Fairfield Lions fall in district quarterfinals by one run against Racine Southern

The Fairfield Lions gained their first hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at 1-1, but ultimately the Lions were unable to gain the Division VII SE DIstrict Quarterfinal victory on Thursday, falling to the Racine Southern Tornadoes, 2-1 at Fairfield High School. 

Fairfield’s lone run came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Cameron Miller hit the ball to centerfield for two bases, scoring Greyson Abbott, who led off the inning with a 10-pitch walk. 

Abbott advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Spencer Hurless and scored his run from second base on the double by Miller, as Miller had both hits for the Lions, finishing 2-for-4 with one RBI. 

Southern’s first run was scored in the top of the first as Hunter Jarrell singled past the shortstop and went to second on a ground ball. He then advanced to third base when teammate Will Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jarrell scored the run off a groundout to second base for the 1-0 advantage.

The Tornadoes took their one-run lead in the top of the seventh inning as Dayton Reiber singled to left field with a line drive. After an out was recorded, Reiber went to second base on a four-pitch walk by Jarrell. Reiber was out at third on a fielder’s choice, but Jarrell went to second and Jeremy Harmon landed at first base. 

Southern then had Paxton Hoffman enter the game as a courtesy runner for Jarrell, and he scored on an infield error for the 2-1 advantage. 

Fairfield threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Cameron Miller hit a two-out triple on a ball hit to centerfield, but he was left on the bases as the next at-bat recorded the final out of the season. 

Pitching for the Lions was Ben Miller, as the senior pitcher went the distance of seven innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Miller threw 90 pitches in the game, facing 32 batters. 

Southern’s Jack Wickline pitched five innings where he allowed one earned run on one hit and four walks. Wickline finished with six strikeouts, throwing 94 pitches. Jeremy Harmon earned the win with two innings of relief, allowing no earned runs on one hit and two walks with one strikeout. 

Also for the Lions, they had Zane Collins, Weston Baldwin (two), Van Bennington (two) and Abbott all draw walks. Bennington was also hit by a pitch, while Rice had a steal. 

Southern had five hits off the bats of Greyson Duvall, Jarrell, Harmon, Kase Nelson and Reiber. 

The Lions ended the season at 9-18 overall, and they were 6-7 in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. 

Seniors for the Lions are Ben Miller and Zach Ahsaruk. 

BOX SCORE
SHS    100 000 1 — 2 5 1 
FHS    000 010 0 — 1 2 2