Fairfield softball ends in heartbreak with 9th-inning loss in regional finals
LANCASTER — No loss is ever easy, and on Saturday afternoon at the conclusion of the Division III Regional Finals, the Fairfield Lady Lions’ 24-win campaign abruptly ended at Lancaster High School, as a one-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning by Meadowbrook broke the hearts of the away team on the scoreboard by a 7-5 score.
The Division III tournament run of Fairfield (24-2) saw them this postseason go 4-1 in their five games, defeating Portsmouth in the sectional round by a 10-1 score. Next came the district round where Fairfield defeated Wellston in dramatic fashion by a 4-3 score.
Next came another nail-baiter, where the Lady Lions won the district championship by a score of 8-5 over the top-seeded Wheelersburg Lady Pirates to advance to regionals.
[[In-content Ad]]
Fairfield still wasn’t finished with the dramatic wins, because in the regional semifinals last Wednesday (May 22) Fairfield won by a 3-2 score, scoring all three runs in the seventh inning, to defeat Ironton.
Seniors for Fairfield are: Kaiti White, Lauren Arnold, Lyndee Spargur, Megan Gragg and Hayleigh Lowe. That group was a part of four district champion teams, four Southern Hills Athletic Conference titles and were a part of three regional runner-up teams. The FHS seniors were also undefeated in the SHAC three of their four years.
“We had a great season and the senior class … I’m so proud of them. They have accomplished things in their high school career that most kids just dream of,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “Their win-loss record is over 80 wins, and that is unbelievable. They are four-time district champions, two-time Elite 8, and those seniors — we are going to miss them.
“Kaiti, Lauren, Hayleigh, Lyndee and Megan, that is the core group of our ball team, and there is no replacing them. Those seniors worked their tails off for four years, and they deserve all of the credit in the world. I’m heartbroken they won’t be able to continue their high school career.”
Then came the showdown on Saturday afternoon, where following a delay of one hour for the start due to a morning rain shower in Lancaster, the Meadowbrook Lady Colts (19-9) and Fairfield squad finally took to the softball diamond and never looked back.
Fairfield opened the game early by building a three-run lead in the first inning, and by the time the top of the fifth inning was complete, that lead moved to a 5-0 advantage.
In that first inning, senior Lyndee Spargur reached first base to start the game as she raced to first base following a dropped third strike by Meadowbrook and eventually moved to second base with a steal.
Spargur reached third base as fellow senior Megan Gragg hit a fly ball to centerfield. Next senior Kaiti White drew a four-pitch walk, and sophomore Layla Hattan (2-for-5, one run, one RBI) batted in Spargur with a single past the third baseman for the first run of the game.
Senior Lauren Arnold (2-for-3, one RBI) loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch, and White scored the second Fairfield run of the game with a fielder’s choice to the shortstop hit into by junior Ashley Sanderson.
Next, in the top of the first, Fairfield added to their lead, with the third run of the inning crossing home plate as senior Hayleigh Lowe hit a single to left field to send Hattan home for the 3-0 advantage.
Fairfield’s lead went to five runs in the top of the fifth as two more runners crossed home plate for the No. 3 state-ranked Lady Lions as Gragg reached first base on a dropped third strike to lead off the inning.
Next White drew a four-pitch walk and Hattan singled with the ball going to left field, following a six-pitch at-bat to load the bases with no outs.
Gragg scored the fourth Fairfield run with the RBI going to Arnold as she was hit by a pitch. White eventually scored the fifth Lady Lion run of the game on a passed ball for the 5-0 advantage.
In between building the five-run lead, both teams battled tough with Meadowbrook leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, as White struck out the final batter in the first.
In the top of the third, Fairfield left one runner stranded as Arnold reached first base with a single. Meadowbrook also left a runner on the bases in the third inning as she reached on a dropped third strike.
The fourth inning saw Fairfield junior Molly Thackston gain a one-out single past the shortstop but was left on second base as the inning ended with two consecutive strikeouts.
White from the circle in the bottom of the fourth struck out two Meadowbrook batters, then forced a ground out to second base to keep the three-run lead going for Fairfield.
After the aforementioned two-run top of the fifth by Fairfield, Meadowbrook began their climb back into the game with the Lady Colts scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, making it a 5-3 score.
Following a strikeout to start the bottom half of the inning, Madison Sorg hit a single on a 1-1 count, and that was followed with a base hit by Sydney Farley (2-for-4, three runs, one walk), who sent the ball to centerfield with two strikes against her.
Next was a third consecutive single, this one to load the bases by Rylee Combs (2-for-4, two runs, two RBI, one walk), as the ball stayed in the infield. Another base hit by Meadowbrook put the Lady Colts in the scoring column as Alyssa Marlatt (3-for-5, one run, three RBI) earned a base hit on a ball hit to right field, scoring Sorg.
The inning continued for the Lady Colts with a fifth straight single, this one off the bat of Lynsey Dudley, to plate two runners, as Farley and Sorg rounded the bases, for a 5-3 score. Fairfield ended the inning with White gaining the third out with a strikeout.
Both teams were retired in order in the sixth inning with Fairfield hitting to three consecutive outs in the infield, while White struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth.
Fairfield had a chance to add to their lead in the top of the second with pinch hitter Taylor Lawson reaching first base with a single, as she beat the low throw to first base but was left on the bases following a ground out.
The game was sent to extra innings as a two-run home run came to fruition for the Lady Colts in the bottom of the seventh, beginning with Farley drawing an eight-pitch walk to start the bottom half of the inning.
Following a delay in play due to an injury, the game was tied in the next at-bat as Combs sent the bat over the right field fence on an 0-2 count after fouling off the first three pitches of the at-bat.
With the game tied at 5-5, another batter raced the bases for Meadowbrook in the inning, but White fought back as she struck out the next batter, following a fly ball out to left field and another strikeout to end the inning.
The eighth inning saw Fairfield have one base runner with Halle Hamilton forcing a five-pitch walk with one out, but she was left at first base with the next two batters being out on a strikeout and a ground out.
The bottom of the eighth for Meadowbrook saw them go three-up, three-down with a ball hit back to the pitcher, followed by two consecutive strikeouts.
Fairfield had one base runner in the top of the ninth with Arnold gaining a two-out single, with a 1-2 count against her, smashing the ball to left field down the third base line, but the next at-bat saw a fielder’s choice end the Fairfield at-bat.
Meadowbrook won the game in the bottom of the ninth, starting with a single to centerfield by Farley as she hit the second pitch of the at-bat. Next came a strikeout, but then came a home run off the bat of Alyssa Marlatt, sending the first pitch of the at-bat over the centerfield fence to end the game, breaking the tied score.
For the game, Meadowbrook totaled 10 hits with the top three batters in their lineup going a combined 7-of-13 with the trio of Farley, Combs and Marlatt also scoring six runs and drawing two walks.
On the other side, Fairfield’s top three batters in the order were held without a hit, but did draw two walks and score four of the five Fairfield runs.
White was charged with the loss in the circle, sending her to a final season record of 24-2. She pitched 8.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits and two walks. The senior struck out 15, as she faced a total of 39 batters in the game. White ends her career with nearly every pitching record at Fairfield.
The win went to Marlatt (15-4) as she pitched nine innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks. The Meadowbrook pitcher struck out nine, as she faced a total of 42 batters in the game.
Last season (2018), Meadowbrook defeated Fairfield in the regional semifinals by a 3-2 score.