Perry struck a balance the last three days in sweeping five pool-play opponents at the annual Marcos de Niza-McClintock Softball Tournament.

Outscoring its foes at the Marcos de Niza site, 44-6, Perry earned a spot in the championship game with a 10-0, five-inning victory over Mesquite Tuesday morning at Marcos de Niza High School.

Perry (11-2) faces the McClintock site winner, Campo Verde. Campo Verde capped a 5-0 run at McClintock with a 6-0 triumph over Casa Grande. Perry and Campo Verde play Wednesday (March 11) at 2 p.m. at Marcos de Niza. Mesquite (10-3) will play Poston Butte Wednesday at 2 at MDN for third-place. Perry and Campo Verde met last month in the Lion Country Classic hosted by Red Mountain. They played for 5th-place in the 16-team tourney and Perry prevailed, 9-8.

Tuesday's game was a mini-championship of sorts as Perry and Mesquite were 4-0 in pool play. Perry escaped a first-inning jam that saw starting pitcher Kenadee Rausch walk the first two batters. Two pop outs and a strikeout bailed Rausch out fo the mess.

Rausch's teammate responded with two runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out, two-run single by Emily Babcock. Rausch allowed base runenrs in each of the next four innings, but didn't surrender a hit until Mesquite's Shelley Gracey ripped a solid single to right in the fifth. Rausch finished with a two-hitter.

By the top of the fifth, Perry had added three more runs for a 5-0 advantage. A mammoth home run to left-center field by Adela Martinez started a three-run third. Four consecutive singles -- Hannah Johnson, Babcock, Rausch and Marissa Zacchio -- added the other runs and finished Mesquite starter Taylor Cullen. The game ended in the last of the fifth as three hits, a walk and an error computed to five runs and the 10-run rule begin invoked.

"We've played exceptionally well," Perry coach Rob Hehe said. "We hit very well today, and out pitching has been outstanding. We've alternated with (freshman) Kenadee and (junior) Taylor Vogel. Rausch has three wins in the tournament and Vogel two."

Rausch helped herself at the plate with three hits and Martinez, Johnson, Babcock and Zacchio had two hits apiece.

Perry starts but one senior (Martinez) and the top-heavy schedule of 13 games in 14 days hasn't been a detriment. As for Mesquite, which also had played 13 games in 13 days, their coach was a bit confounded.

"I don't know what happened today," Mesquite coach Gloria Hernandez said. "We've been hitting and scoring a lot of runs. Not much today. I told the girls afterward that the 10 wins we have are no accident. We've been playing well. It wasn't there today."