Fairfield Lady Lions defeat Fayetteville; SHAC title hopes still alive
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
In a must-win Southern Hills Athletic Conference game, the Fairfield Lady Lions did exactly that with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat the Fayetteville Lady Rockets, 4-1.
Fairfield (8-3, 12-6) entered the game two games behind Fayetteville in the loss column in SHAC Division II, and with the victory, Fairfield is only one game behind Fayetteville. Fairfield has two games left with Manchester, while Fayetteville is scheduled to play undefeated Eastern Brown from SHAC Division I on Saturday. Peebles is also one game behind Fayetteville with three SHAC losses.
Tuesday’s game featured two of the top pitchers in the SHAC in Paige Vilvens of Fayetteville and Kaiti White of Fairfield. Both pitchers pitched the first five innings of shutout softball, keeping opposing batters off balance. Fayetteville put a runner on base in the first and fourth innings, but White ended any threat. Fairfield put a runner on base in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings, but Vilvens also ended any threat.
White struck out the side in order in the top of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Lady Lions exploded for four runs to take the lead.
Carli Reiber drew a walk on a quality at-bat to lead off the inning. White followed with a base hit to centerfield, advancing Reiber to second base, and Layla Hattan loaded the bases with an infield hit.
It looked like Vilvens would get out of the bases-loaded jam as she struck out the next two Lady Lion hitters, but Molly Thackston stepped to the plate and quickly fell behind on an 0-2 count. Thackston then laced an outside pitch to right field for a single to drive in Reiber and Hayleigh Lowe running for White, as Hattan took third and Thackston advanced to second base on the throw.
Megan Gragg was safe on a fielder’s choice as Hattan scored and Thackston slid in safely to third base. Madison Fox completed the scoring with a single to knock in Thackston, as all the scoring crossed home plate with two outs.
For Fayetteville (9-2, 13-9), Vilvens led off the top of the seventh inning with a towering home run over the centerfield fence, but White struck out the next three Lady Rocket batters to seal the victory.
Leading hitters for Fairfield included Reiber (0-for-2, walk, one run), White (1-for-3, one run), Hattan (1-for-3, one run), Lauren Arnold (1-for-2, walk), Thackston (1-for-3, one run, two RBI), Gragg (1-for-3, one RBI) and Fox (1-for-2, one RBI).
Vilvens was 3-for-3 with a solo home run for Fayetteville.
White (11-5) was the winning pitcher for Faifield as she pitched seven innings, allowing one run (one earned) on three hits, no walks and she struck out 15 batters. Vilvens (12-6) suffered the loss for Fayetteville as she pitched six innings, allowing four runs (four earned) on six hits, two walks and she finished with seven strikeouts.
The Lady Lions conclude their SHAC schedule when they host the Manchester Lady Greyhounds on Wednesday, May 2. Fairfield and Manchester will finish a game suspended at Manchester from April 3 (Fairfield leads Manchester 8-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and one ball on the Manchester batter), and then the regularly scheduled game will follow.
Fairfield (8-3, 12-6) entered the game two games behind Fayetteville in the loss column in SHAC Division II, and with the victory, Fairfield is only one game behind Fayetteville. Fairfield has two games left with Manchester, while Fayetteville is scheduled to play undefeated Eastern Brown from SHAC Division I on Saturday. Peebles is also one game behind Fayetteville with three SHAC losses.
Tuesday’s game featured two of the top pitchers in the SHAC in Paige Vilvens of Fayetteville and Kaiti White of Fairfield. Both pitchers pitched the first five innings of shutout softball, keeping opposing batters off balance. Fayetteville put a runner on base in the first and fourth innings, but White ended any threat. Fairfield put a runner on base in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings, but Vilvens also ended any threat.
White struck out the side in order in the top of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Lady Lions exploded for four runs to take the lead.
Carli Reiber drew a walk on a quality at-bat to lead off the inning. White followed with a base hit to centerfield, advancing Reiber to second base, and Layla Hattan loaded the bases with an infield hit.
It looked like Vilvens would get out of the bases-loaded jam as she struck out the next two Lady Lion hitters, but Molly Thackston stepped to the plate and quickly fell behind on an 0-2 count. Thackston then laced an outside pitch to right field for a single to drive in Reiber and Hayleigh Lowe running for White, as Hattan took third and Thackston advanced to second base on the throw.
Megan Gragg was safe on a fielder’s choice as Hattan scored and Thackston slid in safely to third base. Madison Fox completed the scoring with a single to knock in Thackston, as all the scoring crossed home plate with two outs.
For Fayetteville (9-2, 13-9), Vilvens led off the top of the seventh inning with a towering home run over the centerfield fence, but White struck out the next three Lady Rocket batters to seal the victory.
Leading hitters for Fairfield included Reiber (0-for-2, walk, one run), White (1-for-3, one run), Hattan (1-for-3, one run), Lauren Arnold (1-for-2, walk), Thackston (1-for-3, one run, two RBI), Gragg (1-for-3, one RBI) and Fox (1-for-2, one RBI).
Vilvens was 3-for-3 with a solo home run for Fayetteville.
White (11-5) was the winning pitcher for Faifield as she pitched seven innings, allowing one run (one earned) on three hits, no walks and she struck out 15 batters. Vilvens (12-6) suffered the loss for Fayetteville as she pitched six innings, allowing four runs (four earned) on six hits, two walks and she finished with seven strikeouts.
The Lady Lions conclude their SHAC schedule when they host the Manchester Lady Greyhounds on Wednesday, May 2. Fairfield and Manchester will finish a game suspended at Manchester from April 3 (Fairfield leads Manchester 8-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and one ball on the Manchester batter), and then the regularly scheduled game will follow.