Orrie Friend rallies Lions past Eastern Eagles in sectional semifinals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions had a little help from Orrie Friend on Saturday afternoon, as he rallied the Fairfield Lions past the visiting Eastern Eagles, 3-1 in their Division IV SE District Sectional Semifinal game at FHS.
Both teams were tied through three innings, but it was Fairfield taking the first lead of the game with a run scored in the bottom of the fourth. The Eastern Eagles tied the score at 1-1 with a run of their own in the top of the fifth.
Going into the bottom of the sixth, the score was still tied, but once the inning came to a close, that wasn’t the case with Friend batting in two runners with two outs, giving the Lions a 3-1 lead and eventual sectional win.
“What a baseball game. Both teams played well. Gabe has had a great freshman year, and to come out and pitch the way he did in the first round of the tournament was unbelievable,” Fairfield head coach Jeremy McGraw said. “We played some great defense behind him as well. Wyatt Collins made a big diving catch at second, and Hunter Burns was huge behind the plate throwing out two runners.
“Going to the bottom of the sixth inning, I told our guys if we score, we win. That's how I felt with the way Gabe was pitching and our defense was playing.
“Jake Morgan was huge to start the inning,” McGraw continued. “He hadn't had a hit all night, and he came up big with a single to get it started. Hunter Burns laid down a great bunt to move Jake, and he was safe. Cade Miller moved both runners on a fly ball to right.”
McGraw then described the game-winning hit by Friend.
“The hit of the night goes to Orrie Friend with two outs in the bottom of the sixth,” he said. “It was a huge hit for Orrie. He came up big, and I'm proud of him. He has done so many things for us this season that go unnoticed. He never complains, just comes in, works hard, gets moved around and accepts it. This is a hit he will remember forever. I can't say enough about the kid.”
The Lions totaled six hits in their Division IV sectional semifinal game, as six different players had one hit each. Wyatt Collins finished 1-for-2 with a walk, and Morgan was 1-for-3 with one run scored.
Burns finished 1-for-3 with two runs, and teammate Miller ended the day at 1-for-2 with one RBI and one walk. Friend was 1-for-3 with two RBI, and Dow Moon went 1-for-2.
Miller had the lone extra-base hit as a double.
Fouch was the winning pitcher, tossing the complete game. Fouch allowed one earned run on six hits and five walks. He totaled four strikeouts. Fouch threw 111 pitches, 67 for strikes.
The Lions will face the No. 1 seeded Lucasville Valley Indians on Tuesday, May 18 at VHS at 5 p.m.
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Both teams were tied through three innings, but it was Fairfield taking the first lead of the game with a run scored in the bottom of the fourth. The Eastern Eagles tied the score at 1-1 with a run of their own in the top of the fifth.
Going into the bottom of the sixth, the score was still tied, but once the inning came to a close, that wasn’t the case with Friend batting in two runners with two outs, giving the Lions a 3-1 lead and eventual sectional win.
“What a baseball game. Both teams played well. Gabe has had a great freshman year, and to come out and pitch the way he did in the first round of the tournament was unbelievable,” Fairfield head coach Jeremy McGraw said. “We played some great defense behind him as well. Wyatt Collins made a big diving catch at second, and Hunter Burns was huge behind the plate throwing out two runners.
“Going to the bottom of the sixth inning, I told our guys if we score, we win. That's how I felt with the way Gabe was pitching and our defense was playing.
“Jake Morgan was huge to start the inning,” McGraw continued. “He hadn't had a hit all night, and he came up big with a single to get it started. Hunter Burns laid down a great bunt to move Jake, and he was safe. Cade Miller moved both runners on a fly ball to right.”
McGraw then described the game-winning hit by Friend.
“The hit of the night goes to Orrie Friend with two outs in the bottom of the sixth,” he said. “It was a huge hit for Orrie. He came up big, and I'm proud of him. He has done so many things for us this season that go unnoticed. He never complains, just comes in, works hard, gets moved around and accepts it. This is a hit he will remember forever. I can't say enough about the kid.”
The Lions totaled six hits in their Division IV sectional semifinal game, as six different players had one hit each. Wyatt Collins finished 1-for-2 with a walk, and Morgan was 1-for-3 with one run scored.
Burns finished 1-for-3 with two runs, and teammate Miller ended the day at 1-for-2 with one RBI and one walk. Friend was 1-for-3 with two RBI, and Dow Moon went 1-for-2.
Miller had the lone extra-base hit as a double.
Fouch was the winning pitcher, tossing the complete game. Fouch allowed one earned run on six hits and five walks. He totaled four strikeouts. Fouch threw 111 pitches, 67 for strikes.
The Lions will face the No. 1 seeded Lucasville Valley Indians on Tuesday, May 18 at VHS at 5 p.m.
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