Wilson, Cox no-hit Western in sectional final
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Scoring runs or pitching wasn't a problem for the Fairfield Lions on Wednesday. In fact, the pitching wasn't hit at all, as Joey Wilson and Zach Cox combined for a no-hitter in the Lions' 13-0 rout of Western Latham to clinch their third consecutive sectional title.
Fairfield's win consisted of 13 hits, four walks and two hits by pitches at the plate, but the pitching is what set the tone for the host Lions, with Wilson completely dominating the first four innings, going perfect for the first three innings.
FHS improves to 11-13 overall.
Wilson, who earned his third win of the season, allowed the aforementioned zero hits or runs, while walking one batter and striking out seven, keeping the Western batters off-balanced the entire time he was on the mound.
"Coming into this game we wanted Joey to set the pace and he did," FHS head coach Matt Garman said. "He didn't have to throw many pitches and he did everything we wanted him to do perfectly. He kept his count down and threw strikes."
Wilson struck out one batter in the first inning, followed by three consecutive strikeouts in the second and two more in the third. In the fourth he struck out the third and final batter of the inning, as he faced the minimum 12 batters in his four innings as the batter who walked was caught out on second base in the fourth inning.
[[In-content Ad]]Cox pitched the fifth inning, striking out four batters as the third batter he struck out reached first on a dropped third strike.
"Zach came the fifth inning and pitched well. He also threw strikes," Garman said.
At the plate Wilson and Cox were just as strong.
Wilson hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield in the bottom of the fourth making it a 9-0 lead. The home run was his second of the season. Wilson finished 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs. Wilson has 23 RBIs on the year.
Cox was 3-for-3 with three base hits.
"We had some key hits when we needed them, and we took advantage of some of their throwing mistakes. We also ran the bases well," Garman said.
Cody Bennett and Isaiah Liggins each had two hits, while Wyatt Crothers, Gage Montgomery, Dylan Rohde and Quintin Schaffer each had one hit.
In the bottom of the first the Lions scored two runs with Bennett and Crothers rounding the bases. Bennett took first after being hit by a pitch, followed with a steal of second. He went to third on a throwing error. The lead-off hitter scored the first run of the game on a passed ball as he did all of this during the second Lions' at-bat of the inning.
Crothers, the second batter in the order, forced a full-count walk, and stole second base. From there he scored on a base hit to right field by Wilson for the 2-0 first inning lead.
Fairfield's second inning consisted of three runs with Rohde, Schaffer and Bennett all crossing home plate, with Crothers' double breaking the score apart. His two-base hit scored Rohde, then caused a throwing error from the outfield, allowing Schaffer and Bennett to score for a five-run lead.
The Lions added two runs in the third with Cox and Liggins adding to the lead. Gage Montgomery batted in Cox with an infield single. Schaffer scored Liggins on a bases loaded walk.
In the fourth the Lions added six runs with Crothers, Wilson, Cox, Liggins, Blake Hildebrant and Rohde all scoring runs, including the home run by Wilson. Rohde had a two-RBI single to centerfield. Schaffer and Bennett also had RBIs as Bennett batted in the final run on a single to left field.
The Lions will play in the Division IV SE District semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m. as they will face No. 2 state-ranked Racine Southern at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe. Southern has 20-plus wins this season. Last year Southern defeated FHS, 6-2 in the district tournament.
Fairfield's win consisted of 13 hits, four walks and two hits by pitches at the plate, but the pitching is what set the tone for the host Lions, with Wilson completely dominating the first four innings, going perfect for the first three innings.
FHS improves to 11-13 overall.
Wilson, who earned his third win of the season, allowed the aforementioned zero hits or runs, while walking one batter and striking out seven, keeping the Western batters off-balanced the entire time he was on the mound.
"Coming into this game we wanted Joey to set the pace and he did," FHS head coach Matt Garman said. "He didn't have to throw many pitches and he did everything we wanted him to do perfectly. He kept his count down and threw strikes."
Wilson struck out one batter in the first inning, followed by three consecutive strikeouts in the second and two more in the third. In the fourth he struck out the third and final batter of the inning, as he faced the minimum 12 batters in his four innings as the batter who walked was caught out on second base in the fourth inning.
[[In-content Ad]]Cox pitched the fifth inning, striking out four batters as the third batter he struck out reached first on a dropped third strike.
"Zach came the fifth inning and pitched well. He also threw strikes," Garman said.
At the plate Wilson and Cox were just as strong.
Wilson hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield in the bottom of the fourth making it a 9-0 lead. The home run was his second of the season. Wilson finished 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs. Wilson has 23 RBIs on the year.
Cox was 3-for-3 with three base hits.
"We had some key hits when we needed them, and we took advantage of some of their throwing mistakes. We also ran the bases well," Garman said.
Cody Bennett and Isaiah Liggins each had two hits, while Wyatt Crothers, Gage Montgomery, Dylan Rohde and Quintin Schaffer each had one hit.
In the bottom of the first the Lions scored two runs with Bennett and Crothers rounding the bases. Bennett took first after being hit by a pitch, followed with a steal of second. He went to third on a throwing error. The lead-off hitter scored the first run of the game on a passed ball as he did all of this during the second Lions' at-bat of the inning.
Crothers, the second batter in the order, forced a full-count walk, and stole second base. From there he scored on a base hit to right field by Wilson for the 2-0 first inning lead.
Fairfield's second inning consisted of three runs with Rohde, Schaffer and Bennett all crossing home plate, with Crothers' double breaking the score apart. His two-base hit scored Rohde, then caused a throwing error from the outfield, allowing Schaffer and Bennett to score for a five-run lead.
The Lions added two runs in the third with Cox and Liggins adding to the lead. Gage Montgomery batted in Cox with an infield single. Schaffer scored Liggins on a bases loaded walk.
In the fourth the Lions added six runs with Crothers, Wilson, Cox, Liggins, Blake Hildebrant and Rohde all scoring runs, including the home run by Wilson. Rohde had a two-RBI single to centerfield. Schaffer and Bennett also had RBIs as Bennett batted in the final run on a single to left field.
The Lions will play in the Division IV SE District semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m. as they will face No. 2 state-ranked Racine Southern at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe. Southern has 20-plus wins this season. Last year Southern defeated FHS, 6-2 in the district tournament.