Lady Lions run-rule Paint Valley en route to 14th straight sectional title
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lady Lions cruised to their 14th consecutive sectional championship on Thursday, defeating the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats, 16-1 in five innings.
The win at Fairfield puts the Lady Lions at 16-3 overall, with their next opponen being Trimble on Tuesday, May 19 at Minford at 4:30 p.m. Trimble defeated South Webster, 6-2 on Thursday in their sectional final.
This win (aided by two Fairfield home runs by Justice Hattan and Heather Sanderson) by the Lady Lions is also the 29th time in program history they've won a sectional championship.
"The kids are fired up and ready to play softball," FHS head coach Mark Dettwiller said. "They were ready to go today and hit the ball hard. Justice and Heather crushed the ball.
Fairfield put runs on the scoreboard early and very often, taking a 16-run lead after two innings.
Three of those 16 runs came in the first inning with the Lady Lions having Shaylee Carson take first base on a one-out single, followed by Kaitlin Evans with a single of her own. Heather Sanderson knocked in Carson with an RBI fly ball. Sanderson was 2-for-3 with five RBIs, while Carson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Evans was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two stolen bases.
The lead soon went to 3-0 when Justice Hattan hit a two-run home run off the Lady Lions' scoreboard in the first with one out. Hattan finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
Fairfield's second inning consisted of 13 runs on 12 hits and one walk. It began with Casey Carter hitting a double, followed by a single from Emily Williams. That hit was followed with a double by Grace Larrick.
[[In-content Ad]]Carson grounded to second for an RBI, while Evans singled and Sanderson doubled to add to their lead.
Hattan followed with a base hit, and Kourtnie Smith also doubled in a run. Carter (2-for-2) gained her second double of the inning, then the second out was recorded.
FHS continued the second with a walk by Larrick, an RBI double by Carson, an RBI single from Evans, then a massive three-run home run off the bat of Sanderson for the aforementioned 16-run advantage.
In all, the Lady Lions sent 16 batters to the plate in the second inning. Following that inning, FHS didn't reach base in the third and fourth innings.
The pitching win went to Arica Melson, who allowed one run on four hits, two hit batters and three walks. The FHS senior struck out 12 batters for her 15th win of the season. Melson (15-3) was also 2-for-2 at the plate.
As for Melson in the circle, she struck out two batters in the first, second and fifth innings, and in the third and fourth innings, she struck out the side. In total she threw 108 pitches, 60 for strikes.
FHS wants to do better than they did last season in the district, when they lost in the semifinals.
"We will have a better showing than we did last year," Dettwiller said.
Assistant coach Tom Purtell spoke about the quality of teams in the SE District.
"There are a lot of good teams in this district, and the tournament director said it is probably the best district in the state for Division IV," Purtell said. "But we have a lot of veteran experience with our seniors. Our experience will help us a lot."
The win at Fairfield puts the Lady Lions at 16-3 overall, with their next opponen being Trimble on Tuesday, May 19 at Minford at 4:30 p.m. Trimble defeated South Webster, 6-2 on Thursday in their sectional final.
This win (aided by two Fairfield home runs by Justice Hattan and Heather Sanderson) by the Lady Lions is also the 29th time in program history they've won a sectional championship.
"The kids are fired up and ready to play softball," FHS head coach Mark Dettwiller said. "They were ready to go today and hit the ball hard. Justice and Heather crushed the ball.
Fairfield put runs on the scoreboard early and very often, taking a 16-run lead after two innings.
Three of those 16 runs came in the first inning with the Lady Lions having Shaylee Carson take first base on a one-out single, followed by Kaitlin Evans with a single of her own. Heather Sanderson knocked in Carson with an RBI fly ball. Sanderson was 2-for-3 with five RBIs, while Carson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Evans was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two stolen bases.
The lead soon went to 3-0 when Justice Hattan hit a two-run home run off the Lady Lions' scoreboard in the first with one out. Hattan finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
Fairfield's second inning consisted of 13 runs on 12 hits and one walk. It began with Casey Carter hitting a double, followed by a single from Emily Williams. That hit was followed with a double by Grace Larrick.
[[In-content Ad]]Carson grounded to second for an RBI, while Evans singled and Sanderson doubled to add to their lead.
Hattan followed with a base hit, and Kourtnie Smith also doubled in a run. Carter (2-for-2) gained her second double of the inning, then the second out was recorded.
FHS continued the second with a walk by Larrick, an RBI double by Carson, an RBI single from Evans, then a massive three-run home run off the bat of Sanderson for the aforementioned 16-run advantage.
In all, the Lady Lions sent 16 batters to the plate in the second inning. Following that inning, FHS didn't reach base in the third and fourth innings.
The pitching win went to Arica Melson, who allowed one run on four hits, two hit batters and three walks. The FHS senior struck out 12 batters for her 15th win of the season. Melson (15-3) was also 2-for-2 at the plate.
As for Melson in the circle, she struck out two batters in the first, second and fifth innings, and in the third and fourth innings, she struck out the side. In total she threw 108 pitches, 60 for strikes.
FHS wants to do better than they did last season in the district, when they lost in the semifinals.
"We will have a better showing than we did last year," Dettwiller said.
Assistant coach Tom Purtell spoke about the quality of teams in the SE District.
"There are a lot of good teams in this district, and the tournament director said it is probably the best district in the state for Division IV," Purtell said. "But we have a lot of veteran experience with our seniors. Our experience will help us a lot."