’s direction. Paup and Koch are the only seniors on the team.