Lions baseball team clinches SHAC Div. II championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions will have no less than a share of the 2014 Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division II baseball championship.
FHS clinched at least a share of the championship on Wednesday when they easily defeated the visiting Eastern Brown Warriors, 11-0 in five innings on a sunny 80-degree evening at Fairfield High School, as they also celebrated Senior Day.
"We played as well as we have all season," FHS head coach Matt Garman said. "All of our seniors who were able to play got in and did well.
"We hit the ball hard and jumped on them early."
The Lions are now 10-2 in the SHAC, as they lead Fayetteville, who trail the Lions at 9-3. Each team has one SHAC game remaining on Thursday, with the Lions traveling to Ripley and the Rockets facing the Whiteoak Wildcats.
If the Lions win on Thursday, they will win the outright conference title.
If the Lions lose and the Rockets lose, the Lions will still be outright champions. If the Rockets win and the Lions lose, they will share the title.
With FHS winning no less than a share of the title, Highland County controls SHAC baseball, as last week the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs clinched the Division I title of the conference.
As for Wednesday's game, the Lions broke away early with a four-run first inning, followed by five runs in the second. In the fourth, the game and the SHAC title was clinched with two runs for the 11-run victory.
The scoring of the four-run first started off with a lead-off triple by Wyatt Crothers, as he scored in the ensuing at-bat off a single from Blake Hildebrant.
Crothers finished 2-for-3 with two runs, while Hildebrant went 2-for-2 with three runs and a walk.
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Joey Wilson (2-for-2, walk, two runs) followed by reaching the bases with a single, as did Gage Montgomery. Both Wilson and Montgomery scored runs, as did Hildebrant for the early lead. Montgomery's single batted in Hildebrant, while a single by Zach Cox went for two RBIs, scoring Wilson and Montgomery.
The second inning saw Crothers, Hildebrant, Wilson, Montgomery and Dylan Rohde all round the bases and head home for what turned into a 9-0 advantage. Wilson had a double in the inning.
Montgomery went 2-for-3.
For FHS in the second, Wilson had a two-run double that scored Crothers and Hildebrant, while Montgomery batted in Wilson. Montgomery was batted in by Cox with a double. Cox ended the game 2-for-2 with one walk.
Fairfield's final two runs came in the fourth with Hildebrant and Cody Bennett scoring runs.
The winning pitcher was Wilson, who finished with four strikeouts. He allowed no runs on one hit.
Garman spoke about his senior class.
"A lot of these guys are four-year starters, and most of them have played at least three years of varsity baseball. They have a lot of varsity baseball experience under their belt," Garman said. "Some have been starters since their sophomore year. I'm proud of this group."
FHS clinched at least a share of the championship on Wednesday when they easily defeated the visiting Eastern Brown Warriors, 11-0 in five innings on a sunny 80-degree evening at Fairfield High School, as they also celebrated Senior Day.
"We played as well as we have all season," FHS head coach Matt Garman said. "All of our seniors who were able to play got in and did well.
"We hit the ball hard and jumped on them early."
The Lions are now 10-2 in the SHAC, as they lead Fayetteville, who trail the Lions at 9-3. Each team has one SHAC game remaining on Thursday, with the Lions traveling to Ripley and the Rockets facing the Whiteoak Wildcats.
If the Lions win on Thursday, they will win the outright conference title.
If the Lions lose and the Rockets lose, the Lions will still be outright champions. If the Rockets win and the Lions lose, they will share the title.
With FHS winning no less than a share of the title, Highland County controls SHAC baseball, as last week the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs clinched the Division I title of the conference.
As for Wednesday's game, the Lions broke away early with a four-run first inning, followed by five runs in the second. In the fourth, the game and the SHAC title was clinched with two runs for the 11-run victory.
The scoring of the four-run first started off with a lead-off triple by Wyatt Crothers, as he scored in the ensuing at-bat off a single from Blake Hildebrant.
Crothers finished 2-for-3 with two runs, while Hildebrant went 2-for-2 with three runs and a walk.
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Joey Wilson (2-for-2, walk, two runs) followed by reaching the bases with a single, as did Gage Montgomery. Both Wilson and Montgomery scored runs, as did Hildebrant for the early lead. Montgomery's single batted in Hildebrant, while a single by Zach Cox went for two RBIs, scoring Wilson and Montgomery.
The second inning saw Crothers, Hildebrant, Wilson, Montgomery and Dylan Rohde all round the bases and head home for what turned into a 9-0 advantage. Wilson had a double in the inning.
Montgomery went 2-for-3.
For FHS in the second, Wilson had a two-run double that scored Crothers and Hildebrant, while Montgomery batted in Wilson. Montgomery was batted in by Cox with a double. Cox ended the game 2-for-2 with one walk.
Fairfield's final two runs came in the fourth with Hildebrant and Cody Bennett scoring runs.
The winning pitcher was Wilson, who finished with four strikeouts. He allowed no runs on one hit.
Garman spoke about his senior class.
"A lot of these guys are four-year starters, and most of them have played at least three years of varsity baseball. They have a lot of varsity baseball experience under their belt," Garman said. "Some have been starters since their sophomore year. I'm proud of this group."