Lady Lions clinch SHL championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lady Lions are back atop the Southern Hills League.
After a one-year hiatus as Division II champions, Fairfield head coach Matthew Zimmerman told his team, "Ladies, you are now the 2011 Southern Hills League champions."
Thursday's 6-0 victory over a talented Peebles Lady Indians team not only gave the Division IV No. 4 state-ranked Lady Lions one final opportunity to get on the field before their district semifinal game on Friday, but allowed them the chance to get another of their goals accomplished by winning their 15th league title.
The Lady Lions are now 16-2 overall and 12-0 in the SHL.
"We were absolutely fantastic in every aspect of the game tonight," Zimmerman said. "Our defense was stellar, our confidence was up, and this was the game we wanted.
"So far, we have accomplished two of the several goals we have set with a sectional title and league title. We are going for the gold mitt (a perfect league record), and that's another goal we have. Now it's time to go back to our goal of advancing further in the district tournament."
The game originally started on Sunday, but after one inning, the game was suspended until Thursday, with FHS leading 1-0 at the start of the second inning. By the time the inning was finished, the Lady Lions led by three runs, due to a home run to centerfield by freshman Shelby Smithson (2-for-3). The home run scored two runs as Kortney Paris forced a walk in the previous at-bat.
"We hit the ball well today. What was key was Shelby's home run, scoring two runs in the second inning was so huge," Zimmerman said. "It put us up three runs and allowed us to play our game. We were able to get back to small ball and do everything we do to score runs."
The game continued to go in favor of FHS, with Danielle Butler scoring on a ground ball hit by Abby Thackston. Butler hit a infield single to reach first, then took two bases on steals. The RBI hit by Thackston put FHS up by four runs.
"The fourth run … we had (Peebles) on their heels," Zimmerman said. "With Abby hitting behind the runner, those little things are what win softball games. The fourth run was the key, then we just cruised. I'm not going to take anything away from Peebles … that's a great ball team, great coaching staff and I love playing that team."
With two runners on the bases in the bottom of the fourth, senior Heather Huff, who earlier in the day signed to play college softball at Wilmington College, tripled to left field with two outs, scoring Smithson and Kylie Bates. Bates kept the inning alive by hustling to first base, capitalizing on an error by the infield of Peebles.
Huff finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple, one run and one RBI.
The two-run triple by Huff put FHS up for good at 6-0. On Sunday, the first run of the game was scored when Thackston and Huff perfected a safety squeeze with Huff scoring from third base. Before the game, Huff was hitting .667 with runners in scoring position, increasing her RBI total to 13 on the season.
After the sixth run was scored by FHS, it all went back to their defense and pitching, as junior Lauren Larrick (16-2) earned the win by not allowing a hit for the final three innings. She not only used her fastball, but included a change-up pitch that forced the Peebles batter to swing and miss big in the top of the fifth for the first out of the inning. In the final three innings, the Lady Indians had just two base runners, with a hit by pitch and walk.
"With us scoring six runs, it makes the pitching better for Lauren," Zimmerman said. "It makes her pitches better … she doesn't have to worry about making the perfect pitch."
Fairfield assistant coach Tom Purtell talked about Larrick's performance in the circle.
"We commented in the huddle this was Lauren's best effort to date," Purtell said. "Matthew was right, that was a very good team we just beat."
For the game, Larrick went seven complete innings, allowing just four hits with no runs and three walks. She totaled nine strikeouts in the two-day game.
On Thursday, PHS sent 22 batters to the plate, with just one gaining a hit, a double to the right field fence to lead off the top of the fourth. Two of the next three batters struck out, and the final out of the fourth left the runner stranded at second on a pop up back to Larrick. For Thursday, Larrick had seven strikeouts in the final six innings.
The Lady Lions now have to keep their play in high gear as they go back to postseason play with a district semifinal game against Eastern Meigs at 6 p.m. Friday in Minford, with the winner playing in the district finals on Saturday at 1 p.m., also in Minford.
"The girls are hungry, focused and we have a lot of softball to play yet," Zimmerman said. "They are very, very focused. They've done a great job so far, but I want them to continue to stay focused.
"This win sets us up for tomorrow and gives the girls confidence. It's going to take an awfully good softball team to beat this bunch of young ladies. We have a lot of confidence right now, and want to keep playing."
GAME NOTES: Larrick has pitched eight shutouts this season … Jade Shelton, Kortney Paris and Danielle Butler each had one hit … FHS totaled six RBIs … The Lady Lions only struck out once and stranded three runners … PHS stranded seven runners … Four PHS batters had hits … FHS sent 24 batters to the plate … The Lady Lions had four extra base hits … FHS has won SHL titles in 1976, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '90, '91, '00, '05, '06, '08, '09 and '11.
[[In-content Ad]]
After a one-year hiatus as Division II champions, Fairfield head coach Matthew Zimmerman told his team, "Ladies, you are now the 2011 Southern Hills League champions."
Thursday's 6-0 victory over a talented Peebles Lady Indians team not only gave the Division IV No. 4 state-ranked Lady Lions one final opportunity to get on the field before their district semifinal game on Friday, but allowed them the chance to get another of their goals accomplished by winning their 15th league title.
The Lady Lions are now 16-2 overall and 12-0 in the SHL.
"We were absolutely fantastic in every aspect of the game tonight," Zimmerman said. "Our defense was stellar, our confidence was up, and this was the game we wanted.
"So far, we have accomplished two of the several goals we have set with a sectional title and league title. We are going for the gold mitt (a perfect league record), and that's another goal we have. Now it's time to go back to our goal of advancing further in the district tournament."
The game originally started on Sunday, but after one inning, the game was suspended until Thursday, with FHS leading 1-0 at the start of the second inning. By the time the inning was finished, the Lady Lions led by three runs, due to a home run to centerfield by freshman Shelby Smithson (2-for-3). The home run scored two runs as Kortney Paris forced a walk in the previous at-bat.
"We hit the ball well today. What was key was Shelby's home run, scoring two runs in the second inning was so huge," Zimmerman said. "It put us up three runs and allowed us to play our game. We were able to get back to small ball and do everything we do to score runs."
The game continued to go in favor of FHS, with Danielle Butler scoring on a ground ball hit by Abby Thackston. Butler hit a infield single to reach first, then took two bases on steals. The RBI hit by Thackston put FHS up by four runs.
"The fourth run … we had (Peebles) on their heels," Zimmerman said. "With Abby hitting behind the runner, those little things are what win softball games. The fourth run was the key, then we just cruised. I'm not going to take anything away from Peebles … that's a great ball team, great coaching staff and I love playing that team."
With two runners on the bases in the bottom of the fourth, senior Heather Huff, who earlier in the day signed to play college softball at Wilmington College, tripled to left field with two outs, scoring Smithson and Kylie Bates. Bates kept the inning alive by hustling to first base, capitalizing on an error by the infield of Peebles.
Huff finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple, one run and one RBI.
The two-run triple by Huff put FHS up for good at 6-0. On Sunday, the first run of the game was scored when Thackston and Huff perfected a safety squeeze with Huff scoring from third base. Before the game, Huff was hitting .667 with runners in scoring position, increasing her RBI total to 13 on the season.
After the sixth run was scored by FHS, it all went back to their defense and pitching, as junior Lauren Larrick (16-2) earned the win by not allowing a hit for the final three innings. She not only used her fastball, but included a change-up pitch that forced the Peebles batter to swing and miss big in the top of the fifth for the first out of the inning. In the final three innings, the Lady Indians had just two base runners, with a hit by pitch and walk.
"With us scoring six runs, it makes the pitching better for Lauren," Zimmerman said. "It makes her pitches better … she doesn't have to worry about making the perfect pitch."
Fairfield assistant coach Tom Purtell talked about Larrick's performance in the circle.
"We commented in the huddle this was Lauren's best effort to date," Purtell said. "Matthew was right, that was a very good team we just beat."
For the game, Larrick went seven complete innings, allowing just four hits with no runs and three walks. She totaled nine strikeouts in the two-day game.
On Thursday, PHS sent 22 batters to the plate, with just one gaining a hit, a double to the right field fence to lead off the top of the fourth. Two of the next three batters struck out, and the final out of the fourth left the runner stranded at second on a pop up back to Larrick. For Thursday, Larrick had seven strikeouts in the final six innings.
The Lady Lions now have to keep their play in high gear as they go back to postseason play with a district semifinal game against Eastern Meigs at 6 p.m. Friday in Minford, with the winner playing in the district finals on Saturday at 1 p.m., also in Minford.
"The girls are hungry, focused and we have a lot of softball to play yet," Zimmerman said. "They are very, very focused. They've done a great job so far, but I want them to continue to stay focused.
"This win sets us up for tomorrow and gives the girls confidence. It's going to take an awfully good softball team to beat this bunch of young ladies. We have a lot of confidence right now, and want to keep playing."
GAME NOTES: Larrick has pitched eight shutouts this season … Jade Shelton, Kortney Paris and Danielle Butler each had one hit … FHS totaled six RBIs … The Lady Lions only struck out once and stranded three runners … PHS stranded seven runners … Four PHS batters had hits … FHS sent 24 batters to the plate … The Lady Lions had four extra base hits … FHS has won SHL titles in 1976, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87, '90, '91, '00, '05, '06, '08, '09 and '11.
[[In-content Ad]]