Regional Finals Preview: Fairfield returns to regional finals; rematch with Danville awaits
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lady Lions are known for taking the 2017 season “one game at a time,” and that mentality has gotten the 20-win Lady Lions one game away from reaching the Division IV State Final Four. In their way is a tough opponent in Danville, a team the Lady Lions are more than familiar with.
Last season in the regional semifinals, the Lady Lions trailed Danville for most of the game but in the final two innings combined for eight runs to win the game by an 8-4 score at Pickerington Central High School, the same location the game took place one year ago.
The postseason, Lady Lions have defeated Western Latham (15-0), Southern (12-8), Peebles (10-1) and Portsmouth Clay (7-2). This postseason, the Lady Lions have outscored their opponents, 44-11 in four games.
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What makes this such an interesting matchup is they both are also state-ranked by the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association with Danville being the No. 2 ranked team and the Lady Lions are eighth.
Last season when these two teams faced each other, Danville was the No. 1 state-ranked team.
In four postseason games, Fairfield is batting .448 as a team, with their opponents held to a .194 batting average due in large part to the pitching of sophomore Kaiti White.
White this postseason has pitched 26 innings, allowing 11 runs, with just five being earned. She has walked just one of the 108 batters she has faced, while earning a 1.35 ERA. White has also struck out 38 of those batters, with 31 being a swinging strike three and seven being a called third strike.
For the entire 21-game season, White has built an ERA of 0.74 with 188 strikeouts (31 for a called third strike) with 26 runs allowed, but just 13 earned in 123 innings in the circle. She has 11 shutouts, and with the win in the regional semifinals over Portsmouth Clay, she became the first FHS pitcher to have back-to-back 20-win seasons.
At the plate for FHS this postseason, White leads the Lady Lions with a .857 batting average through four games (14 at-bats), while Lyndee Spargur is next at .600. In all this postseason, the Lady Lions have eight batters who are batting over .350 with at least 14 at-bats. Two more batters, Lauren Arnold and Megan Gragg, each are batting over .400 in tournament play with Arnold at .462 and Gragg at .429.
Four Fairfield batters are batting .357 in the postseason with Sherry Heckathorn, Carli Reiber, Kourtnie Smith and Emily Williams all with the same batting average.
As for the overall season (21 games), White is the leader at .543 with a .771 slugging percentage and a .633 on-base percentage. White also has collected 33 RBIs this season with 13 doubles, 38 total hits and has hit one home run.
Arnold leads the team in home runs with four and is third in RBIs with 27. She’s also tied for second on the team with seven doubles.
The Lady Lions have four batters with 20 or more RBIs in ’17 in White (33), Williams (20), Smith (28) and Arnold (27). The team also has five others with double-figure RBIs in Spargur (14), Heckathorn (11), Gragg (10) and Shania Setty (19) for the season.
Danville is 5-0 this postseason with wins over Harvest Prep (21-1), Gahanna Christian Academy (24-0), Newark Catholic (6-0), Granville Christian Academy (4-1) and Strasburg-Franklin (3-0). In all, Danville has outscored their postseason opponents, 58-2.
This season, Danville is batting .385 as a team with a .451 on-base percentage with 18 home runs (Fairfield has eight). They’ve totaled 45 stolen bases and defensively have built an ERA of 0.95 with a .959 fielding percentage.
Their leading batter is Kaitlynn Briggs, who in 109 plate appearances has a .510 batting average (100 at-bats) with 13 runs, 51 hits, 14 doubles, one triple, one home run and 37 RBIs.
McKinley Alberts has a .469 batting average for Danville wth 98 at-bats. In those at-bats, she has collected 46 hits, 32 runs, 26 RBIs, five doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Also batting .400 or better with at least 85 at-bats are Jordan Elliott at .412 and Taylor Duncan at .400. Elliott also has 40 hits and 22 RBIs, while Duncan has 34 hits and 28 RBIs. Duncan also has four home runs.
Also watch out for Shanna Mickley, who has a .386 batting average and leads the team in home runs with nine. She also has six doubles and 30 RBIs. Mickley is also their leading pitcher with an ERA of 0.73 in 134.2 innings pitched. She has 168 strikeouts on the season.
Game time for the regional finals is set for noon at Pickerington Central High School.
Last season in the regional semifinals, the Lady Lions trailed Danville for most of the game but in the final two innings combined for eight runs to win the game by an 8-4 score at Pickerington Central High School, the same location the game took place one year ago.
The postseason, Lady Lions have defeated Western Latham (15-0), Southern (12-8), Peebles (10-1) and Portsmouth Clay (7-2). This postseason, the Lady Lions have outscored their opponents, 44-11 in four games.
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What makes this such an interesting matchup is they both are also state-ranked by the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association with Danville being the No. 2 ranked team and the Lady Lions are eighth.
Last season when these two teams faced each other, Danville was the No. 1 state-ranked team.
In four postseason games, Fairfield is batting .448 as a team, with their opponents held to a .194 batting average due in large part to the pitching of sophomore Kaiti White.
White this postseason has pitched 26 innings, allowing 11 runs, with just five being earned. She has walked just one of the 108 batters she has faced, while earning a 1.35 ERA. White has also struck out 38 of those batters, with 31 being a swinging strike three and seven being a called third strike.
For the entire 21-game season, White has built an ERA of 0.74 with 188 strikeouts (31 for a called third strike) with 26 runs allowed, but just 13 earned in 123 innings in the circle. She has 11 shutouts, and with the win in the regional semifinals over Portsmouth Clay, she became the first FHS pitcher to have back-to-back 20-win seasons.
At the plate for FHS this postseason, White leads the Lady Lions with a .857 batting average through four games (14 at-bats), while Lyndee Spargur is next at .600. In all this postseason, the Lady Lions have eight batters who are batting over .350 with at least 14 at-bats. Two more batters, Lauren Arnold and Megan Gragg, each are batting over .400 in tournament play with Arnold at .462 and Gragg at .429.
Four Fairfield batters are batting .357 in the postseason with Sherry Heckathorn, Carli Reiber, Kourtnie Smith and Emily Williams all with the same batting average.
As for the overall season (21 games), White is the leader at .543 with a .771 slugging percentage and a .633 on-base percentage. White also has collected 33 RBIs this season with 13 doubles, 38 total hits and has hit one home run.
Arnold leads the team in home runs with four and is third in RBIs with 27. She’s also tied for second on the team with seven doubles.
The Lady Lions have four batters with 20 or more RBIs in ’17 in White (33), Williams (20), Smith (28) and Arnold (27). The team also has five others with double-figure RBIs in Spargur (14), Heckathorn (11), Gragg (10) and Shania Setty (19) for the season.
Danville is 5-0 this postseason with wins over Harvest Prep (21-1), Gahanna Christian Academy (24-0), Newark Catholic (6-0), Granville Christian Academy (4-1) and Strasburg-Franklin (3-0). In all, Danville has outscored their postseason opponents, 58-2.
This season, Danville is batting .385 as a team with a .451 on-base percentage with 18 home runs (Fairfield has eight). They’ve totaled 45 stolen bases and defensively have built an ERA of 0.95 with a .959 fielding percentage.
Their leading batter is Kaitlynn Briggs, who in 109 plate appearances has a .510 batting average (100 at-bats) with 13 runs, 51 hits, 14 doubles, one triple, one home run and 37 RBIs.
McKinley Alberts has a .469 batting average for Danville wth 98 at-bats. In those at-bats, she has collected 46 hits, 32 runs, 26 RBIs, five doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Also batting .400 or better with at least 85 at-bats are Jordan Elliott at .412 and Taylor Duncan at .400. Elliott also has 40 hits and 22 RBIs, while Duncan has 34 hits and 28 RBIs. Duncan also has four home runs.
Also watch out for Shanna Mickley, who has a .386 batting average and leads the team in home runs with nine. She also has six doubles and 30 RBIs. Mickley is also their leading pitcher with an ERA of 0.73 in 134.2 innings pitched. She has 168 strikeouts on the season.
Game time for the regional finals is set for noon at Pickerington Central High School.