District Semifinal Preview: Fairfield baseball to face 24-win Eastern Eagles
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions — a No. 4 seed in the Division IV SE District Tournament — have a tall task ahead of them Monday night as they will be facing the No. 1 seeded Eastern Meigs Eagles at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe with a trip to the district finals on the line.
Fairfield reached the district semifinal game by defeating the No. 5 seeded Dawson-Bryant (Coal Grove) Hornets, 5-3 in the sectional finals.
[[In-content Ad]]
Following that win, Fairfield head coach Jeremy McGraw knew there was a lot of work ahead for his Fairfield team, saying the following about advancing to the district round:
“We are going to have to be ready, and when you get to districts, you face good ball clubs,” McGraw said. “We’ll have to make adjustments the first time through the lineup, especially when we are pitching that well. It will be exciting for our guys, and this gives us some momentum going forward.”
Fairfield has a 13-6 record this season and was second place in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC). For players who have played in at least 20 games this season, the Lions have been led at the plate by Austin Setty with a .381 batting average with 24 hits (two doubles), 12 walks, 23 runs and 14 RBI in 63 at-bats.
Wyatt Willey has also produced for the Lions at the plate this season with a .373 batting average (19 runs, 19 hits, eight walks and seven RBI), and Sam Buddelmeyer is batting .370 in 20 games and 54 at-bats. Buddelmeyer has 20 hits this season with six doubles and two triples, plus he’s added 21 RBI and 16 walks.
Other batting averages for the Lions this season include (minimum 16 games): Cody Gragg (.359 in 64 at-bats), Matthew Spears (.354 in 48 at-bats), Ethan Grooms (.333 in 36 at-bats) and Layne Morgan (.332 in 59 at-bats).
Pitching for the Lions has been stellar from Buddelmeyer this season, as he’s pitched 46.1 innings in eight games. Buddelmeyer (6-1) has a 2.27 ERA this season with 52 strikeouts and 17 walks. As a team this season, the Lions have a team ERA of 4.33 and 150 strikeouts.
Looking at the Eagles, not only do they have 24 wins, but in their sectional final game they had four players with at least two hits each in what was an 11-0 win over Federal Hocking. Josh Brewer led the Eagles on that day with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, while garnering one double and four RBI.
Also in their sectional final game, Austin Coleman, Kaleb Hill and Matthew Blanchard each had two hits. Eastern’s sectional final win was their program’s 21st championship in program history, and they’ve won a sectional title in 13 of the past 14 seasons.
The Lions have won their past three games, defeating not only Dawson-Bryant, but Manchester by a 13-3 score and Fayetteville by a 5-4 score.
Eastern has won their past 12 games, and in that span, four of those wins were via shutout.
Game time is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.
Fairfield reached the district semifinal game by defeating the No. 5 seeded Dawson-Bryant (Coal Grove) Hornets, 5-3 in the sectional finals.
[[In-content Ad]]
Following that win, Fairfield head coach Jeremy McGraw knew there was a lot of work ahead for his Fairfield team, saying the following about advancing to the district round:
“We are going to have to be ready, and when you get to districts, you face good ball clubs,” McGraw said. “We’ll have to make adjustments the first time through the lineup, especially when we are pitching that well. It will be exciting for our guys, and this gives us some momentum going forward.”
Fairfield has a 13-6 record this season and was second place in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC). For players who have played in at least 20 games this season, the Lions have been led at the plate by Austin Setty with a .381 batting average with 24 hits (two doubles), 12 walks, 23 runs and 14 RBI in 63 at-bats.
Wyatt Willey has also produced for the Lions at the plate this season with a .373 batting average (19 runs, 19 hits, eight walks and seven RBI), and Sam Buddelmeyer is batting .370 in 20 games and 54 at-bats. Buddelmeyer has 20 hits this season with six doubles and two triples, plus he’s added 21 RBI and 16 walks.
Other batting averages for the Lions this season include (minimum 16 games): Cody Gragg (.359 in 64 at-bats), Matthew Spears (.354 in 48 at-bats), Ethan Grooms (.333 in 36 at-bats) and Layne Morgan (.332 in 59 at-bats).
Pitching for the Lions has been stellar from Buddelmeyer this season, as he’s pitched 46.1 innings in eight games. Buddelmeyer (6-1) has a 2.27 ERA this season with 52 strikeouts and 17 walks. As a team this season, the Lions have a team ERA of 4.33 and 150 strikeouts.
Looking at the Eagles, not only do they have 24 wins, but in their sectional final game they had four players with at least two hits each in what was an 11-0 win over Federal Hocking. Josh Brewer led the Eagles on that day with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, while garnering one double and four RBI.
Also in their sectional final game, Austin Coleman, Kaleb Hill and Matthew Blanchard each had two hits. Eastern’s sectional final win was their program’s 21st championship in program history, and they’ve won a sectional title in 13 of the past 14 seasons.
The Lions have won their past three games, defeating not only Dawson-Bryant, but Manchester by a 13-3 score and Fayetteville by a 5-4 score.
Eastern has won their past 12 games, and in that span, four of those wins were via shutout.
Game time is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.