Late innings make Lady Lions ‘Elite’; advance to regional finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
PICKERINGTON — The Fairfield Lady Lions showed just exactly how they are the essence of the word “team.” Down three runs as the sixth inning began, the young Lady Lions – with just one senior and two juniors in their starting lineup – could have committed six straight outs and called it a season, and it still would have been a success.
But this team of young players, mixed with some excellent veteran leadership, didn’t fold … in fact, they didn’t blink and show any signs of doubt from the dugout.
No, the No. 7 state-ranked Lady Lions charged full speed ahead with nothing to lose and everything to gain in their final two innings against the Division IV top-ranked state team Danville (28-2) with six outs and no runs on their side of the scoreboard, as their season was on the line.
The Lady Lions lost nothing, and gained everything, by scoring five runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to knock off the Lady Blue Devils by an 8-4 score, advancing to the regional finals. Last year, the Lady Lions fell in the regional semifinals to Shadyside.
Last season, the tide was turned on the Lady Lions as they were the top-ranked team in the state, but many of those players on that team graduated following their very successful season, and this current group has kept the momentum going for the Lady Lions, improving to 21-4 overall, and with that comes a regional championship game this Saturday at noon at Pickerington Central High School against the Strasburg-Franklin Lady Tigers.
Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller spoke proudly of his ball club, breaking out in a slight smile as he spoke about the regional semifinal victory by his team, a team that finished with 12 hits.
“On the bus ride up here, there was an accident on 71, and we sat in traffic for an hour and 36 minutes, on a bus with no air, nothing,” he said. “We got up here, talked to the folks here and they were going to keep game time as usual. These kids had to rush through warmups, rush through hitting drills, rush through everything and it didn’t affect them a dang bit.
“I’m just so proud of these girls, it is unbelievable … just unbelievable.”
Down by three runs in their Division IV regional semifinal, after their second time through the lineup against Danville pitcher Shanna Mickley, it was the Lady Lions’ time to flip the switch and do like they have done most of the regular season and all of the postseason and make their own momentum with their swings at the plate.
The top of the sixth started off with a double to left-centerfield by senior Grace Larrick on an 0-1 count, followed by a double deep to the corner left field fence by Carli Reiber to score Larrick for the 1-0 advantage. Larrick finished the game 3-for-4, while Reiber was 2-for-4.
Kaiti White, who was 3-for-4, hit an infield single, with Shania Setty in as a pinch runner. Reiber rounded the bases on a single hit to left field by Emily Williams, who blasted the line drive single on an 0-2 count. Kourtnie Smith was hit by a pitch in the ensuing at-bat.
Still with no outs, Lauren Arnold hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to plate Setty, who slid safely at home plate, tying the score at 3-3. Arnold finished the game with three RBIs.
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FHS wasn’t finished quite yet, with Megan Gragg hitting a two-base single past the Danville first baseman into right field to score both Williams and Smith for two RBIs, taking a 5-3 lead.
“These kids adjust very well, and in high school terms they are still babies (in terms of their varsity experience), but they talk to each other about what they see at the plate, they adjust at the plate,” Dettwiller said. “Their focus is unbelievable. At Fairfield, we give away an award at the end of the season to the player with the best attitude. We have six coaches on the staff, and I asked each coach to give me a name. One coach couldn’t make up their mind and gave me two names, and you know what … once I received all the names, I had seven different names.
“That just shows how great these kids are. They are students of the game, they love the game, and I can’t be any more proud of these young ladies. It is phenomenal what they’ve accomplished and will accomplish.”
The pitching of White in the bottom of the sixth was just as stellar as the previous at-bats of the Lady Lions, with the freshman hurler retiring the order with a strikeout, ground out back to her in the circle and another strikeout. White finished with her 21st win of the season, holding Danville to three earned runs on nine hits, with four of those hits coming in the first inning. In the bottom of the fourth, White retired the side on just six pitches.
As the top of the seventh arrived, the term “insurance runs” was never more true for the Southern Hills Athletic Conference champion Lady Lions, scoring three more runs to get to their final total of eight, sending seven batters to the plate and totaling four hits in the inning.
Again, it was Larrick who began the onslaught at the plate with a single to left field (on an 0-2 count), hitting the ball over the head of the Danville third baseman. She advanced to second base on a base hit to right field by Reiber, and then Larrick stole third base, making a veteran play of avoiding a tag, then beating the tag for a second time while on the ground, slamming her hand on the base before the tag arrived, much to the displeasure of a few Danville fans, who let the umpire know their thoughts on the ruling.
With runners on second and third base and no outs, Danville sent in a new pitcher, but the results were the same for the Lady Lions with a single to left field off the bat of White to score Larrick for a 6-3 lead. After two consecutive outs, with Reiber on third and Setty (White’s pinch runner) on second, Arnold had a two-out single sail to right field to score both runners, giving FHS a five-run lead.
Danville scored one run in their half of the seventh with two outs, but the game ended on a fielder’s choice to seal the victory, extending the season of the Lady Lions.
As for Danville, their first three runs of the game came following a very strong first inning, where they scored those runs on four hits.
But this team of young players, mixed with some excellent veteran leadership, didn’t fold … in fact, they didn’t blink and show any signs of doubt from the dugout.
No, the No. 7 state-ranked Lady Lions charged full speed ahead with nothing to lose and everything to gain in their final two innings against the Division IV top-ranked state team Danville (28-2) with six outs and no runs on their side of the scoreboard, as their season was on the line.
The Lady Lions lost nothing, and gained everything, by scoring five runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to knock off the Lady Blue Devils by an 8-4 score, advancing to the regional finals. Last year, the Lady Lions fell in the regional semifinals to Shadyside.
Last season, the tide was turned on the Lady Lions as they were the top-ranked team in the state, but many of those players on that team graduated following their very successful season, and this current group has kept the momentum going for the Lady Lions, improving to 21-4 overall, and with that comes a regional championship game this Saturday at noon at Pickerington Central High School against the Strasburg-Franklin Lady Tigers.
Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller spoke proudly of his ball club, breaking out in a slight smile as he spoke about the regional semifinal victory by his team, a team that finished with 12 hits.
“On the bus ride up here, there was an accident on 71, and we sat in traffic for an hour and 36 minutes, on a bus with no air, nothing,” he said. “We got up here, talked to the folks here and they were going to keep game time as usual. These kids had to rush through warmups, rush through hitting drills, rush through everything and it didn’t affect them a dang bit.
“I’m just so proud of these girls, it is unbelievable … just unbelievable.”
Down by three runs in their Division IV regional semifinal, after their second time through the lineup against Danville pitcher Shanna Mickley, it was the Lady Lions’ time to flip the switch and do like they have done most of the regular season and all of the postseason and make their own momentum with their swings at the plate.
The top of the sixth started off with a double to left-centerfield by senior Grace Larrick on an 0-1 count, followed by a double deep to the corner left field fence by Carli Reiber to score Larrick for the 1-0 advantage. Larrick finished the game 3-for-4, while Reiber was 2-for-4.
Kaiti White, who was 3-for-4, hit an infield single, with Shania Setty in as a pinch runner. Reiber rounded the bases on a single hit to left field by Emily Williams, who blasted the line drive single on an 0-2 count. Kourtnie Smith was hit by a pitch in the ensuing at-bat.
Still with no outs, Lauren Arnold hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to plate Setty, who slid safely at home plate, tying the score at 3-3. Arnold finished the game with three RBIs.
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FHS wasn’t finished quite yet, with Megan Gragg hitting a two-base single past the Danville first baseman into right field to score both Williams and Smith for two RBIs, taking a 5-3 lead.
“These kids adjust very well, and in high school terms they are still babies (in terms of their varsity experience), but they talk to each other about what they see at the plate, they adjust at the plate,” Dettwiller said. “Their focus is unbelievable. At Fairfield, we give away an award at the end of the season to the player with the best attitude. We have six coaches on the staff, and I asked each coach to give me a name. One coach couldn’t make up their mind and gave me two names, and you know what … once I received all the names, I had seven different names.
“That just shows how great these kids are. They are students of the game, they love the game, and I can’t be any more proud of these young ladies. It is phenomenal what they’ve accomplished and will accomplish.”
The pitching of White in the bottom of the sixth was just as stellar as the previous at-bats of the Lady Lions, with the freshman hurler retiring the order with a strikeout, ground out back to her in the circle and another strikeout. White finished with her 21st win of the season, holding Danville to three earned runs on nine hits, with four of those hits coming in the first inning. In the bottom of the fourth, White retired the side on just six pitches.
As the top of the seventh arrived, the term “insurance runs” was never more true for the Southern Hills Athletic Conference champion Lady Lions, scoring three more runs to get to their final total of eight, sending seven batters to the plate and totaling four hits in the inning.
Again, it was Larrick who began the onslaught at the plate with a single to left field (on an 0-2 count), hitting the ball over the head of the Danville third baseman. She advanced to second base on a base hit to right field by Reiber, and then Larrick stole third base, making a veteran play of avoiding a tag, then beating the tag for a second time while on the ground, slamming her hand on the base before the tag arrived, much to the displeasure of a few Danville fans, who let the umpire know their thoughts on the ruling.
With runners on second and third base and no outs, Danville sent in a new pitcher, but the results were the same for the Lady Lions with a single to left field off the bat of White to score Larrick for a 6-3 lead. After two consecutive outs, with Reiber on third and Setty (White’s pinch runner) on second, Arnold had a two-out single sail to right field to score both runners, giving FHS a five-run lead.
Danville scored one run in their half of the seventh with two outs, but the game ended on a fielder’s choice to seal the victory, extending the season of the Lady Lions.
As for Danville, their first three runs of the game came following a very strong first inning, where they scored those runs on four hits.