Mustangs' early start leads to win over Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs visited Fairfield and left with a win against their Southern Hills Athletic Conference opponent, as they defeated the host Fairfield Lions 9-7, Tuesday.
The Mustangs (1-2) scored all but one of their nine runs in the first three innings, with a two-run first, four-run second and two-run third for what was an 8-1 lead after three innings.
"The key was getting the lead early," LC head coach Garyn Waits said. "It was nice getting ahead like that and taking advantage of their mistakes.
"We just need to learn how to finish … we let them come back, and it was a good thing we jumped out early and built the lead we did."
LC opened the game with Gage Waits taking first base on an infield error, followed by Cory Snider hitting a single and Chaz Lanier taking first on a fielder's choice, with Snider out at second.
With two outs, Ryan Inman singled to left field, scoring both Waits and Lanier.
The following inning saw four runs cross home plate as Josh Bauer walked to start the second for LC. Following a sacrifice bunt by Waits, Snider took to the bases on a hit by pitch.
Lanier loaded the bases with a walk, and Scott Cawood batted in two runs with a single to left-centerfield. Ryan Inman followed with another two-RBI hit by LC, as he also sent the ball to left-centerfield to score Lanier and Cawood as all four runs scored with just one out.
LC scored their final run in the top of the sixth with Snider scoring off a base hit by Inman. Snider reached the base with a single.
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The Mustangs totaled nine hits with Inman leading at 3-for-4 with four stolen bases and five RBIs.
Snider also had a multi-hit day at 2-for-4 with two runs. Waits, Snider, Lanier and Bauer each scored two runs.
As for the host Lions (2-2), their first run came in the second inning with Zach Cox rounding the bases. He began the inning with a base hit.
The Lions added another run in the fourth with Gage Montgomery scoring on an error after gaining a base hit.
FHS came alive in the sixth, making the score closer with four runs. Dylan Rohde singled to begin the sixth for FHS, followed by Quintin Schaffer taking first on a walk.
Cody Bennett followed with a walk and with one out, runs scored on consecutive errors by the visitors with Rohde, Schaffer, Bennett and Joey Wilson scoring runs.
In the seventh, Rohde scored after taking first on a single. He was batted in off a base hit by Blake Hildebrant.
"We got down early, had some breaks not go our way and added that with errors," Fairfield head coach Matt Garman said. "If we didn't have a couple of the errors, we really could have made things interesting.
"We can't make errors and mistakes against good teams."
The pitching win went to Snider, who went four innings. Snider allowed two runs (none earned) on four hits and three walks. The freshman struck out two.
Lanier pitched the final three innings for the save. The junior allowed five runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks as he struck out one batter.
"Eleven of the 20 runs we've allowed have been unearned runs," Waits said. "We are young, so we are going to see things like that, but we need to work on that."
The loss went to Cox, who pitched 1.1 innings. He tallied six runs (four earned) on three hits and three walks, hitting one batter. Wilson pitched the remainder of the game in relief (five strikeouts), after pitching a shutout on Saturday.
The Mustangs (1-2) scored all but one of their nine runs in the first three innings, with a two-run first, four-run second and two-run third for what was an 8-1 lead after three innings.
"The key was getting the lead early," LC head coach Garyn Waits said. "It was nice getting ahead like that and taking advantage of their mistakes.
"We just need to learn how to finish … we let them come back, and it was a good thing we jumped out early and built the lead we did."
LC opened the game with Gage Waits taking first base on an infield error, followed by Cory Snider hitting a single and Chaz Lanier taking first on a fielder's choice, with Snider out at second.
With two outs, Ryan Inman singled to left field, scoring both Waits and Lanier.
The following inning saw four runs cross home plate as Josh Bauer walked to start the second for LC. Following a sacrifice bunt by Waits, Snider took to the bases on a hit by pitch.
Lanier loaded the bases with a walk, and Scott Cawood batted in two runs with a single to left-centerfield. Ryan Inman followed with another two-RBI hit by LC, as he also sent the ball to left-centerfield to score Lanier and Cawood as all four runs scored with just one out.
LC scored their final run in the top of the sixth with Snider scoring off a base hit by Inman. Snider reached the base with a single.
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The Mustangs totaled nine hits with Inman leading at 3-for-4 with four stolen bases and five RBIs.
Snider also had a multi-hit day at 2-for-4 with two runs. Waits, Snider, Lanier and Bauer each scored two runs.
As for the host Lions (2-2), their first run came in the second inning with Zach Cox rounding the bases. He began the inning with a base hit.
The Lions added another run in the fourth with Gage Montgomery scoring on an error after gaining a base hit.
FHS came alive in the sixth, making the score closer with four runs. Dylan Rohde singled to begin the sixth for FHS, followed by Quintin Schaffer taking first on a walk.
Cody Bennett followed with a walk and with one out, runs scored on consecutive errors by the visitors with Rohde, Schaffer, Bennett and Joey Wilson scoring runs.
In the seventh, Rohde scored after taking first on a single. He was batted in off a base hit by Blake Hildebrant.
"We got down early, had some breaks not go our way and added that with errors," Fairfield head coach Matt Garman said. "If we didn't have a couple of the errors, we really could have made things interesting.
"We can't make errors and mistakes against good teams."
The pitching win went to Snider, who went four innings. Snider allowed two runs (none earned) on four hits and three walks. The freshman struck out two.
Lanier pitched the final three innings for the save. The junior allowed five runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks as he struck out one batter.
"Eleven of the 20 runs we've allowed have been unearned runs," Waits said. "We are young, so we are going to see things like that, but we need to work on that."
The loss went to Cox, who pitched 1.1 innings. He tallied six runs (four earned) on three hits and three walks, hitting one batter. Wilson pitched the remainder of the game in relief (five strikeouts), after pitching a shutout on Saturday.