Lady Lions roar to district championship
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MINFORD — One gutsy squeeze play perfected by Kylie Bates and Courtney Huff gave the Fairfield Lady Lions the upper hand on Saturday afternoon in the SE District Division IV District Final.
The squeeze play that put the Lady Lions up two runs in the top of the seventh inning put the Division IV No. 4 state-ranked Lady Lions (18-2) in the driver's seat, as they added two more runs in the inning, sealing the district title with a 4-0 win over Belpre, the No. 1 seed of the East Bracket.
FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman specified this is a "TEAM" win.
"This is a team," Zimmerman said. "We have people who play roles, we have players who work hard in practice that help us. All of that, and no one ever complains … they never complain. The intensity we have with our practices, no one complains.
"Our substitutes, the courtesy runners, they all do what is asked. This is a fantastic group of young ladies who are determined and have a lot of confidence right now."
Fairfield led 1-0 at the start of the seventh, but that quickly changed when Shelby Smithson led off with a double to centerfield, advancing to third on a passed ball. That's when the strategy came in to play as the Lady Lions brought in courtesy runner Courtney Huff to run for Smithson at third. With one out, senior Kylie Bates did what seniors do by stepping up and seizing the moment with a squeeze bunt that scored a sliding Huff, with Bates safe at first base.
Bates bunted in all three trips to the plate.
"Execution. I have to give the credit to coach Tom (Purtell). He brought in Courtney (Huff), who is our specialist in courtesy running, and she did a great job," Zimmerman said. "I talked to Kylie (Bates) and told her we are going to bunt the first pitch, and she said 'All right, give me the hit sign.' So I gave her the hit sign and she lays down the perfect bunt.
"Those little things this team does, shows their determination. I can't say enough about how hard they play."
In the ensuing at-bat, Heather Huff took first base on an error, even after a collision at the base with the Belpre first baseman. Bates scored on a fielder's choice hit by Abby Thackston, and Whitney Hanenkrat scored Huff on a single to left field.
The team effort by the Lady Lions was also enough to keep their opponents scoreless for the fifth straight game, which equals 31 consecutive innings.
"Our defense plays fantastic. Lauren (Larrick) throws hard in a one-run game, and we got a hit when we needed. Obviously the squeeze was a big play, but we put them (Belpre) on their heels and made it 4-0," Zimmerman said.
In the current scoreless inning streak by FHS, four of the games were big games, including a Southern Hills League title game against Peebles and three postseason games. The other game was against Manchester with rain in the forecast.
"We are proud of that (the scoreless inning streak), but we are looking to the next game," Purtell said.
The first FHS run came in the top of the third with senior Jade Shelton (2-for-3) scoring on a one-out single to centerfield by Danielle Butler.
The last time FHS won a district title was 2006, which is the fifth district title for the Fairfield softball program.
Besides the offensive output by FHS on Saturday, the defense stood out with Lauren Larrick pitching the complete game, and being perfect through 5 1-3 innings.
She gave up her first hit in the sixth inning on a single. The junior allowed just two hits and walked one batter, tossing her 31st consecutive scoreless inning. Against Belpre, Larrick had seven strikeouts, including striking out the final Belpre batter for the win.
Of the 27 outs recorded by the Lady Lions' defense (seven strikeouts), eight came on the ground, and six came on fly ball or line drive outs.
"When you have Lauren Larrick on the mound, with the way we play defense and run the bases, and we get enough hits, we are hard to stop. We put pressure on them (Belpre) today even though we didn't score early," Purtell said.
Zimmerman continued to talk about the team aspect of the Lady Lions and how they do the little things correct.
"When you have a pitcher like Lauren it keeps us in every game," he said. "It comes down to making a play, getting a hit, laying a bunt down … those little things win softball games, and this team right now is doing the little things right.
"That sums it up … it's a full team effort."
Next for the district champion Lady Lions is a date in the regional tournament, as they will face the Pickerington District champion Newark Catholic, who defeated No. 2 seeded Lancaster Fisher Catholic 1-0, Saturday at Pickerington High School. Newark Catholic is ranked 10th in the state.
FHS and Newark Catholic (19-8) will square off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 26 at Pickerington High School.
"Matthew and I were both involved the last time we went to the regionals. We are going to talk a lot about preparation and the strategy there (PHS), Purtell said. "It can get emotional. We'll pull out the scorebook from the last regional we went to and look at it."
Zimmerman summed up the day.
"We had great fan support. We had a huge crowd who traveled a long way. I can't focus enough on this team. This a full team effort … every young lady on this team. It's fantastic. I'm proud of this group of young ladies, and we aren't done yet."
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions have won district titles in 1981, '82, '86, '06, '11 … They last won a regional title in 1982 … FHS finished the game with seven hits … Kortney Paris had the first FHS with a double in the second inning … Newark Catholic has won the following tournament games (10-0 vs. Marion Catholic), (13-0 vs. Morral Ridgedale), (2-1 vs. Millersport), (1-0 vs. Lancaster Fisher Catholic) … FHS stranded seven base runners … Belpre stranded all three of their base runners.[[In-content Ad]]
The squeeze play that put the Lady Lions up two runs in the top of the seventh inning put the Division IV No. 4 state-ranked Lady Lions (18-2) in the driver's seat, as they added two more runs in the inning, sealing the district title with a 4-0 win over Belpre, the No. 1 seed of the East Bracket.
FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman specified this is a "TEAM" win.
"This is a team," Zimmerman said. "We have people who play roles, we have players who work hard in practice that help us. All of that, and no one ever complains … they never complain. The intensity we have with our practices, no one complains.
"Our substitutes, the courtesy runners, they all do what is asked. This is a fantastic group of young ladies who are determined and have a lot of confidence right now."
Fairfield led 1-0 at the start of the seventh, but that quickly changed when Shelby Smithson led off with a double to centerfield, advancing to third on a passed ball. That's when the strategy came in to play as the Lady Lions brought in courtesy runner Courtney Huff to run for Smithson at third. With one out, senior Kylie Bates did what seniors do by stepping up and seizing the moment with a squeeze bunt that scored a sliding Huff, with Bates safe at first base.
Bates bunted in all three trips to the plate.
"Execution. I have to give the credit to coach Tom (Purtell). He brought in Courtney (Huff), who is our specialist in courtesy running, and she did a great job," Zimmerman said. "I talked to Kylie (Bates) and told her we are going to bunt the first pitch, and she said 'All right, give me the hit sign.' So I gave her the hit sign and she lays down the perfect bunt.
"Those little things this team does, shows their determination. I can't say enough about how hard they play."
In the ensuing at-bat, Heather Huff took first base on an error, even after a collision at the base with the Belpre first baseman. Bates scored on a fielder's choice hit by Abby Thackston, and Whitney Hanenkrat scored Huff on a single to left field.
The team effort by the Lady Lions was also enough to keep their opponents scoreless for the fifth straight game, which equals 31 consecutive innings.
"Our defense plays fantastic. Lauren (Larrick) throws hard in a one-run game, and we got a hit when we needed. Obviously the squeeze was a big play, but we put them (Belpre) on their heels and made it 4-0," Zimmerman said.
In the current scoreless inning streak by FHS, four of the games were big games, including a Southern Hills League title game against Peebles and three postseason games. The other game was against Manchester with rain in the forecast.
"We are proud of that (the scoreless inning streak), but we are looking to the next game," Purtell said.
The first FHS run came in the top of the third with senior Jade Shelton (2-for-3) scoring on a one-out single to centerfield by Danielle Butler.
The last time FHS won a district title was 2006, which is the fifth district title for the Fairfield softball program.
Besides the offensive output by FHS on Saturday, the defense stood out with Lauren Larrick pitching the complete game, and being perfect through 5 1-3 innings.
She gave up her first hit in the sixth inning on a single. The junior allowed just two hits and walked one batter, tossing her 31st consecutive scoreless inning. Against Belpre, Larrick had seven strikeouts, including striking out the final Belpre batter for the win.
Of the 27 outs recorded by the Lady Lions' defense (seven strikeouts), eight came on the ground, and six came on fly ball or line drive outs.
"When you have Lauren Larrick on the mound, with the way we play defense and run the bases, and we get enough hits, we are hard to stop. We put pressure on them (Belpre) today even though we didn't score early," Purtell said.
Zimmerman continued to talk about the team aspect of the Lady Lions and how they do the little things correct.
"When you have a pitcher like Lauren it keeps us in every game," he said. "It comes down to making a play, getting a hit, laying a bunt down … those little things win softball games, and this team right now is doing the little things right.
"That sums it up … it's a full team effort."
Next for the district champion Lady Lions is a date in the regional tournament, as they will face the Pickerington District champion Newark Catholic, who defeated No. 2 seeded Lancaster Fisher Catholic 1-0, Saturday at Pickerington High School. Newark Catholic is ranked 10th in the state.
FHS and Newark Catholic (19-8) will square off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 26 at Pickerington High School.
"Matthew and I were both involved the last time we went to the regionals. We are going to talk a lot about preparation and the strategy there (PHS), Purtell said. "It can get emotional. We'll pull out the scorebook from the last regional we went to and look at it."
Zimmerman summed up the day.
"We had great fan support. We had a huge crowd who traveled a long way. I can't focus enough on this team. This a full team effort … every young lady on this team. It's fantastic. I'm proud of this group of young ladies, and we aren't done yet."
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions have won district titles in 1981, '82, '86, '06, '11 … They last won a regional title in 1982 … FHS finished the game with seven hits … Kortney Paris had the first FHS with a double in the second inning … Newark Catholic has won the following tournament games (10-0 vs. Marion Catholic), (13-0 vs. Morral Ridgedale), (2-1 vs. Millersport), (1-0 vs. Lancaster Fisher Catholic) … FHS stranded seven base runners … Belpre stranded all three of their base runners.[[In-content Ad]]