Sanderson sends Fairfield to district finals with extra-inning RBI single
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — Sometimes games are won easily, other times it takes great effort and then there are the times where the unsung hero comes to the plate for the game-winning hit, and that is what happened on Thursday night for the Fairfield Lady Lions.
In a tough battle with the Wellston Lady Golden Rockets in their Division III SE District Semifinal game at Unioto High School Thursday, the Lady Lions of Fairfield — who are ranked fourth in the state in Division III — trailed for a few innings, took the lead, then lost the lead in the seventh inning to see the game go into extra innings, ultimately seeing Fairfield win by a 4-3 score.
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After holding the No. 3 seeded Wellston squad three-up, three-down in the top of the eighth, the Fairfield Lady Lions decided it was time to show why they are the reigning four-time SE District champions and took control of the game for good in the bottom of the eighth inning, and it was the bat of junior Ashley Sanderson who sent the Fairfield faithful home happy.
The Fairfield half of the eighth inning began with a walk on a full count by senior Kaiti White, and she was moved to second base on the ensuing at-bat with sophomore Layla Hattan sending the ball to centerfield with an 0-2 count against her.
Next to the plate was senior Lauren Arnold, who following a quick conference with head coach Mark Dettwiller put down a bunt for a base hit to load the bases, with White at third base and Hattan moving to second base.
Having no outs, Sanderson stepped to the plate, something she hasn’t done a lot this season as she is the starting right fielder, but didn’t bat much during the regular season. As things went for Sanderson, a spot in the batting order opened up this week, and in her fourth at-bat of the game — after being hitless in her first three at-bats — Sanderson learned from those previous at bats and had the swing of the season thus far for Fairfield.
Having an 0-2 count to start the at-bat, Sanderson then hit a foul ball, and followed that by watching two straight pitches be called for balls. Then, with a 2-2 count, Sanderson swung the bat for an infield single, allowing White to race home for the game-winning walk-off victory by the aforementioned 4-3 score in eight innings.
“We knew we were in for a dog fight, and Wellston showed up and they played well,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “Ashley came up with bases loaded and no outs, and that kid has probably had 10 at-bats all year, but she stepped up. Man, we talk about mental toughness all the time, and that is an example of it.
“Ashely is a junior who has been in the program for three years and understands what it takes to be mentally tough, and she had an 0-2 count and that was clutch.”
Assistant coach Tom Purtell also spoke about the mental toughness of Sanderson in the game.
“Ashley stepped up, and like Mark said, she had mental toughness, especially after striking out in her first two at-bats,” Purtell said. “She could have shut down, and sometimes that is tough to recover from, but she did a great job of rebounding.”
Now, getting to that moment of the game saw a few ups and downs for the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division I champion Lady Lions, who as the No. 2 seed in the district had to battle with everything they had, including trailing by a 1-0 score at the end of the second inning.
That first run by Wellston saw Kendra Coleman hit a one-out base hit in the infield to reach first base, as she eventually scored the first run of the game for the one-run advantage. The Lady Rockets took a 2-0 lead, beginning with a one-out RBI to the centerfield fence off the bat of Jenna Johnston. After the second out was recorded, Erica Scott smashed the ball to left-centerfield to score Johnston for the second run of the game.
Wellston threatened with two base runners in the top of the fourth with one out, but White had other plans in the circle as she gained the second out on a sacrifice bunt, then slammed the door in the inning by having the ball hit back to her for the third out.
White was the winning pitcher for the Lady Lions, as she completed the game with eight innings in the circle. The senior allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk, and she finished with seven strikeouts.
“Kaiti pitched really well tonight against a good team,” Dettwiller said. “She hit her spots like she was supposed to, and she was something else, because she was also 3-for-4 at the plate. She’s just a phenomenal ball player.”
Fairfield cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth inning, with Hattan hitting the ball to deep right field, racing all the way to third base with a one-out triple to energize and spark the Lady Lions. Next, it was Arnold who, with two strikes against her, put the ball in play, gaining the RBI on a ground out, as Hattan raced home for a 2-1 score.
Wellston left one base runner stranded in the fifth, and in the sixth they were retired in order by White and the Lady Lions’ defense, including the second out of the inning where Molly Thackston stopped the ball in the infield and made a hard throw to first baseman Lyndee Spargur for the out.
The inning Fairfield had been building toward came to fruition in the bottom of the sixth where Spargur — who was the first lead-off batter to reach the bases in the game for FHS — was hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count to start the inning. Next came a bunt base hit by Gragg, and after advancing on the bunt play, Spargur scored off a double hit to left-centerfield by White, tying the score at 2-2 with no outs.
Gragg scored next as she raced home from third base off a ground out to the left side of the field by Hattan, pushing Fairfield ahead for the first time in the district semifinal by a 3-2 sore.
“Lyndee is another senior who is clutch, and she and I talked before that at-bat and I said, “Hey, it is time to step up, senior, because we need a base runner, and she did whatever it took to get there,” Dettwiller said.
Wellston wasn’t finished yet as Johnston hit a two-out, full-count home run over the centerfield fence in the top of the seventh inning, making the score 3-3 and eventually sending the game to extra innings.
Fairfield threatened to win the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a two-out walk by freshman Halle Hamilton, followed by Spargur hitting a single to right-centerfield and moving Hamilton to third with two outs, but both runners were left stranded.
“The kids really stepped up and played fantastic defense,” Dettwiller said.
The loss in the circle went to Ashley Compston, who pitched seven innings (pitched in the eighth but recorded no outs), allowing four runs (all earned) on eight hits and three walks, with nine strikeouts.
Next for Fairfield is the district finals on Saturday, May 18, as they’ll be facing the No. 1 seeded Wheelersburg Lady Pirates at 1 p.m. at Unoto High School. Wheelersburg is 21-2 overall this season, and they defeated Minford on Thursday night by a 13-3 score in six innings at UHS.
Also this postseason, Wheelersburg defeated Pomeroy Meigs in the sectional finals by an 11-1 score. Fairfield, in their sectional game earlier this tournament, won by an 11-1 score against Portsmouth.
“Wheelersburg is the top-ranked team in the district and we are the two seed, and they are ranked third in the state and we are ranked four. That game will be a good one and worth the price of admission,” Dettwiller said. “I’m fully expecting that one will be just like tonight.”
In a tough battle with the Wellston Lady Golden Rockets in their Division III SE District Semifinal game at Unioto High School Thursday, the Lady Lions of Fairfield — who are ranked fourth in the state in Division III — trailed for a few innings, took the lead, then lost the lead in the seventh inning to see the game go into extra innings, ultimately seeing Fairfield win by a 4-3 score.
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After holding the No. 3 seeded Wellston squad three-up, three-down in the top of the eighth, the Fairfield Lady Lions decided it was time to show why they are the reigning four-time SE District champions and took control of the game for good in the bottom of the eighth inning, and it was the bat of junior Ashley Sanderson who sent the Fairfield faithful home happy.
The Fairfield half of the eighth inning began with a walk on a full count by senior Kaiti White, and she was moved to second base on the ensuing at-bat with sophomore Layla Hattan sending the ball to centerfield with an 0-2 count against her.
Next to the plate was senior Lauren Arnold, who following a quick conference with head coach Mark Dettwiller put down a bunt for a base hit to load the bases, with White at third base and Hattan moving to second base.
Having no outs, Sanderson stepped to the plate, something she hasn’t done a lot this season as she is the starting right fielder, but didn’t bat much during the regular season. As things went for Sanderson, a spot in the batting order opened up this week, and in her fourth at-bat of the game — after being hitless in her first three at-bats — Sanderson learned from those previous at bats and had the swing of the season thus far for Fairfield.
Having an 0-2 count to start the at-bat, Sanderson then hit a foul ball, and followed that by watching two straight pitches be called for balls. Then, with a 2-2 count, Sanderson swung the bat for an infield single, allowing White to race home for the game-winning walk-off victory by the aforementioned 4-3 score in eight innings.
“We knew we were in for a dog fight, and Wellston showed up and they played well,” Fairfield head coach Mark Dettwiller said. “Ashley came up with bases loaded and no outs, and that kid has probably had 10 at-bats all year, but she stepped up. Man, we talk about mental toughness all the time, and that is an example of it.
“Ashely is a junior who has been in the program for three years and understands what it takes to be mentally tough, and she had an 0-2 count and that was clutch.”
Assistant coach Tom Purtell also spoke about the mental toughness of Sanderson in the game.
“Ashley stepped up, and like Mark said, she had mental toughness, especially after striking out in her first two at-bats,” Purtell said. “She could have shut down, and sometimes that is tough to recover from, but she did a great job of rebounding.”
Now, getting to that moment of the game saw a few ups and downs for the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division I champion Lady Lions, who as the No. 2 seed in the district had to battle with everything they had, including trailing by a 1-0 score at the end of the second inning.
That first run by Wellston saw Kendra Coleman hit a one-out base hit in the infield to reach first base, as she eventually scored the first run of the game for the one-run advantage. The Lady Rockets took a 2-0 lead, beginning with a one-out RBI to the centerfield fence off the bat of Jenna Johnston. After the second out was recorded, Erica Scott smashed the ball to left-centerfield to score Johnston for the second run of the game.
Wellston threatened with two base runners in the top of the fourth with one out, but White had other plans in the circle as she gained the second out on a sacrifice bunt, then slammed the door in the inning by having the ball hit back to her for the third out.
White was the winning pitcher for the Lady Lions, as she completed the game with eight innings in the circle. The senior allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk, and she finished with seven strikeouts.
“Kaiti pitched really well tonight against a good team,” Dettwiller said. “She hit her spots like she was supposed to, and she was something else, because she was also 3-for-4 at the plate. She’s just a phenomenal ball player.”
Fairfield cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth inning, with Hattan hitting the ball to deep right field, racing all the way to third base with a one-out triple to energize and spark the Lady Lions. Next, it was Arnold who, with two strikes against her, put the ball in play, gaining the RBI on a ground out, as Hattan raced home for a 2-1 score.
Wellston left one base runner stranded in the fifth, and in the sixth they were retired in order by White and the Lady Lions’ defense, including the second out of the inning where Molly Thackston stopped the ball in the infield and made a hard throw to first baseman Lyndee Spargur for the out.
The inning Fairfield had been building toward came to fruition in the bottom of the sixth where Spargur — who was the first lead-off batter to reach the bases in the game for FHS — was hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count to start the inning. Next came a bunt base hit by Gragg, and after advancing on the bunt play, Spargur scored off a double hit to left-centerfield by White, tying the score at 2-2 with no outs.
Gragg scored next as she raced home from third base off a ground out to the left side of the field by Hattan, pushing Fairfield ahead for the first time in the district semifinal by a 3-2 sore.
“Lyndee is another senior who is clutch, and she and I talked before that at-bat and I said, “Hey, it is time to step up, senior, because we need a base runner, and she did whatever it took to get there,” Dettwiller said.
Wellston wasn’t finished yet as Johnston hit a two-out, full-count home run over the centerfield fence in the top of the seventh inning, making the score 3-3 and eventually sending the game to extra innings.
Fairfield threatened to win the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a two-out walk by freshman Halle Hamilton, followed by Spargur hitting a single to right-centerfield and moving Hamilton to third with two outs, but both runners were left stranded.
“The kids really stepped up and played fantastic defense,” Dettwiller said.
The loss in the circle went to Ashley Compston, who pitched seven innings (pitched in the eighth but recorded no outs), allowing four runs (all earned) on eight hits and three walks, with nine strikeouts.
Next for Fairfield is the district finals on Saturday, May 18, as they’ll be facing the No. 1 seeded Wheelersburg Lady Pirates at 1 p.m. at Unoto High School. Wheelersburg is 21-2 overall this season, and they defeated Minford on Thursday night by a 13-3 score in six innings at UHS.
Also this postseason, Wheelersburg defeated Pomeroy Meigs in the sectional finals by an 11-1 score. Fairfield, in their sectional game earlier this tournament, won by an 11-1 score against Portsmouth.
“Wheelersburg is the top-ranked team in the district and we are the two seed, and they are ranked third in the state and we are ranked four. That game will be a good one and worth the price of admission,” Dettwiller said. “I’m fully expecting that one will be just like tonight.”