Fairfield advances to Division III district finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — Nine runs, an eight-run inning, nearly flawless defense and shutout pitching all factored into the Fairfield Lady Lions stamping their ticket to the Division III District Finals, as they defeated the Alexander Lady Spartans, 9-0 Friday at Unioto High School in the semifinal round.
This is the fourth consecutive year the Lady Lions (19-6) have reached the district finals, winning a Division IV district championship the past three seasons as this year they moved up to Division III. No matter the division, the result was still the same on Friday against Alexander.
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A large part of the win came with the Lady Lions forcing some throwing errors, with aggressive base running and a few fielder’s choices — along with four hits and two walks — leading to eight runs in the top of the second inning, which completely changed the complexion of the game with the 8-0 lead.
“They (Alexander) made a couple throwing errors, and we happened to capitalize on them with a pretty aggressive and smart baserunner,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “We just capitalized on their mistakes and got a couple of timely hits. We’re tough to beat when we have those opportunities.
“Alexander is a decent ball club. Hats off to them because they played hard, never quit and kept battling. Our defense was absolutely lights out today as we had one error.”
Fairfield opened the second inning with a full-count walk drawn by Layla Hattan, followed by an infield bunt for a base hit off the bat of Lauren Arnold. Next, Taylor Lawson singled to score Hattan for the 1-0 advantage. Courtesy runner Megan Crum stepped onto first base in place of Lawson.
Next, Molly Thackston doubled to right field to plate Arnold, and a fielder’s choice by Megan Gragg scored Crum. Another fielder’s choice allowed Thackston to score and put Madison Fox safe at first base. Lyndee Spargur was next to take the bases with the help of Alexander off a fielder’s choice, as they got the runner out at home. Spargur eventually scored a run on a wild pitch.
Carli Reiber took first base next on an infield error, while White reached the bases and Hattan followed by taking first on an error. Reiber scored a run on a fielder’s choice, then a single by Arnold brought home courtesy runner Hayleigh Lowe and Hattan for the 8-0 lead.
In the second inning, Fairfield totaled eight runs, four hits and two walks, and Alexander committed three errors.
From there, Fairfield had one hit in the third with Fox gaining a single past the first baseman with one out but being left stranded. In the fourth inning, Fairfield scored their final run as White opened the inning with a double to right field. Courtesy runner Lowe took over on the bases, and with one out, she scored a run off a base hit to right field by Arnold for a 9-0 lead and forced a pitching change.
For the final three innings, Fairfield had one base runner as Arnold reached first base in the top of the sixth inning on an error.
Even with the scoring power of the Lady Lions, the defense and pitching performances were just as important in the district semifinal win. Coach Dettwiller spoke highly of how his defense played at Unioto on Friday night, as the start of the year wasn’t what the coaches wanted from the ball club.
“It’s a night and day difference,” Dettwiller said of the defense. “They’re relaxed, they’re having fun, they’re loose and having a good time. Kaiti had a good night. She only gave up five hits and had four strikeouts.”
The pitching by White was tough to handle for the Lady Spartans, too. White pitched all seven innings, allowing no runs on five hits and one walk. She totaled four strikeouts and one walk in the win.
Next is the district finals on Saturday, May 19 at 1 p.m. where the Lady Lions will face the Chesapeake Lady Panthers. Chesapeake defeated Westfall on Friday by a 10-2 score. Fairfield has won nine district championships in program history, including five in the past seven seasons.
“Four years in a row now we’ll be playing in the district finals,” Dettwiller said. “I’m super proud of this group. We’ve got three seniors, and Carli Reiber is our really quiet leader. She made two outstanding plays at second base tonight and came up with a mouthful of dirt. That probably kept that kid at first base, which was huge.
“We’ve also got Emily Williams, who’s a little banged up with a knee injury, and Ashley Moore, who’s been with the team three years now. Our seniors, they’ve got the opportunity now to win four consecutive district championships. I can’t think of another high school program around that’s able to say that. I’m really proud of those seniors and the hard work and dedication that they’ve shown to us as a coaching staff. It’s just phenomenal.”
This is the fourth consecutive year the Lady Lions (19-6) have reached the district finals, winning a Division IV district championship the past three seasons as this year they moved up to Division III. No matter the division, the result was still the same on Friday against Alexander.
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A large part of the win came with the Lady Lions forcing some throwing errors, with aggressive base running and a few fielder’s choices — along with four hits and two walks — leading to eight runs in the top of the second inning, which completely changed the complexion of the game with the 8-0 lead.
“They (Alexander) made a couple throwing errors, and we happened to capitalize on them with a pretty aggressive and smart baserunner,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “We just capitalized on their mistakes and got a couple of timely hits. We’re tough to beat when we have those opportunities.
“Alexander is a decent ball club. Hats off to them because they played hard, never quit and kept battling. Our defense was absolutely lights out today as we had one error.”
Fairfield opened the second inning with a full-count walk drawn by Layla Hattan, followed by an infield bunt for a base hit off the bat of Lauren Arnold. Next, Taylor Lawson singled to score Hattan for the 1-0 advantage. Courtesy runner Megan Crum stepped onto first base in place of Lawson.
Next, Molly Thackston doubled to right field to plate Arnold, and a fielder’s choice by Megan Gragg scored Crum. Another fielder’s choice allowed Thackston to score and put Madison Fox safe at first base. Lyndee Spargur was next to take the bases with the help of Alexander off a fielder’s choice, as they got the runner out at home. Spargur eventually scored a run on a wild pitch.
Carli Reiber took first base next on an infield error, while White reached the bases and Hattan followed by taking first on an error. Reiber scored a run on a fielder’s choice, then a single by Arnold brought home courtesy runner Hayleigh Lowe and Hattan for the 8-0 lead.
In the second inning, Fairfield totaled eight runs, four hits and two walks, and Alexander committed three errors.
From there, Fairfield had one hit in the third with Fox gaining a single past the first baseman with one out but being left stranded. In the fourth inning, Fairfield scored their final run as White opened the inning with a double to right field. Courtesy runner Lowe took over on the bases, and with one out, she scored a run off a base hit to right field by Arnold for a 9-0 lead and forced a pitching change.
For the final three innings, Fairfield had one base runner as Arnold reached first base in the top of the sixth inning on an error.
Even with the scoring power of the Lady Lions, the defense and pitching performances were just as important in the district semifinal win. Coach Dettwiller spoke highly of how his defense played at Unioto on Friday night, as the start of the year wasn’t what the coaches wanted from the ball club.
“It’s a night and day difference,” Dettwiller said of the defense. “They’re relaxed, they’re having fun, they’re loose and having a good time. Kaiti had a good night. She only gave up five hits and had four strikeouts.”
The pitching by White was tough to handle for the Lady Spartans, too. White pitched all seven innings, allowing no runs on five hits and one walk. She totaled four strikeouts and one walk in the win.
Next is the district finals on Saturday, May 19 at 1 p.m. where the Lady Lions will face the Chesapeake Lady Panthers. Chesapeake defeated Westfall on Friday by a 10-2 score. Fairfield has won nine district championships in program history, including five in the past seven seasons.
“Four years in a row now we’ll be playing in the district finals,” Dettwiller said. “I’m super proud of this group. We’ve got three seniors, and Carli Reiber is our really quiet leader. She made two outstanding plays at second base tonight and came up with a mouthful of dirt. That probably kept that kid at first base, which was huge.
“We’ve also got Emily Williams, who’s a little banged up with a knee injury, and Ashley Moore, who’s been with the team three years now. Our seniors, they’ve got the opportunity now to win four consecutive district championships. I can’t think of another high school program around that’s able to say that. I’m really proud of those seniors and the hard work and dedication that they’ve shown to us as a coaching staff. It’s just phenomenal.”