Fairfield Lions roar past East Clinton for season-opening win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Scoring three runs in the first two innings, combined with a strong pitching and near-perfect defense, propelled the Fairfield Lions varsity baseball team to a season-opening win for the ’22 season, defeating the visiting East Clinton Astros, 3-0.
Battling 35-degree temperatures and at times gusty winds, the Fairfield baseball team didn’t waste much time getting them a lead with one run in the first inning, followed by a two-run second inning, as that was all of the scoring had on Monday night in Leesburg.
“We were anxious to play even with the cold, and obviously it turned out in our favor this evening,” Fairfield Lions head coach Kyle Zimmerman said. “Any time you can play a shutout ballgame, it is definitely a tribute to your pitching staff and your defense."
Fairfield scored their first run of the season and the game in the bottom of the first inning, starting with Cade Miller singling on a line drive to left field, Though Miller was caught stealing second base, Noah Allering followed with a six-pitch walk, and he took second base in the ensuing at-bat on a passed ball.
Allering advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a base hit to right field off the bat — with a 2-2 count — of Jacob Morgan for the 1-0 lead with one out. Hunter Burns took first base on an error in the bottom of the first, and eventually the Lions had runners on second and third with two outs, but the inning ended with a groundout to first base.
The Lions had a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning as the first two batters were out on a groundout and a strikeout. The third batter of the inning — Dow Moon — drew a five-pitch walk, and he scored on a triple by Miller for the two-run advantage.
Allering made it a 3-0 score with a single hit to centerfield, as that completed the scoring for the game.
“We started off real well, and the longer the game went the slower we got because of how cold it was, but Cade Miller had a fantastic night at the plate batting leadoff for us,” Zimmerman said. “Everyone stepped up, and considering the conditions we were playing in, they toughed it out.”
The Astros were held to one hit by the pitching duo of Gabe Fouch and Morgan. Fouch started the game and went three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and two walks. Fouch finished with four strikeouts and threw 56 pitches.
Morgan pitched four innings in relief where he allowed no runs on one hit and two walks, finishing the non-conference game with seven strikeouts as he was the winning pitcher, wrapping up the game with 66 pitches.
“Game Fouch got us started off good, and we have five games this week, three being league games, so we are trying to balance out some of our pitchers, and Jake Morgan closed it out for us,” Zimmerman said. “It is hard to grip the ball, and they battled through it, managed to make the pitches when they needed to and got us out of it.”
The Lions totaled five hits in the win, with Miller finishing 2-for-3 with one run, one RBI and one walk. Allering was 1-for-2 with one run, one RBI and one walk. Morgan ended the game at 1-for-3 with one RBI. Burns finished 1-for-3.
Landry Hattan and Moon each forced a walk. Morgan led FHS with two steals, and Hattan had one steal.
For East Clinton, their one hit was off the bat of Curtis, as he was 1-for-3. Taylor totaled two walks. ECHS committed three errors, while the Lions had one error.
This is also the first career varsity coaching win for Zimmerman, as it was his head coaching debut with the varsity Lions.
“I was a little nervous at first, but when it was all said and done and the final pitch was made, it didn’t cross my mind,” Zimmerman said. “The only thing that crossed my mind was what we need to do to continually improve and go forward.”
Next for the Fairfield Lions is a Southern Hills Athletic Conference game on Tuesday, March 29 on the road at North Adams at 5 p.m. On Thursday, March 31, the Lions are scheduled to face the Peebles Indians in an SHAC road game at 5 p.m.
On Friday, April 1 the Lions are scheduled to be on the road in another SHAC game, as they will be facing the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs at 5 p.m.
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Battling 35-degree temperatures and at times gusty winds, the Fairfield baseball team didn’t waste much time getting them a lead with one run in the first inning, followed by a two-run second inning, as that was all of the scoring had on Monday night in Leesburg.
“We were anxious to play even with the cold, and obviously it turned out in our favor this evening,” Fairfield Lions head coach Kyle Zimmerman said. “Any time you can play a shutout ballgame, it is definitely a tribute to your pitching staff and your defense."
Fairfield scored their first run of the season and the game in the bottom of the first inning, starting with Cade Miller singling on a line drive to left field, Though Miller was caught stealing second base, Noah Allering followed with a six-pitch walk, and he took second base in the ensuing at-bat on a passed ball.
Allering advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a base hit to right field off the bat — with a 2-2 count — of Jacob Morgan for the 1-0 lead with one out. Hunter Burns took first base on an error in the bottom of the first, and eventually the Lions had runners on second and third with two outs, but the inning ended with a groundout to first base.
The Lions had a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning as the first two batters were out on a groundout and a strikeout. The third batter of the inning — Dow Moon — drew a five-pitch walk, and he scored on a triple by Miller for the two-run advantage.
Allering made it a 3-0 score with a single hit to centerfield, as that completed the scoring for the game.
“We started off real well, and the longer the game went the slower we got because of how cold it was, but Cade Miller had a fantastic night at the plate batting leadoff for us,” Zimmerman said. “Everyone stepped up, and considering the conditions we were playing in, they toughed it out.”
The Astros were held to one hit by the pitching duo of Gabe Fouch and Morgan. Fouch started the game and went three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and two walks. Fouch finished with four strikeouts and threw 56 pitches.
Morgan pitched four innings in relief where he allowed no runs on one hit and two walks, finishing the non-conference game with seven strikeouts as he was the winning pitcher, wrapping up the game with 66 pitches.
“Game Fouch got us started off good, and we have five games this week, three being league games, so we are trying to balance out some of our pitchers, and Jake Morgan closed it out for us,” Zimmerman said. “It is hard to grip the ball, and they battled through it, managed to make the pitches when they needed to and got us out of it.”
The Lions totaled five hits in the win, with Miller finishing 2-for-3 with one run, one RBI and one walk. Allering was 1-for-2 with one run, one RBI and one walk. Morgan ended the game at 1-for-3 with one RBI. Burns finished 1-for-3.
Landry Hattan and Moon each forced a walk. Morgan led FHS with two steals, and Hattan had one steal.
For East Clinton, their one hit was off the bat of Curtis, as he was 1-for-3. Taylor totaled two walks. ECHS committed three errors, while the Lions had one error.
This is also the first career varsity coaching win for Zimmerman, as it was his head coaching debut with the varsity Lions.
“I was a little nervous at first, but when it was all said and done and the final pitch was made, it didn’t cross my mind,” Zimmerman said. “The only thing that crossed my mind was what we need to do to continually improve and go forward.”
Next for the Fairfield Lions is a Southern Hills Athletic Conference game on Tuesday, March 29 on the road at North Adams at 5 p.m. On Thursday, March 31, the Lions are scheduled to face the Peebles Indians in an SHAC road game at 5 p.m.
On Friday, April 1 the Lions are scheduled to be on the road in another SHAC game, as they will be facing the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs at 5 p.m.
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