LC Mustangs take down host Fairfield

LEESBURG — Tuesday night saw the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs avenge a loss from earlier this season, as they went on the road and defeated the host Fairfield Lions by a 5-2 score at FHS.

Fairfield led early by a 1-0 score, but the Mustangs took advantage of some key opportunities and had some key hits and exciting base running to score three runs in the top of the second, including stealing home.

The Lions added a run in the bottom of the fourth, but LCHS answered with a two-run fifth inning, completing the scoring for the game.

In all, the Mustangs totaled five hits and had four errors, while the Lions finished with three hits and had three errors.

As for the scoring in the contest, the Lions’ first-inning run came off an infield error, which allowed Dow Moon to score for the early 1-0 lead.

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The Mustangs in their three-run second inning started off with a one-out single by Austin Bell, followed with a base hit by Braedon West, scoring Bell, tying the score at 1-1. Next, West took second on the throw, and then later third on a wild pitch, while Barnhill walked during the same at-bat.

West then stole home, while Barnhill stole second base, and when Austin Barnhill reached first on an error, Hunter Barnhill moved to third base. Hunter Barnhill scored on a fly ball to right field off the bat of Josiah Burns for the sacrifice fly RBI, putting the Mustangs ahead by a 3-1 score.

“I told the boys all year long that if we can get people on base and swing the bat, we will do things to score runs. We will bunt, we had a suicide squeeze that turned into a steal of home, but we can’t put pressure on teams when we are on the bases,” LCHS head coach Vince Pitzer said. “That steal of home changed the entire game, and in my head I was counting one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two and I was like ‘go go go,’ and it just so happened the pitcher paused and then things went our way with the throw and tag attempt. It changed the game.”

Fairfield made it a 3-2 deficit when Burns reached the bases on an error, then took second base via the same error. Next, he moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Noah Allering. With two outs, Owen Larrick had a single to left field that scored Burns.

The Mustangs came back with a two-run inning in the top of the fifth with Luke Smith and Patrick Meddock scoring runs, with both runners scoring on an bunt and error in the same sequence.

For the game, the Mustangs totaled five hits, five walks and two RBI, with Bell finishing 2-for-3 with one run. Cole Wells, Smith and West each had one hit in the win. Burns and West were credited with RBIs. Burns also had two walks, while Hunter Barnhill also forced two walks, and teammate Meddock had one walk.

Austin Barnhill was the winning pitcher as he finished with seven innings pitched for the complete game, allowing two unearned runs on three hits, no walks and six strikeouts.

“Props to Austin Barnhill and his game,” Pitzer said. “His final pitch count was 73, and he was very efficient. When you throw strikes, that’s what happens.”

For FHS, their three hits were by Jacob Morgan, Larrick and Moon.

“Tonight our guys listened and focused, and you can see the difference from when that happens to the first time we played,” Pitzer said.