Fairfield Lady Lions 3-peat as district champions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MINFORD — The more things change, the more they stay the same. No matter how you look at it, the Fairfield Lady Lions are the top team of the Southeast District once again.
That said, the Lady Lions (19-1) continued their tournament trail and along the way gained the rare three-peat Saturday afternoon, winning their third consecutive Division IV SE District championship by defeating the Peebles Lady Indians, 10-1.
Playing their Southern Hills Athletic Conference foe for the second time this season, both teams played close to even in the first two innings, but just like in the district semifinals on Thursday, it was the third inning that was a difference maker for the Lady Lions.
“Peebles came out ready to play,” FHS head coach Mark Dettwiller told The Highland County Press. “Our defense made some outstanding plays, but Peebles put the ball in play and played some good defense, too. We just happened to get a few more to fall in than they did.
“Our defense was improved from the last game, and we tell them they have three seconds to get over whatever happens and then move on. They do that very well. They get over it, pick themselves up and move on.”
It was a case of deja vu from not just last Wednesday, but last season, as that too was the case for FHS where they used the third inning in multiple tournament games to make their mark and take over.
“I don’t know what it is about the third inning,” Dettwiller said. “I can’t put my finger on it, and I’m not even going to try.”
In the semifinals, it consisted of a nine-run inning with three triples against Southern. On Saturday in the district finals, the top of the third for the undefeated SHAC champion Lady Lions included five runs on five hits, with all five of the runs coming with two outs.
The two-out rally by the Lady Lions began with Megan Gragg reaching first base on a base hit to left field. Following two consecutive outs by a strikeout and line out to the third baseman, the Lady Lions got their bats heated up on the 82-degree day and took over the game.
As Gragg was on first base, she moved to second on a hit by Kaiti White (2-for-4), who was replaced on the bases by Molly Thackston. Next, Kourtnie Smith singled to centerfield to score Gragg, as Allison Davis entered the game as a courtesy runner for Smith.
With two runners on the bases, Emily Williams (2-for-4 with one run and three RBIs) doubled to plate both Thackston and Davis for a three-run lead. That three-run advantage moved to five runs with one swing of the bat when Lauren Arnold launched the ball over the left field fence for a 5-0 advantage. Arnold finished 3-for-3 with three runs, one walk and two RBIs.
Two innings later, Fairfield increased their lead from five runs to nine runs with a four-run fifth that saw them begin the inning with Carli Reiber taking first base with a single hit to the shortstop. Next was a double to centerfield by White.
With Thackston and Reiber on the bases, Smith knocked in Reiber on an error, then Emily Williams batted in Thackston with a ground out. Following an infield base hit by Arnold, Williams scored on a base hit off the bat of Lyndee Spargur as she lifted the ball to right field. Spargur finished 3-for-4 with one run.
Shania Setty also had an RBI in the inning with a ground out to first base, scoring Arnold for the 9-0 lead.
In between the two big scoring innings for the Lady Lions, their defense made some nice plays, including a diving catch for an out by Williams for the first out of the inning.
Peebles scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth with Christian Reed scoring off a two-out base hit from Matti Nichols.
Fairfield scored their final run and regained a nine-run advantage when Lauren Arnold rounded the bases for a run following a fielder’s choice by Setty as the Lady Lions loaded the bases in the seventh inning.
For the game, the Lady Lions totaled 14 hits.
“Winning three straight district titles is pretty much unheard of,” Dettwiller said. “The girls came to work and got the job done. I’m proud of them. I’m impressed with what they’ve accomplished.”
Even with all the offense, the pitching from White was just as dominating. White went seven innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and one walk. White struck out eight batters. She had multiple strikeouts in the first and fifth innings and a strikeout in five of the seven innings played. In all, White faced 26 batters.
Next for the Lady Lions is a game in the Division IV Regional Semifinals as they face another district champion, the Portsmouth Clay Lady Panthers, on Wednesday, May 24 at 5 p.m. at Pickerington High School.
Portsmouth Clay defeated the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats, 2-1 in 10 innings on Saturday at Minford.
“Portsmouth Clay is a very solid team,” Dettwiller said. “We watched them play Paint Valley, and that was a great game to watch.”
That said, the Lady Lions (19-1) continued their tournament trail and along the way gained the rare three-peat Saturday afternoon, winning their third consecutive Division IV SE District championship by defeating the Peebles Lady Indians, 10-1.
Playing their Southern Hills Athletic Conference foe for the second time this season, both teams played close to even in the first two innings, but just like in the district semifinals on Thursday, it was the third inning that was a difference maker for the Lady Lions.
“Peebles came out ready to play,” FHS head coach Mark Dettwiller told The Highland County Press. “Our defense made some outstanding plays, but Peebles put the ball in play and played some good defense, too. We just happened to get a few more to fall in than they did.
“Our defense was improved from the last game, and we tell them they have three seconds to get over whatever happens and then move on. They do that very well. They get over it, pick themselves up and move on.”
It was a case of deja vu from not just last Wednesday, but last season, as that too was the case for FHS where they used the third inning in multiple tournament games to make their mark and take over.
“I don’t know what it is about the third inning,” Dettwiller said. “I can’t put my finger on it, and I’m not even going to try.”
In the semifinals, it consisted of a nine-run inning with three triples against Southern. On Saturday in the district finals, the top of the third for the undefeated SHAC champion Lady Lions included five runs on five hits, with all five of the runs coming with two outs.
The two-out rally by the Lady Lions began with Megan Gragg reaching first base on a base hit to left field. Following two consecutive outs by a strikeout and line out to the third baseman, the Lady Lions got their bats heated up on the 82-degree day and took over the game.
As Gragg was on first base, she moved to second on a hit by Kaiti White (2-for-4), who was replaced on the bases by Molly Thackston. Next, Kourtnie Smith singled to centerfield to score Gragg, as Allison Davis entered the game as a courtesy runner for Smith.
With two runners on the bases, Emily Williams (2-for-4 with one run and three RBIs) doubled to plate both Thackston and Davis for a three-run lead. That three-run advantage moved to five runs with one swing of the bat when Lauren Arnold launched the ball over the left field fence for a 5-0 advantage. Arnold finished 3-for-3 with three runs, one walk and two RBIs.
Two innings later, Fairfield increased their lead from five runs to nine runs with a four-run fifth that saw them begin the inning with Carli Reiber taking first base with a single hit to the shortstop. Next was a double to centerfield by White.
With Thackston and Reiber on the bases, Smith knocked in Reiber on an error, then Emily Williams batted in Thackston with a ground out. Following an infield base hit by Arnold, Williams scored on a base hit off the bat of Lyndee Spargur as she lifted the ball to right field. Spargur finished 3-for-4 with one run.
Shania Setty also had an RBI in the inning with a ground out to first base, scoring Arnold for the 9-0 lead.
In between the two big scoring innings for the Lady Lions, their defense made some nice plays, including a diving catch for an out by Williams for the first out of the inning.
Peebles scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth with Christian Reed scoring off a two-out base hit from Matti Nichols.
Fairfield scored their final run and regained a nine-run advantage when Lauren Arnold rounded the bases for a run following a fielder’s choice by Setty as the Lady Lions loaded the bases in the seventh inning.
For the game, the Lady Lions totaled 14 hits.
“Winning three straight district titles is pretty much unheard of,” Dettwiller said. “The girls came to work and got the job done. I’m proud of them. I’m impressed with what they’ve accomplished.”
Even with all the offense, the pitching from White was just as dominating. White went seven innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and one walk. White struck out eight batters. She had multiple strikeouts in the first and fifth innings and a strikeout in five of the seven innings played. In all, White faced 26 batters.
Next for the Lady Lions is a game in the Division IV Regional Semifinals as they face another district champion, the Portsmouth Clay Lady Panthers, on Wednesday, May 24 at 5 p.m. at Pickerington High School.
Portsmouth Clay defeated the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats, 2-1 in 10 innings on Saturday at Minford.
“Portsmouth Clay is a very solid team,” Dettwiller said. “We watched them play Paint Valley, and that was a great game to watch.”