Fairfield wins 17th consecutive sectional championship; shuts out Piketon
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — There was nothing showy about how the Fairfield Lady Lions played in their Division III SE District Sectional Final game on Friday night, but in a way, that was a good thing. There were no towering home runs or big-run innings … instead, the No. 3 seeded Lady Lions played a very smart, precise and calculated game that led to a 6-0 win over the sixth seeded Piketon Redstreaks, advancing them to the district semifinals.
Some might call it small ball, but each year at this time of the season the Lady Lions use the lessons learned from a tough season, both their non-conference schedule and their Southern Hills Athletic Conference slate of games, to win and move on. That was the case against Piketon Friday at Fairfield High School. The win by the Lady Lions makes the 2018 sectional title their 32nd in program history.
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Fairfield’s game could also be described as complete because not only did they tally 10 hits, one walk and six RBIs at the plate — including four extra-base hits — but their pitching was just as on point with junior Kaiti White (17-5) sitting down 11 batters from Piketon via strikeout in seven innings of work in the circle. In all for the game, White allowed no runs on six hits and one walk, as she faced a total of 27 batters.
At the plate, White was 2-for-4 with a double, while lead-off batter Lyndee Spargur was 2-for-4 (including a triple), but leading the way was Lauren Arnold at 3-for-3 with three RBI as she recorded two singles and one double. Senior Carli Reiber hit a double in the win and collected two RBI.
“We played fantastic defense. Kaiti had 11 strikeouts in the circle, and Piketon’s Cameryn Alexander is a good ballplayer and she can crush the ball, but Kaiti kept her off-balanced and did a really good job tonight,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “Defensively, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. We got their lead runner out five times, and I don’t know if we’ve done that five times all year.
“We told them they played a smart game.”
The methodical way that Fairfield placed runs on the board was one of detail, including a two-run first inning where they opened their half of the first with a base hit to centerfield off the bat of Spargur. Following an out, White singled and courtesy runner Hayleigh Lowe took over at first base. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Arnold singled to centerfield to bring home both Spargur and Lowe for the two-run advantage.
In the third, it was more two-out clutch hitting by the Lady Lions, which helped double up their lead to 4-0. Spargur opened the inning with a triple to left field, followed by Reiber smashing the ball to left field on a 2-2 count, scoring Spargur easily from third base. After two quick outs on three pitches, it was the bat of Arnold which added another run to the scoreboard, this time a two-out double placed in left field, scoring Reiber. The inning continued with Taylor Lawson forcing a walk on seven pitches.
Fairfield made the score 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth on the 87-degree day as White doubled with one out, giving FHS their first base runner of the inning. Next was a single from Layla Hattan to knock in Lowe for the fifth run of the game. Arnold recorded her third hit of the game with a single past the shortstop on a 2-2 count but was left on the bases.
The Lady Lions had one final run to score in the bottom of the sixth inning with Megan Gragg forcing a walk to lead off the inning. Next was an infield bunt single by Madison Fox, and Reiber batted in Gragg with a ground out to the shortstop with one out to make the final 6-0 score. Each team left six runners stranded on the bases in the game.
Fairfield assistant coach Tom Purtell spoke about a moment in practice earlier this week with the Lady Lions, pertaining to the defense of FHS.
“I asked them the other day, ‘how many of you are playing the same defensive position you were last year?’” he said. “We had three raise their hands (White, Spargur, Reiber). It has taken us a while to find where everybody fits in, and they are starting to do it now. We struggled early in the season, but the girls are building confidence each game.”
Next for Fairfield is a Division III district semifinal game at Unioto High School where they will take on No. 2 seeded Alexander at 6 p.m. Alexander defeated Meigs, 5-0 to win their sectional Friday night.
“Our girls have come together the past eight to 10 ballgames, and I’m really looking forward to getting to Unioto and seeing what we can get done in Division III,” Dettwiller said. “I think it is going to be a pretty good challenge.”
Some might call it small ball, but each year at this time of the season the Lady Lions use the lessons learned from a tough season, both their non-conference schedule and their Southern Hills Athletic Conference slate of games, to win and move on. That was the case against Piketon Friday at Fairfield High School. The win by the Lady Lions makes the 2018 sectional title their 32nd in program history.
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Fairfield’s game could also be described as complete because not only did they tally 10 hits, one walk and six RBIs at the plate — including four extra-base hits — but their pitching was just as on point with junior Kaiti White (17-5) sitting down 11 batters from Piketon via strikeout in seven innings of work in the circle. In all for the game, White allowed no runs on six hits and one walk, as she faced a total of 27 batters.
At the plate, White was 2-for-4 with a double, while lead-off batter Lyndee Spargur was 2-for-4 (including a triple), but leading the way was Lauren Arnold at 3-for-3 with three RBI as she recorded two singles and one double. Senior Carli Reiber hit a double in the win and collected two RBI.
“We played fantastic defense. Kaiti had 11 strikeouts in the circle, and Piketon’s Cameryn Alexander is a good ballplayer and she can crush the ball, but Kaiti kept her off-balanced and did a really good job tonight,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “Defensively, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. We got their lead runner out five times, and I don’t know if we’ve done that five times all year.
“We told them they played a smart game.”
The methodical way that Fairfield placed runs on the board was one of detail, including a two-run first inning where they opened their half of the first with a base hit to centerfield off the bat of Spargur. Following an out, White singled and courtesy runner Hayleigh Lowe took over at first base. After a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Arnold singled to centerfield to bring home both Spargur and Lowe for the two-run advantage.
In the third, it was more two-out clutch hitting by the Lady Lions, which helped double up their lead to 4-0. Spargur opened the inning with a triple to left field, followed by Reiber smashing the ball to left field on a 2-2 count, scoring Spargur easily from third base. After two quick outs on three pitches, it was the bat of Arnold which added another run to the scoreboard, this time a two-out double placed in left field, scoring Reiber. The inning continued with Taylor Lawson forcing a walk on seven pitches.
Fairfield made the score 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth on the 87-degree day as White doubled with one out, giving FHS their first base runner of the inning. Next was a single from Layla Hattan to knock in Lowe for the fifth run of the game. Arnold recorded her third hit of the game with a single past the shortstop on a 2-2 count but was left on the bases.
The Lady Lions had one final run to score in the bottom of the sixth inning with Megan Gragg forcing a walk to lead off the inning. Next was an infield bunt single by Madison Fox, and Reiber batted in Gragg with a ground out to the shortstop with one out to make the final 6-0 score. Each team left six runners stranded on the bases in the game.
Fairfield assistant coach Tom Purtell spoke about a moment in practice earlier this week with the Lady Lions, pertaining to the defense of FHS.
“I asked them the other day, ‘how many of you are playing the same defensive position you were last year?’” he said. “We had three raise their hands (White, Spargur, Reiber). It has taken us a while to find where everybody fits in, and they are starting to do it now. We struggled early in the season, but the girls are building confidence each game.”
Next for Fairfield is a Division III district semifinal game at Unioto High School where they will take on No. 2 seeded Alexander at 6 p.m. Alexander defeated Meigs, 5-0 to win their sectional Friday night.
“Our girls have come together the past eight to 10 ballgames, and I’m really looking forward to getting to Unioto and seeing what we can get done in Division III,” Dettwiller said. “I think it is going to be a pretty good challenge.”