Lions win rivalry game over Wildcats
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — Early runs led to a lead that the Fairfield Lions just didn’t give up on Thursday night, defeating the host and rival Whiteoak Wildcats by a 5-0 score in their Southern Hills Athletic Conference game at WHS.
This was the first time the Lions took the field in 10 days, as they didn’t play due to recent inclement weather and field conditions, while the Wildcats were playing their third game this week.
“What you do in the game of baseball is you have to take it pitch by pitch, inning-by-inning … just one game at a time, like the old saying, ‘take it one game at a time,’” FHS head coach Tony Haley said. “It has been 10 days since we played, but we had a good practice on the field (Wednesday), and we’ve been practicing inside.
“The guys were ready to play, and you have to be ready to play against Whiteoak because they are always good, they don’t make mistakes. This was a big win for us, but again, it is over. Once we get back, we have another game to be ready for tomorrow with Fayetteville, and we have to regroup and start over.”
For the Lions, they built an early two-run lead after the first inning when Cody Gragg and Klay Walker each scored runs, with Gragg scoring his run off a base hit by Mitchell Rose and Walker crossing home plate on an error.
In the third inning, the Lions added another run with Tucker Ayres scoring off a double by Austin Setty for the 3-0 advantage.
Fairfield took a 4-0 lead with Ayers scoring his second run of the game, as he took second base on a passed ball and went to third on an infield error before eventually scoring the fourth Fairfield run of the contest.
The final run scored by the Lions came in the top of the seventh with Andrew Dingey rounding the bases.
FHS finished the game with five hits and six walks. Gragg led the Lions with a 2-for-3 game at the plate, while also being walked once. Setty, Rose, Ayres and Mason Cain each had one hit. Forcing walks were Gragg, Walker (2), Rose, Sam Buddelmeyer, Hunter Dixon and Matthew Spears. Ayers was also hit by a pitch.
The winning pitcher was Rose, who pitched the complete game shutout. Rose allowed no runs on five hits and two walks. He finished with 10 strikeouts, as he had 20 first-pitch strikes.
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For the Wildcats, Jacob Burns, Chase Carraher, Trevor Martin, Trever Yeager and Traeten Hamilton each had one hit, while Kyle Marler and Evan Brill drew walks.
“The only two things I’m disappointed in is the fact we got off to a slow start,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy, and the fact if you look at their runs … we like to pride ourselves on our defense, and we gave them freebies with walks and a hit batter.
“But also credit Fairfield, Mitch Rose pitched well, and they are a well-coached team, fundamentally sound. If you spot them three runs early, especially as well-coached as they are, plus a good pitcher on the mound, it is tough to come back.
“In retrospect, we got off to the slow start, but we fought back from the third inning and didn’t quit. Jake Burns had an 11-pitch at-bat in the last at-bat.”
The loss was charged to Martin, who pitched 5.2 innings with six strikeouts. Martin had 10 first-pitch strikes. Pitching in relief for the Wildcats was Hamilton.
“This was a game where two friendly rivals went at it, and they got the best of us today,” Veidt said. “They simply outplayed us.”
This was the first time the Lions took the field in 10 days, as they didn’t play due to recent inclement weather and field conditions, while the Wildcats were playing their third game this week.
“What you do in the game of baseball is you have to take it pitch by pitch, inning-by-inning … just one game at a time, like the old saying, ‘take it one game at a time,’” FHS head coach Tony Haley said. “It has been 10 days since we played, but we had a good practice on the field (Wednesday), and we’ve been practicing inside.
“The guys were ready to play, and you have to be ready to play against Whiteoak because they are always good, they don’t make mistakes. This was a big win for us, but again, it is over. Once we get back, we have another game to be ready for tomorrow with Fayetteville, and we have to regroup and start over.”
For the Lions, they built an early two-run lead after the first inning when Cody Gragg and Klay Walker each scored runs, with Gragg scoring his run off a base hit by Mitchell Rose and Walker crossing home plate on an error.
In the third inning, the Lions added another run with Tucker Ayres scoring off a double by Austin Setty for the 3-0 advantage.
Fairfield took a 4-0 lead with Ayers scoring his second run of the game, as he took second base on a passed ball and went to third on an infield error before eventually scoring the fourth Fairfield run of the contest.
The final run scored by the Lions came in the top of the seventh with Andrew Dingey rounding the bases.
FHS finished the game with five hits and six walks. Gragg led the Lions with a 2-for-3 game at the plate, while also being walked once. Setty, Rose, Ayres and Mason Cain each had one hit. Forcing walks were Gragg, Walker (2), Rose, Sam Buddelmeyer, Hunter Dixon and Matthew Spears. Ayers was also hit by a pitch.
The winning pitcher was Rose, who pitched the complete game shutout. Rose allowed no runs on five hits and two walks. He finished with 10 strikeouts, as he had 20 first-pitch strikes.
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For the Wildcats, Jacob Burns, Chase Carraher, Trevor Martin, Trever Yeager and Traeten Hamilton each had one hit, while Kyle Marler and Evan Brill drew walks.
“The only two things I’m disappointed in is the fact we got off to a slow start,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy, and the fact if you look at their runs … we like to pride ourselves on our defense, and we gave them freebies with walks and a hit batter.
“But also credit Fairfield, Mitch Rose pitched well, and they are a well-coached team, fundamentally sound. If you spot them three runs early, especially as well-coached as they are, plus a good pitcher on the mound, it is tough to come back.
“In retrospect, we got off to the slow start, but we fought back from the third inning and didn’t quit. Jake Burns had an 11-pitch at-bat in the last at-bat.”
The loss was charged to Martin, who pitched 5.2 innings with six strikeouts. Martin had 10 first-pitch strikes. Pitching in relief for the Wildcats was Hamilton.
“This was a game where two friendly rivals went at it, and they got the best of us today,” Veidt said. “They simply outplayed us.”