Arica Melson tosses no-hitter
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
Fairfield Lady Lions senior pitcher Arica Melson tossed a no-hitter Monday, all while leading the Lady Lions to a 12-0 shutout win over the visiting West Union Dragons.
Melson struck out eight Lady Dragon batters, as her teammates were flawless in the field playing errorless softball. At the plate, FHS collected nine hits on the afternoon.
The victory sets up an early season Southern Hills Athletic Conference showdown between the Fairfield Lady Lions (3-0) and the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats (6-0), with both teams having pitchers who have either pitched a perfect game or no-hitter this season.
[[In-content Ad]]As for Melson's no-hitter Monday evening, she retired the Lady Dragons 1-2-3 in the top of the first inning, and walked just one batter in the entire game. When it was their turn to bat, the Lady Lions took an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back.
Grace Larrick (2-for-4, one run) led off the inning with a drag bunt single and then stole second base. Shaylee Carson walked and Kaitlin Evans had an infield single that led to two runs.
FHS (2-0, 3-0) built a commanding seven-run advantage with five more runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Emily Williams laced a single into left field to lead off the inning, and Carly Arnold (2-for-2) followed with an infield single. Later in the inning, Carson reached base on a fielder’s choice, while Evans and Heather Sanderson walked.
The Lady Lions finished their scoring with five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Evans and Sanderson walked, while Justice Hattan was safe on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Kourtnie Smith doubled and Casey Carter reached first on a dropped third strike to score runners.
Kristen Grooms (0-3) suffered the loss for West Union.
Melson struck out eight Lady Dragon batters, as her teammates were flawless in the field playing errorless softball. At the plate, FHS collected nine hits on the afternoon.
The victory sets up an early season Southern Hills Athletic Conference showdown between the Fairfield Lady Lions (3-0) and the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats (6-0), with both teams having pitchers who have either pitched a perfect game or no-hitter this season.
[[In-content Ad]]As for Melson's no-hitter Monday evening, she retired the Lady Dragons 1-2-3 in the top of the first inning, and walked just one batter in the entire game. When it was their turn to bat, the Lady Lions took an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back.
Grace Larrick (2-for-4, one run) led off the inning with a drag bunt single and then stole second base. Shaylee Carson walked and Kaitlin Evans had an infield single that led to two runs.
FHS (2-0, 3-0) built a commanding seven-run advantage with five more runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Emily Williams laced a single into left field to lead off the inning, and Carly Arnold (2-for-2) followed with an infield single. Later in the inning, Carson reached base on a fielder’s choice, while Evans and Heather Sanderson walked.
The Lady Lions finished their scoring with five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Evans and Sanderson walked, while Justice Hattan was safe on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Kourtnie Smith doubled and Casey Carter reached first on a dropped third strike to score runners.
Kristen Grooms (0-3) suffered the loss for West Union.