Fairfield tops Whiteoak in 10-inning classic 

Thursday saw an instant classic between two Southern Hills Athletic Conference rivals in Mowrystown as the Fairfield Lions outlasted the Whiteoak Wildcats 8-7 in 10 innings, in a game that was finally played after multiple postponements due to weather conditions. 

The game (played on May 15) saw the two Highland County rivals combine for 15 runs, 22 hits and five errors in their 10-inning battle, with Fairfield collecting 13 hits and they had one error, while Whiteoak totaled nine hits and committed four errors. 

Fairfield was first to strike with a run in the top of the first inning with Zane Matthews leading off with a triple to right field. Matthews scored the game's first run off a groundout by Corey Zimmerman for the 1-0 lead. Matthews finished 4-for-6 with one run.

The Lions led 3-0 once the top of the second inning was complete. After the leadoff batter was recorded out, Zach Ahsaruk reached the bases in the ensuing at-bat on a dropped third strike. Next was a base hit by Anderson Humphreys, with Ahsaruk advancing to third (he previously took second on a passed ball). Humphreys ended the day at 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI. 

FHS took a 2-0 lead when Otis Cockerill had a line drive base hit to centerfield, scoring Ahsaruk. A second out was recorded, allowing Matthews to reach second base on fielder’s choice. Fairfield took a three-run lead when Zimmerman took first base on a two-out infield error, scoring Humphreys.

Fairfield’s lead went to 5-0 in the top of the third with two more runs crossing the plate. The inning started with a six-pitch walk to Blaine Fauber, followed by a single off the bat of Cameron Miller, as he went to second on the throw, which allowed Fauber to reach third base. Miller ended the game at 2-for-5 with a run and a RBI. 

Following an out being recorded, Humphreys hit a single to centerfield for two RBI as Miller and Fauber crossed home plate for the five-run advantage. 

Whiteoak (6-5, 9-7) got on the board in the bottom of the third with a run, and after the first out they forced two consecutive walks as Caden Butler and Zander Roades each drew a walk, with Butler’s walk being on seven pitches, and Roades’ walk occurred on six pitches. Butler went 2-for-3 with a run, one RBI and two walks. 

After Butler stole second during Roades’ walk, he took third on a wild pitch and Roades went to second base. Butler scored when Jonah Michael hit a sacrifice fly to right field for a 5-1 score. 

The score then went to 5-2 when a two-out single by Jacen Applegate to centerfield scored Roades. 

Fairfield (7-4, 9-8) increased their lead by a run to 6-2 in the top of the fourth when Miller hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Corbin Willey with no outs. Willey initially reached the bases on a dropped third strike, then advanced to third base on a single by Fauber. 

Whiteoak answered in the bottom of the fourth inning with two runs rounding the bases, starting with a walk by Abraham Flader on four straight pitches, followed by a single off the bat of Izayah Clift which landed in right field. On the same sequence, Flader scored due to an error in right field on the base hit. 

After two outs were recorded, Butler hit a ground ball single to the shortstop, scoring Clift for a 6-4 WHS deficit. 

Neither team scored a run in the fifth inning, then the Lions made it a 7-4 score in the top of the sixth when Van Bennington hit a single to left field, scoring Zane Collins, who entered the game as a pinch runner for Fauber as he reached on an error.

Once the bottom of the sixth was finished, the Lions’ lead went to a single run as Whiteoak battled back to score two runs in their half of the inning. WHS started the inning with a walk by Clift, followed by Clift landing on second, then he stole third base. Christian Hite singled to left field, scoring Clift. 

An out was recorded, then Butler forced a walk on four pitches, but then came a double play, but not before Hite scored a run for a 7-6 score. 

The bottom of the seventh saw the Wildcats forced extra innings, tying the score at 7-7. The first WHS batter was retired on a strikeout, but then came a walk by Applegate on six pitches. After the second out was recorded, Applegate stole second and then scored a run off a single by Flader as he sent the ball to centerfield. 

In the bottom of the eighth, WHS had two runners stranded as Butler and Roades had singles in the inning. The top of the ninth saw the Lions have Ahsaruk take first on a dropped third strike, and Humphreys reach first on a single. WHS answered with a double play, followed by a fly ball out to right field. 

The Wildcats in the bottom of the ninth began their half inning with Jacob Kiley being hit by a pitch, but then came two straight strikeouts. Hite kept the inning going with a walk, then Jacob Gibson had a base hit to left field to load the bases. The inning ended with the bases loaded as the Lions forced a strikeout to end the inning with the game still tied at 7-7.

Fairfield took the lead in the top of the 10th, starting with Zimmerman doubling to left field with one out. Willey reached first on an error in the infield. With one out, Fauber hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Zimmerman for the final 8-7 score. 

WHS was retired in order in the bottom of the 10th with two fly ball outs to centerfield and a game-ending groundout to the shortstop to seal the win for the Lions. 

Miller was the winning pitcher, finishing with 5.1 innings on the mound, allowing five earned runs on five hits and six walks with six strikeouts. Fauber pitched 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts. 

Roades had the tough-luck loss as he went six innings, allowing three earned runs on 10 hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. Kiley pitched four innings, allowing no earned runs on three hits and no walks with two strikeouts. 

The two teams split the regular-season series as WHS won the first meeting on April 17 by an 8-4 score. 

BOX SCORE
FHS    122 101 000 1 — 8 13 1 
WHS    220 210 100 0 — 7 9 4 

On Wednesday, May 14 at Dayton Dragons Stadium, the Fairfield Lions lost by a 4-0 score to Allen East in non-conference play. 

The Lions had no hits, while Allen East totaled three hits. FHS committed two errors, while AEHS had no errors. 

Allen East scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jackson Thompson of AEHS tossed the no-hitter in seven innings pitched. 

FHS in the loss had a walk by Corey Zimmerman, and two walks forced by Blaine Fauber. Also with a walk was Zach Ahsaruk. Zimmerman and Ahsaruk each had a steal. 

Corbin Willey had the loss on the mound, allowing one earned run in five innings off one hit, and he totaled six strikeouts. Also pitching were Cameron Miller and Anderson Humphreys. 

BOX SCORE
FHS    000 000 0 — 0 0 2 
AHS    000 004 x — 4 3 0 

On Saturday (May 17) the Fairfield Lions lost a SHAC road game to the host Manchester Greyhounds by a 13-3 score in five innings as Manchester clinched the Division II SHAC baseball championship. 

Fairfield in the conference loss scored one run in the top of the third and two runs in the fifth inning. The Lions totaled three hits and committed two errors. 

Manchester ended with nine hits and no errors. The Greyhounds scored one run in the bottom of the second, then added six runs in the third. MHS added another six-run inning in the fifth. 

Hits for the Lions included Zane Matthews (1-for-2), Corbin Willey (1-for-1, one RBI, one walk) and Otis Cockerill (1-for-2, one run). The Lions also had Corey Zimmerman score a run and draw two walks. Caleb Rice finished with one run and a walk. 

Willey and Matthews were each hit by a pitch. Steals went to Matthews, Cockerill, Zimmerman and Rice. 

FHS now stands at 9-9 overall this season. 

BOX SCORE
FHS    001 02x x — 3 3 2
MHS    016 06x x — 13 9 0