Fairfield wins 4th straight district championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
In their first season in Division III, the Fairfield Lady Lions are right back in the same spot as they were in Division IV in the SE District softball tournament. That spot is at the very top, as they won their fourth consecutive district championship Sunday at Unioto High School.
The Lady Lions — who are now 20-6 overall — gained their first Division III district crown (they won the first three of this streak in Division IV) by defeating Chesapeake, 3-0, and did so by scoring two runs in the third inning and one run in the fifth.
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With the win, the district championship is not only the fourth consecutive for the Lady Lions, but it is also their 10th overall district championship.
Fairfield opened the third inning with a walk on five pitches, forced by Madison Fox. She moved to third base off a double to centerfield by Lyndee Spargur, and following an out, Fox scored on a single by Kaiti White, who also scored Spargur on the hit that went past the second baseman.
The fifth inning saw the Lady Lions add the final run of the game with Spargur reaching the bases with one out off a single to centerfield. Spargur stole second base and scored the run off a one-out single past second base from White.
White finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI. Even as productive as she was in the batter’s box, White was even more dominant from the circle, as she and catcher Lauren Arnold took control of the game, with White totaling 13 strikeouts while allowing five hits and one walk. White threw a total of 100 pitches, 70 for strikes, as she faced a total of 27 batters.
In the first inning, White struck out two of the four batters she faced and followed that with another inning with two strikeouts, retiring the side in order with the two strikeouts being the bookend in between a groundout to the third baseman.
Chesapeake gained their first hit of the game with a one-out double, but the runner was left stranded as White had a third consecutive inning of two strikeouts, though the inning ended with a groundout to the second baseman.
The fourth inning was three up, three down, but in the fifth White struck out three batters, leaving Chesapeake with two runners stranded as they gained two singles in the inning. In the sixth, Chesapeake had two base runners one off a walk and the other from a single, but the threat of runs didn’t occur with White adding two more strikeouts to her total, including a called third strike to start the inning.
White (19-5) added an exclamation point to end the game with back-to-back called third strikes in the seventh, and the game ended with a pop up back to White to seal the district championship.
The Lady Lions totaled six hits and three walks at the plate, as they were the away team on the scoreboard. Spargur, White and Taylor Lawson each had two hits, combining for the six hits off the bats of the Lady Lions. Spargur finished 2-for-3 with two runs and one walk, while White was 2-for-4 with three RBI and Lawson was 2-for-3.
Also for FHS at the plate, Carli Reiber and Fox each drew a walk.
Next for Fairfield is the regional semifinals on Wednesday, May 23 at Lancaster High School at 3 p.m. FHS will face the Meadowbrook Lady Colts (18-7), who were the East District champions. The trip to regionals is the sixth time in the past eight seasons the Lady Lions have reached the Sweet 16, with those other appearances being 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013 and 2011. FHS has also played in the regionals in 2006, 1986, 1982 and 1981.
The Lady Lions — who are now 20-6 overall — gained their first Division III district crown (they won the first three of this streak in Division IV) by defeating Chesapeake, 3-0, and did so by scoring two runs in the third inning and one run in the fifth.
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With the win, the district championship is not only the fourth consecutive for the Lady Lions, but it is also their 10th overall district championship.
Fairfield opened the third inning with a walk on five pitches, forced by Madison Fox. She moved to third base off a double to centerfield by Lyndee Spargur, and following an out, Fox scored on a single by Kaiti White, who also scored Spargur on the hit that went past the second baseman.
The fifth inning saw the Lady Lions add the final run of the game with Spargur reaching the bases with one out off a single to centerfield. Spargur stole second base and scored the run off a one-out single past second base from White.
White finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI. Even as productive as she was in the batter’s box, White was even more dominant from the circle, as she and catcher Lauren Arnold took control of the game, with White totaling 13 strikeouts while allowing five hits and one walk. White threw a total of 100 pitches, 70 for strikes, as she faced a total of 27 batters.
In the first inning, White struck out two of the four batters she faced and followed that with another inning with two strikeouts, retiring the side in order with the two strikeouts being the bookend in between a groundout to the third baseman.
Chesapeake gained their first hit of the game with a one-out double, but the runner was left stranded as White had a third consecutive inning of two strikeouts, though the inning ended with a groundout to the second baseman.
The fourth inning was three up, three down, but in the fifth White struck out three batters, leaving Chesapeake with two runners stranded as they gained two singles in the inning. In the sixth, Chesapeake had two base runners one off a walk and the other from a single, but the threat of runs didn’t occur with White adding two more strikeouts to her total, including a called third strike to start the inning.
White (19-5) added an exclamation point to end the game with back-to-back called third strikes in the seventh, and the game ended with a pop up back to White to seal the district championship.
The Lady Lions totaled six hits and three walks at the plate, as they were the away team on the scoreboard. Spargur, White and Taylor Lawson each had two hits, combining for the six hits off the bats of the Lady Lions. Spargur finished 2-for-3 with two runs and one walk, while White was 2-for-4 with three RBI and Lawson was 2-for-3.
Also for FHS at the plate, Carli Reiber and Fox each drew a walk.
Next for Fairfield is the regional semifinals on Wednesday, May 23 at Lancaster High School at 3 p.m. FHS will face the Meadowbrook Lady Colts (18-7), who were the East District champions. The trip to regionals is the sixth time in the past eight seasons the Lady Lions have reached the Sweet 16, with those other appearances being 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013 and 2011. FHS has also played in the regionals in 2006, 1986, 1982 and 1981.