Lady Lions end season as regional runners-up
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
PICKERINGTON — In one of the more unique games played for most likely both the Fairfield Lady Lions and the Strasburg-Franklin Lady Tigers, the Division IV Regional Final game between the two state-ranked teams had a combined 20 runs, a total of 79 plate appearances, three home runs, five strikeouts between two pitchers and even a delay in the game due to the health of an umpire, but only one team could advance to the State Final Four.
The game saw an eight-run inning, where seven of the runs were unearned and scored with two outs, and a six-run inning that tied the score at 8-8, but once the final out was made, the day did not belong to the No. 6 state-ranked Lady Lions as they eventually fell to perennial powerhouse and No. 5 state-ranked Strasburg-Franklin by a 12-8 score.
Fairfield’s loss ends a very successful season, as the team of 13 players (including a starting lineup that had four freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and one senior) finish with an overall record of 21-5, while racking up a Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship (they were 13-0 within the conference), a second straight district championship in the Southeast District, one regional tournament win and a regional runner-up trophy.
This postseason, the Lady Lions outscored the opposition, 40-17. In the sectional round, FHS defeated Western Latham 9-1, followed by district wins against Trimble (13-1) and Paint Valley (2-0). In the regional semifinals, the Lady Lions defeated Danville by score of 8-4.
Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller spoke about this season and explained just how proud he was of his team … a team that entered ’16 by losing a core group of six seniors to graduation from last season and a lot of their batting from a team that reached the regional semifinals last season.
“They have no quit … our girls had no quit in them,” Dettwiller said. “If you would have told me this morning that we would have scored eight runs and get beat, I would have shook my head at you. Again, the kids never quit, and I want to highlight Grace Larrick.
“She is our only senior and is just a flat-out ball player, and she’s going to Capital to play and we wish her all the best. As for the rest of the team, we just talked about how they are returning next season. We are going to take a few days off and get back to work and start playing summer ball.”
Dettwiller spoke of how this team progressed from the spring practices in the gym to becoming regional runners-up with 20-plus wins.
“We were talking after the game, and Coach (Marvin) Larrick spoke about our fourth practice of the season in the gym, and it was a throwing drill. They were bouncing the balls everywhere, and nothing was going right. He spoke about how he got on them, and how we thought we’d finish .500. But the girls responded, they studied the game, picked up on things, worked their tails off and look where we are at. It is amazing … really amazing.
“It is a tribute to the kids and their work ethic. We have a lot of kids coming back, plus the JV kids and the kids coming in from junior high. We have all summer and winter to work on things. They show up, work hard … we have a weight program, and we should be just fine moving on.”
The first inning lasted nearly a half hour at Pickerington Central High School, beginning with the Lady Lions putting the ball into play with a lead-off single by senior Grace Larrick (on a 1-2 count), followed by a base hit from Carli Reiber on a bunt, taking second on a throw that sent the ball out of play.
FHS had runners on second as the next two batters recorded out, but the second out of the inning scored a run with Emily Williams grounding out to second, allowing Larrick to score from third, giving Fairfield a 1-0 lead.
Kourtnie Smith reached first base on an error with two outs, allowing Reiber to score the second FHS run and a two-run advantage.
Then came the bottom of the first inning where eight runs were scored by the Lady Tigers (29-1), including seven being unearned. All eight of the runs came with two outs, putting Strasburg-Franklin ahead 8-2 after they sent a total of 12 batters to the plate.
The bottom of the first began with two quick outs off a ground out to short and a pop-up to third base. Then came the craziness of the first inning with FHS getting ahead of the Lady Tiger batter with an 0-2 count, only to see the next pitch, an off-speed pitch, miss the umpire’s strike zone by millimeters and called a ball. Next came a foul ball, then two pitches after the close call for a ball, Strasburg-Franklin ended the at-bat with a home run well over the 185-foot sign painted on the left field fence, cutting the FHS lead in half.
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Following the homer, the inning got away from the Lady Lions with an error coming on the next play in the infield to keep Strasburg-Franklin at the plate, and they took complete advantage by scoring seven more runs in the inning to take an eventual 8-2 lead after the 25-minute first inning was completed.
When they could have been down and out, the Lady Lions began the second inning (following a talk in between innings with their coaching staff) with two straight outs, but FHS answered with a two-out rally of their own.
It all began with a walk forced on a full-count by Sherry Heckathorn, followed by an infield base hit by Larrick on a 0-1 count. Reiber doubled to centerfield to score Heckathorn, making it an 8-4 deficit. From there, Kaiti White hit an infield base hit to short, plating Reiber. With Shania Setty in as a pinch runner for White, Emily Williams joined her on the bases with a walk on the ensuing at-bat.
From there, Smith reached on an error, to see Setty cross home plate and Williams move to third base. Lauren Arnold kept the inning moving along with a full-count walk (in a nine-pitch at-bat) to load the bases.
With the bases full, Megan Gragg singled to left field to plate Williams. Smith also scored in the inning for FHS, tying the score at 8-8.
The tied score didn’t last long with Strasburg scoring what was the go-ahead and game-winning run in the bottom of the second with a lead-off home run, their third of the game, as they hit two in the first inning for a 9-8 advantage.
The game had to be delayed around 15 minutes due to the health of the home plate umpire, as he had to leave the game, and for the rest of the contest, the regional final was played with two umpires.
For FHS, they left a runner stranded in the third as Reiber had a two-out single to centerfield, hitting the ball through the middle of the infield. In the bottom half of the same inning, Strasburg-Franklin added one run to their side of the scoreboard for a 10-8 lead.
FHS left another runner on the bases after their half of the fourth, with Arnold having a two-out walk to take the free pass to first base. The Lady Tigers responded with another one-run inning in the bottom of the same inning with their run coming with two outs off a base hit to centerfield, increasing their advantage to three runs.
The Lady Lions were retired in order in the top of the fifth, and FHS kept Strasburg-Franklin scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, as they stranded one base runner. The sixth inning saw FHS strand another base runner, with Williams left at first base as she reached the bases on a fielder’s choice. In the same inning for the Lady Lions, White took first with an infield base hit.
Strasburg-Franklin scored their final run in the bottom of the sixth off a double hit to right field for the eventual 12-8 final score. Fairfield, in their final inning of the season, saw Gragg have an infield base hit with one out, only to see the game and season end off a ground out to short and a strikeout.
The loss was charged to White, just her third of the season. White ends the season by setting a Fairfield softball record, becoming the first pitcher in program history to have 20 or more wins, finishing the season 21-3 overall.
“Kaiti is something special and a great ball player,” Dettwiller said. “She’s the first 20-game winner in Fairfield history, and here at Fairfield there have been some outstanding pitchers throughout the years, but nobody has ever broke 20 until this year.”
This loss also sees a very successful FHS career come to a close as lone senior Grace Larrick finishes as one of the most celebrated players in program history. She is the first FHS player to take part in three different regional tournaments, giving her three district championships. She also set the mark as the career leader in steals with 75 in her four-year varsity career. Before Saturday’s game, Larrick had a .451 batting average.
FHS assistant coach Tom Purtell spoke highly of Larrick following the game.
“Grace has been really successful at Fairfield, and we’ve had a lot of really great players here in the history of our program, and what we always talk about is what not you only accomplish on the field, but what you leave behind … leave your thumbprint on,” Purtell said. “For Grace, she’s meant more to the program than any other player we’ve had. She’s worked very hard on becoming a slap hitter, and she started that in the seventh grade. She worked and worked at it, and if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if we would have so many left-handed hitters in the lineup.
“Grace is a student of the game. She’s played in three different regional tournaments, she’s became a great leader, and on the field, she is the one who calms everyone down. Once everything is added up, she’s going to be at the top of three to five offensive categories, and her defense at second base is great as well. Grace joined an already successful program as a freshman and during her time here has helped elevate the program to a higher level.”
In his closing comments on the season, Dettwiller again spoke very highly of his team.
“I can’t say enough about the work ethic of these kids and how the whole community rallied around these girls,” Dettwiller said. “It is great to see we had standing room only, and we had a lot of backing here today this far away from home.”
The game saw an eight-run inning, where seven of the runs were unearned and scored with two outs, and a six-run inning that tied the score at 8-8, but once the final out was made, the day did not belong to the No. 6 state-ranked Lady Lions as they eventually fell to perennial powerhouse and No. 5 state-ranked Strasburg-Franklin by a 12-8 score.
Fairfield’s loss ends a very successful season, as the team of 13 players (including a starting lineup that had four freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and one senior) finish with an overall record of 21-5, while racking up a Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship (they were 13-0 within the conference), a second straight district championship in the Southeast District, one regional tournament win and a regional runner-up trophy.
This postseason, the Lady Lions outscored the opposition, 40-17. In the sectional round, FHS defeated Western Latham 9-1, followed by district wins against Trimble (13-1) and Paint Valley (2-0). In the regional semifinals, the Lady Lions defeated Danville by score of 8-4.
Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller spoke about this season and explained just how proud he was of his team … a team that entered ’16 by losing a core group of six seniors to graduation from last season and a lot of their batting from a team that reached the regional semifinals last season.
“They have no quit … our girls had no quit in them,” Dettwiller said. “If you would have told me this morning that we would have scored eight runs and get beat, I would have shook my head at you. Again, the kids never quit, and I want to highlight Grace Larrick.
“She is our only senior and is just a flat-out ball player, and she’s going to Capital to play and we wish her all the best. As for the rest of the team, we just talked about how they are returning next season. We are going to take a few days off and get back to work and start playing summer ball.”
Dettwiller spoke of how this team progressed from the spring practices in the gym to becoming regional runners-up with 20-plus wins.
“We were talking after the game, and Coach (Marvin) Larrick spoke about our fourth practice of the season in the gym, and it was a throwing drill. They were bouncing the balls everywhere, and nothing was going right. He spoke about how he got on them, and how we thought we’d finish .500. But the girls responded, they studied the game, picked up on things, worked their tails off and look where we are at. It is amazing … really amazing.
“It is a tribute to the kids and their work ethic. We have a lot of kids coming back, plus the JV kids and the kids coming in from junior high. We have all summer and winter to work on things. They show up, work hard … we have a weight program, and we should be just fine moving on.”
The first inning lasted nearly a half hour at Pickerington Central High School, beginning with the Lady Lions putting the ball into play with a lead-off single by senior Grace Larrick (on a 1-2 count), followed by a base hit from Carli Reiber on a bunt, taking second on a throw that sent the ball out of play.
FHS had runners on second as the next two batters recorded out, but the second out of the inning scored a run with Emily Williams grounding out to second, allowing Larrick to score from third, giving Fairfield a 1-0 lead.
Kourtnie Smith reached first base on an error with two outs, allowing Reiber to score the second FHS run and a two-run advantage.
Then came the bottom of the first inning where eight runs were scored by the Lady Tigers (29-1), including seven being unearned. All eight of the runs came with two outs, putting Strasburg-Franklin ahead 8-2 after they sent a total of 12 batters to the plate.
The bottom of the first began with two quick outs off a ground out to short and a pop-up to third base. Then came the craziness of the first inning with FHS getting ahead of the Lady Tiger batter with an 0-2 count, only to see the next pitch, an off-speed pitch, miss the umpire’s strike zone by millimeters and called a ball. Next came a foul ball, then two pitches after the close call for a ball, Strasburg-Franklin ended the at-bat with a home run well over the 185-foot sign painted on the left field fence, cutting the FHS lead in half.
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Following the homer, the inning got away from the Lady Lions with an error coming on the next play in the infield to keep Strasburg-Franklin at the plate, and they took complete advantage by scoring seven more runs in the inning to take an eventual 8-2 lead after the 25-minute first inning was completed.
When they could have been down and out, the Lady Lions began the second inning (following a talk in between innings with their coaching staff) with two straight outs, but FHS answered with a two-out rally of their own.
It all began with a walk forced on a full-count by Sherry Heckathorn, followed by an infield base hit by Larrick on a 0-1 count. Reiber doubled to centerfield to score Heckathorn, making it an 8-4 deficit. From there, Kaiti White hit an infield base hit to short, plating Reiber. With Shania Setty in as a pinch runner for White, Emily Williams joined her on the bases with a walk on the ensuing at-bat.
From there, Smith reached on an error, to see Setty cross home plate and Williams move to third base. Lauren Arnold kept the inning moving along with a full-count walk (in a nine-pitch at-bat) to load the bases.
With the bases full, Megan Gragg singled to left field to plate Williams. Smith also scored in the inning for FHS, tying the score at 8-8.
The tied score didn’t last long with Strasburg scoring what was the go-ahead and game-winning run in the bottom of the second with a lead-off home run, their third of the game, as they hit two in the first inning for a 9-8 advantage.
The game had to be delayed around 15 minutes due to the health of the home plate umpire, as he had to leave the game, and for the rest of the contest, the regional final was played with two umpires.
For FHS, they left a runner stranded in the third as Reiber had a two-out single to centerfield, hitting the ball through the middle of the infield. In the bottom half of the same inning, Strasburg-Franklin added one run to their side of the scoreboard for a 10-8 lead.
FHS left another runner on the bases after their half of the fourth, with Arnold having a two-out walk to take the free pass to first base. The Lady Tigers responded with another one-run inning in the bottom of the same inning with their run coming with two outs off a base hit to centerfield, increasing their advantage to three runs.
The Lady Lions were retired in order in the top of the fifth, and FHS kept Strasburg-Franklin scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, as they stranded one base runner. The sixth inning saw FHS strand another base runner, with Williams left at first base as she reached the bases on a fielder’s choice. In the same inning for the Lady Lions, White took first with an infield base hit.
Strasburg-Franklin scored their final run in the bottom of the sixth off a double hit to right field for the eventual 12-8 final score. Fairfield, in their final inning of the season, saw Gragg have an infield base hit with one out, only to see the game and season end off a ground out to short and a strikeout.
The loss was charged to White, just her third of the season. White ends the season by setting a Fairfield softball record, becoming the first pitcher in program history to have 20 or more wins, finishing the season 21-3 overall.
“Kaiti is something special and a great ball player,” Dettwiller said. “She’s the first 20-game winner in Fairfield history, and here at Fairfield there have been some outstanding pitchers throughout the years, but nobody has ever broke 20 until this year.”
This loss also sees a very successful FHS career come to a close as lone senior Grace Larrick finishes as one of the most celebrated players in program history. She is the first FHS player to take part in three different regional tournaments, giving her three district championships. She also set the mark as the career leader in steals with 75 in her four-year varsity career. Before Saturday’s game, Larrick had a .451 batting average.
FHS assistant coach Tom Purtell spoke highly of Larrick following the game.
“Grace has been really successful at Fairfield, and we’ve had a lot of really great players here in the history of our program, and what we always talk about is what not you only accomplish on the field, but what you leave behind … leave your thumbprint on,” Purtell said. “For Grace, she’s meant more to the program than any other player we’ve had. She’s worked very hard on becoming a slap hitter, and she started that in the seventh grade. She worked and worked at it, and if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if we would have so many left-handed hitters in the lineup.
“Grace is a student of the game. She’s played in three different regional tournaments, she’s became a great leader, and on the field, she is the one who calms everyone down. Once everything is added up, she’s going to be at the top of three to five offensive categories, and her defense at second base is great as well. Grace joined an already successful program as a freshman and during her time here has helped elevate the program to a higher level.”
In his closing comments on the season, Dettwiller again spoke very highly of his team.
“I can’t say enough about the work ethic of these kids and how the whole community rallied around these girls,” Dettwiller said. “It is great to see we had standing room only, and we had a lot of backing here today this far away from home.”