Lions 3-peat as SHAC baseball champions; Zane Matthews tosses no-hitter
On Friday night, the Fairfield Lions clinched a Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship, winning the Division II title by defeating the West Union 12-0 at Fairfield High School.
This is the 13th SHAC championship in program history, as the current three-peat began in 2022.
Fairfield also had a no-hitter thrown by Zane Matthews, with a five-inning effort where he allowed no runs, two walks and no hits, while also striking out six batters. Matthews threw 56 pitches in the game, 38 for strikes.
Offensively, the Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the first, followed with another two-run inning in the third. From there, the Lions scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to have 12 total runs in the win.
For the game, Fairfield collected nine hits and no errors, while West Union had the aforementioned no hits and they also committed six errors.
Matthews was also on point at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with three runs and one RBI.
Wyatt Willey was 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI, while Corey Zimmerman went 2-for-3 with a run and one RBI.
The Lions also had Cade Miller go 1-for-2 with one run, three RBI and a walk. Blaine Fauber finished 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
FHS saw Gabe Fouch score one run and walk three times, while Corbin Willey scored one run and walked once. Cody Frost finished with two runs, one RBI and two walks. Carson Chandler collected one RBI.
Extra-base hits for the Lions included Wyatt Willey and Miller each hitting a double. Wyatt Willey, Corbin Willey, Matthews (three) and Zimmerman all had steals.
FHS wins the SHAC Division II championship with a conference record of 10-3, as they are also 16-4 overall.
BOX SCORE
WUHS 000 00x x — 0 0 6
FHS 202 8xx x — 12 9 0
On Wednesday (May 8), the Lions won a road non-conference game versus the Logan Chieftains by a 21-0 score in a five-inning run-rule game.
The Lions in the big win collected 14 hits and had just one error, while LHS totaled three hits and two errors.
Fairfield had three players with three hits each as those players were Zane Matthews, Cade Miller and Cohen Frost.
Matthews finished 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBI. Miller was 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBI. Frost finished 3-for-3 with two runs, three RBI and two walks.
Gabe Fouch was 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI and a walk. Corbin Willey finished the game 1-for-3 with a run, one RBI and one walk.
The Lions also had Carson Chandler go 1-for-2 with four runs, two RBI and two walks. Corey Zimmerman was 1-for-1 with one run, two RBI and one walk. Cade Miller scored one run, and Wyatt Willey totaled two runs, one RBI and a walk. Blaine Fauber scored two runs, had one RBI and walked four times.
Fairfield had six extra-base hits with Miller hitting a home run, while Fouch and Corbin Willey each hit a triple. Hitting doubles for FHS were Fouch, Matthews and Frost.
Miller was the winning pitcher, going all five innings on the mound, allowing no runs on three hits and no walks, with five strikeouts.
BOX SCORE
FHS 147 81x x — 21 14 1
LHS 000 00x x — 0 3 2
Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.