State-ranked Lady Lions gain 10th SHL win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lady Lions didn't play like a team that had been stuck in a gym a majority of the past week due to rain outs. In fact, the Division IV No. 4 state-ranked Lady Lions swung the bat with authority Thursday by collecting 14 hits and outscoring the Fayetteville Lady Rockets, 10-1 for their 10th Southern Hills League win of the season.
The Lady Lions are now 10-0 in league play but haven't clinched the league title as they have yet to play the Peebles Lady Indians, who have just one league loss this season. The two teams are scheduled take on each other next Tuesday.
Fairfield (13-1) allowed their lone run in the first inning when Fayetteville scored on a ground out by Delany Davis, as Tori Huber advanced from third. Huber had two hits for the Lady Rockets.
After the run by Fayetteville, the Lady Lions began their dominance of the game, scoring four runs in the first and four more in the second inning for an 8-1 lead.
FHS added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth for a nine-run lead.
"The way we hit the ball (Thursday) was the key," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "We've been working all week on hitting. We weren't happy with the performance we had against Eastern (Brown) at the VA, and ever since then we have re-focused.
"When you have this much of a layoff … you never know. The thing I was proudest of was that we hit the ball with 14 hits. We also played errorless ball, and those are the two things you never know how they will turn out after a long layoff like we had."
The Lady Lions have been having practices in the gym due to all the recent rain in Southern Ohio.
"We've been inside many nights, and this team obviously wants this very, very bad," Zimmerman said. "This is a good team we just played. We've been talking about us being a team, and we have stayed focused very well. The little things gelling are making us come together as a team … more than any other team that I've been associated with."
The Lady Lions answered the one-run first by Fayetteville with four runs of their own for the 4-1 advantage, never looking back.
Heather Huff opened up the inning with a single, stealing second base and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Danielle Butler followed with a walk and stole second base. Both runners scored on a double hit to centerfield by Abby Thackston, giving the Lady Lions a lead they never relinquished.
The inning continued with a one-out base hit by Lauren Larrick, who finished the game 3-for-4. With courtesy runner Taylor Butler running the bases for Larrick, she moved to second on an RBI base hit by Kortney Paris, who brought home Thackston for the fourth run of the inning. Paris was 2-for-4 at the plate.
FHS added two more runs to their lead in the second with Kylie Bates starting the inning with a base hit down the right field line. Bates stole second and took third on an infield single by Huff. Both runners were brought home on a double from Thackston.
Thackston scored on a two-run home run over the left field fence by Hanenkrat. Thackston finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs.
The final two Lady Lion runs were scored in the bottom of the fifth, with Shelby Smithson and Bates crossing the plate. Bates wrapped up the game 2-for-3 with two runs.
Smithson, who was 2-for-4, opened the inning with a base hit to centerfield and with one out, Bates had a bunt-single. Both runners scored on a triple by Butler.
"We told them to play with confidence," assistant coach Tom Purtell said. "It's amazing how much of this game is mental, and you have to have mental toughness. The mental toughness I'm talking about is practicing in the gym late in the season. It's tough to practice in the gym. We've done some new things in the gym, different hitting drills, and hats off to the girls, they are working extremely hard."
Zimmerman also talked about the Lady Lions' work ethic this season.
"Every time we finish a practice, outside or in the gym, we take infield," he said. "We expect them to go as hard in the gym as they would in the field, and that's hard to do … and they do that. When we lose focus in the gym… that worries me … I don't want it to go over to a game, and so far it hasn't."
Larrick was the winning pitcher, her 13th win of the season. Larrick, a junior, pitched seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and five walks. She struck out five.
The loss went to Fayetteville's Claire Carson, who pitched five innings with three strikeouts. She allowed six earned runs.
Purtell spoke about the Lady Lions being state-ranked for the first time since the mid-2000s.
"We were really surprised and happy to see that, but like Matthew said … it doesn't win you any games. It says a lot about our program, and the history of our program. It was a big surprise to jump all the way to be number four in the rankings, but I think people are starting to recognize us."
FHS now stands at 13-1 overall, and Fayetteville drops to 12-3 on the season. The Lady Lions have a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, May 7 vs. Unioto in non-league play.[[In-content Ad]]
The Lady Lions are now 10-0 in league play but haven't clinched the league title as they have yet to play the Peebles Lady Indians, who have just one league loss this season. The two teams are scheduled take on each other next Tuesday.
Fairfield (13-1) allowed their lone run in the first inning when Fayetteville scored on a ground out by Delany Davis, as Tori Huber advanced from third. Huber had two hits for the Lady Rockets.
After the run by Fayetteville, the Lady Lions began their dominance of the game, scoring four runs in the first and four more in the second inning for an 8-1 lead.
FHS added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth for a nine-run lead.
"The way we hit the ball (Thursday) was the key," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "We've been working all week on hitting. We weren't happy with the performance we had against Eastern (Brown) at the VA, and ever since then we have re-focused.
"When you have this much of a layoff … you never know. The thing I was proudest of was that we hit the ball with 14 hits. We also played errorless ball, and those are the two things you never know how they will turn out after a long layoff like we had."
The Lady Lions have been having practices in the gym due to all the recent rain in Southern Ohio.
"We've been inside many nights, and this team obviously wants this very, very bad," Zimmerman said. "This is a good team we just played. We've been talking about us being a team, and we have stayed focused very well. The little things gelling are making us come together as a team … more than any other team that I've been associated with."
The Lady Lions answered the one-run first by Fayetteville with four runs of their own for the 4-1 advantage, never looking back.
Heather Huff opened up the inning with a single, stealing second base and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Danielle Butler followed with a walk and stole second base. Both runners scored on a double hit to centerfield by Abby Thackston, giving the Lady Lions a lead they never relinquished.
The inning continued with a one-out base hit by Lauren Larrick, who finished the game 3-for-4. With courtesy runner Taylor Butler running the bases for Larrick, she moved to second on an RBI base hit by Kortney Paris, who brought home Thackston for the fourth run of the inning. Paris was 2-for-4 at the plate.
FHS added two more runs to their lead in the second with Kylie Bates starting the inning with a base hit down the right field line. Bates stole second and took third on an infield single by Huff. Both runners were brought home on a double from Thackston.
Thackston scored on a two-run home run over the left field fence by Hanenkrat. Thackston finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs.
The final two Lady Lion runs were scored in the bottom of the fifth, with Shelby Smithson and Bates crossing the plate. Bates wrapped up the game 2-for-3 with two runs.
Smithson, who was 2-for-4, opened the inning with a base hit to centerfield and with one out, Bates had a bunt-single. Both runners scored on a triple by Butler.
"We told them to play with confidence," assistant coach Tom Purtell said. "It's amazing how much of this game is mental, and you have to have mental toughness. The mental toughness I'm talking about is practicing in the gym late in the season. It's tough to practice in the gym. We've done some new things in the gym, different hitting drills, and hats off to the girls, they are working extremely hard."
Zimmerman also talked about the Lady Lions' work ethic this season.
"Every time we finish a practice, outside or in the gym, we take infield," he said. "We expect them to go as hard in the gym as they would in the field, and that's hard to do … and they do that. When we lose focus in the gym… that worries me … I don't want it to go over to a game, and so far it hasn't."
Larrick was the winning pitcher, her 13th win of the season. Larrick, a junior, pitched seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and five walks. She struck out five.
The loss went to Fayetteville's Claire Carson, who pitched five innings with three strikeouts. She allowed six earned runs.
Purtell spoke about the Lady Lions being state-ranked for the first time since the mid-2000s.
"We were really surprised and happy to see that, but like Matthew said … it doesn't win you any games. It says a lot about our program, and the history of our program. It was a big surprise to jump all the way to be number four in the rankings, but I think people are starting to recognize us."
FHS now stands at 13-1 overall, and Fayetteville drops to 12-3 on the season. The Lady Lions have a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, May 7 vs. Unioto in non-league play.[[In-content Ad]]