Larrick perfect, Lady Lions clinch SHL title
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — There were many reasons to celebrate for the Fairfield Lady Lions Wednesday. First off, with their 6-0 win over Manchester, they clinched their second consecutive Southern Hills League Division II title, and the second reason was senior pitcher Lauren Larrick was perfect from the circle, tossing her first career perfect game.
First, the Division II SHL crown is the Lady Lions' sixth in the past eight seasons, and secondly, they have won 24 of their past 25 league games the past two seasons. Overall this season FHS is 15-6.
"This is a great way to clinch the league title," Fairfield head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "Lauren pitched well, our defense was fantastic, and our shortstop (Kaitlin Evans) made some great catches.
"We had a dropped third strike, but Whitney (Hanankrat) regrouped and threw the runner out at first. Those few plays were big."
As for the rare feat of a perfect game, all cylinders were clicking, not only for Larrick (who was greeted with a hug by her father and Lady Lion pitching coach Marvin Larrick following the game), but for the Lady Lion defense, as the senior pitcher already tossed a no-hitter earlier in the season at Whiteoak.
For her high school career, Larrick now has four combined no-hitters and perfect games, and 24 career shutouts.
Against Manchester Larrick threw a total of 82 pitches, as no batter reached first base. She finished the game allowing no runs, hits or walks, while totaling 13 strikeouts, including striking out the side in the fourth and seventh innings.
Of the 13 strikeouts, three were called third strikes, while she recorded at least one strikeout in all but the fifth inning. Larrick totaled nine 0-2 counts on the day, along with 16 first-pitch strikes that were either caught for a strike by the catcher, hit into play for an out or hit for a foul ball.
[[In-content Ad]]Offensively for the Lady Lions, their runs came in the first, fifth and sixth innings as they wrapped up the game with seven hits.
"Our offense made adjustments because early on, we were struggling at the plate," Zimmerman said. "That's what I want to see each game … when we are struggling, I want to see the girls to make the adjustments they need to make when at the plate."
Their first run came in the first inning, which ended up being all the run support needed by Larrick, beginning with a lead-off base hit by Courtney Huff, eventually scoring on a ground out to second by Whitney Hanenkrat for the RBI and 1-0 lead.
The score stayed the same until the bottom of the fourth inning, as the Lady Lions broke out with four runs on five hits and one error.
Cynnamon Sova-Davy (1-for-3) singled and moved to third base. She scored on a single by Taylor Butler, who finished 1-for-2. Liz Jones (who was the courtesy runner for Butler) eventually scored on a sacrifice bunt to third by Justice Hattan.
Huff (2-for-4) followed up with a triple and scored on a double by Evans (1-for-2, sacrifice). Larrick (1-for-2, walk) doubled to score Evans, putting the Lady Lions ahead 5-0.
For good measure, FHS added one run in the bottom of the sixth inning with Halie Chain reaching first base on a fielding error by Manchester. She eventually scored on a single by Hattan. Hattan finished 1-for-2 with a sacrifice on the day.
"It's good to clinch another league title," FHS assistant coach Tom Purtell said. "Perfect games are rare and special. The girls on the team look up to Lauren. She's determined and one of our leaders.
"We feed off her leadership."
There won't be much time to rest for FHS as they are hosting the Hillsboro Lady Indians on Thursday in a non-league game which will be senior night for the Lady Lions at 5 p.m.
BOX SCORE
MHS 000 000 0 — 0 0 2
FHS 100 041 x — 6 7 0
First, the Division II SHL crown is the Lady Lions' sixth in the past eight seasons, and secondly, they have won 24 of their past 25 league games the past two seasons. Overall this season FHS is 15-6.
"This is a great way to clinch the league title," Fairfield head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "Lauren pitched well, our defense was fantastic, and our shortstop (Kaitlin Evans) made some great catches.
"We had a dropped third strike, but Whitney (Hanankrat) regrouped and threw the runner out at first. Those few plays were big."
As for the rare feat of a perfect game, all cylinders were clicking, not only for Larrick (who was greeted with a hug by her father and Lady Lion pitching coach Marvin Larrick following the game), but for the Lady Lion defense, as the senior pitcher already tossed a no-hitter earlier in the season at Whiteoak.
For her high school career, Larrick now has four combined no-hitters and perfect games, and 24 career shutouts.
Against Manchester Larrick threw a total of 82 pitches, as no batter reached first base. She finished the game allowing no runs, hits or walks, while totaling 13 strikeouts, including striking out the side in the fourth and seventh innings.
Of the 13 strikeouts, three were called third strikes, while she recorded at least one strikeout in all but the fifth inning. Larrick totaled nine 0-2 counts on the day, along with 16 first-pitch strikes that were either caught for a strike by the catcher, hit into play for an out or hit for a foul ball.
[[In-content Ad]]Offensively for the Lady Lions, their runs came in the first, fifth and sixth innings as they wrapped up the game with seven hits.
"Our offense made adjustments because early on, we were struggling at the plate," Zimmerman said. "That's what I want to see each game … when we are struggling, I want to see the girls to make the adjustments they need to make when at the plate."
Their first run came in the first inning, which ended up being all the run support needed by Larrick, beginning with a lead-off base hit by Courtney Huff, eventually scoring on a ground out to second by Whitney Hanenkrat for the RBI and 1-0 lead.
The score stayed the same until the bottom of the fourth inning, as the Lady Lions broke out with four runs on five hits and one error.
Cynnamon Sova-Davy (1-for-3) singled and moved to third base. She scored on a single by Taylor Butler, who finished 1-for-2. Liz Jones (who was the courtesy runner for Butler) eventually scored on a sacrifice bunt to third by Justice Hattan.
Huff (2-for-4) followed up with a triple and scored on a double by Evans (1-for-2, sacrifice). Larrick (1-for-2, walk) doubled to score Evans, putting the Lady Lions ahead 5-0.
For good measure, FHS added one run in the bottom of the sixth inning with Halie Chain reaching first base on a fielding error by Manchester. She eventually scored on a single by Hattan. Hattan finished 1-for-2 with a sacrifice on the day.
"It's good to clinch another league title," FHS assistant coach Tom Purtell said. "Perfect games are rare and special. The girls on the team look up to Lauren. She's determined and one of our leaders.
"We feed off her leadership."
There won't be much time to rest for FHS as they are hosting the Hillsboro Lady Indians on Thursday in a non-league game which will be senior night for the Lady Lions at 5 p.m.
BOX SCORE
MHS 000 000 0 — 0 0 2
FHS 100 041 x — 6 7 0