Gabe Fouch K’s 16 batters in Fairfield win over Lynchburg-Clay
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — There was no stopping Fairfield sophomore pitcher Gabe Fouch and the rest of the Fairfield Lions, as Fouch’s 16-strikeout performance, along with 13 total hits at the plate by the visitors, sent FHS to a convincing 7-1 Southern Hills Athletic Conference win over the host Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs in their home opener.
Fouch’s performance was dominating to say the least, with the sophomore hurler finishing the seven-inning game with 99 pitches, where he allowed one unearned run on two hits and two walks. Fouch was perfect through three innings. The fourth inning saw the perfect game chance come to a close with a lead-off walk, and the no-hitter chance was also erased in the inning with a two-out single by Brayden Simmons.
That said, Fouch was nearly unhittable against Fairfield’s Highland County counterpart as he struck out no less than two batters in each of the first six innings and had at least one strikeout in each inning on the mound during the complete-game win.
“We played a good game, and it all started with Gabe Fouch on the mound,” Fairfield head coach Kyle Zimmerman said. “For a sophomore, what composure he showed. He didn’t get rattled, and when they (LCHS) got the one run on us he kept battling, and at the end of the day that was a big difference in the game.
“And we’re hitting. We’ve started hitting the ball lately, and I told them we’d be dangerous when we start hitting and putting all of those components together, and they finally have, and here we are.”
Fairfield led off the game with a double hit to centerfield off the bat of Jacob Morgan, who finished the game 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI. After the first out was recorded, Cade Miller (2-for-4, two runs, two doubles, one RBI) was safe at first base on an error, allowing Burns to score the first run of the game.
Fairfield’s second run was scored off a double by Hunter Burns hit to centerfield, scoring Miller for the 2-0 lead. Burns led the Lions with a 3-for-4 performance with one run and three RBI.
Fouch began his path to 16 strikeouts by striking out the first two batters he faced, and the inning ended on a groundout to the shortstop.
The Lions (4-1, 7-1) added their third run of the game starting with an infield single by Owen Larrick, and he followed that by stealing second base. Larrick went to third on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Dow Moon, and he scored off a two-base hit by Morgan for the three-run advantage. Larrick ended the game at 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Fouch wasted little time in the bottom of the second by striking out all three batters he faced on 15 pitches, including a called third strike for the second out of the inning.
Fairfield left their lead-off runner stranded after Burns reached the bases on an infield error. He moved to second base on a passed ball.
When Fouch took the mound in the third, he and catcher Burns were on point once again, as the three batters who stepped to the plate for the Mustangs all struck out, giving Fouch eight batters in a row out via strikeout to end the third inning.
After the Lions left Moon (who drew a walk) on the bases in the top of the fourth, the Mustangs — who hadn’t played a game since April 6 — had their best inning of the game with a lead-off walk by Josiah Burns, who went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Barnhill and to third on a passed ball. Josiah Burns scored off a two-out hit by Brayden Simmons to make it a 3-1 deficit for the host Mustangs.
Even giving up his first hit of the game and walking two in the bottom of the fourth, Fouch still struck out two batters, including ending the inning with a strikeout, his 10th of the game.
Fairfield bats were revived in the top of the fifth with Miller starting the inning with a lead-off single hit to centerfield. Burns was next in the order and smashed a home run over the left field fence for a 5-1 advantage with no outs. Fouch followed with a double to right field and eventually went to third on a passed ball. At the plate, Fouch finished 2-for-3 with one run and one walk.
“I keep shouting him out after every game, but Hunter Burns played a great game behind the plate, and he had his two-run homer,” Zimmerman said. “Defensively for us, he does such a good job, and catching is a thankless job, but he’s working game-in and game-out.”
After two outs via strikeouts, Larrick doubled to centerfield — on a 2-1 count — scoring Fouch, putting the Lions ahead by five runs. Larrick went to third on a balk by the LC pitcher and scored off a single by Moon (1-for-1, one RBI, one walk) for the 7-1 Lions lead.
Returning to the mound after racing around the bases for a run, Fouch still was at his best with another three-strikeout inning, as those three put his strikeout total to 13 at that point of the game on 70 pitches through five innings.
The Lions loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth with three straight singles from Noah Allering, Miller and Burns. The Lions left the bases loaded by recording three consecutive outs as they kept their lead at six runs.
Fairfield continued to play well on defense as Fouch had strikeout on the mound to start the bottom of the sixth, and though he left the game after making this big play, Moon made a diving catch for the second out of the inning, but left the game following the landing on the catch. Next came Lynchburg-Clay’s second hit of the game, a double by Cole Wells, as he ended up taking third on a passed ball.
The bottom of the sixth ended on a called third strikeout, which was Fouch’s 15th strikeout of the game.
There were a total of six batters combined by both Highland County counterpart in the seventh inning as Braedon West struck out the side in his one inning of relief work, while Fouch gained the complete game win off a fly ball to centerfield, a ground out to second and a looking strikeout.
“Jake Morgan, Cade Miller, Noah Allering, Dow Moon’s catch in the outfield, all of the components came together for us to pick up a very nice league win, against a very good Lynchburg-Clay ball team,” Zimmerman said. “(LC head coach) Vince Pitzer does a super nice job with these guys, and when you play against them, you have to earn everything you get.”
The loss moves Lynchburg-Clay to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SHAC.
Next for the Mustangs is a game scheduled for Tuesday, April 19 at home against the Ripley Blue Jays in SHAC action.
The Lions are scheduled to play again on Tuesday, April 19 at home against the Northwest Mohawks in non-conference play.
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Fouch’s performance was dominating to say the least, with the sophomore hurler finishing the seven-inning game with 99 pitches, where he allowed one unearned run on two hits and two walks. Fouch was perfect through three innings. The fourth inning saw the perfect game chance come to a close with a lead-off walk, and the no-hitter chance was also erased in the inning with a two-out single by Brayden Simmons.
That said, Fouch was nearly unhittable against Fairfield’s Highland County counterpart as he struck out no less than two batters in each of the first six innings and had at least one strikeout in each inning on the mound during the complete-game win.
“We played a good game, and it all started with Gabe Fouch on the mound,” Fairfield head coach Kyle Zimmerman said. “For a sophomore, what composure he showed. He didn’t get rattled, and when they (LCHS) got the one run on us he kept battling, and at the end of the day that was a big difference in the game.
“And we’re hitting. We’ve started hitting the ball lately, and I told them we’d be dangerous when we start hitting and putting all of those components together, and they finally have, and here we are.”
Fairfield led off the game with a double hit to centerfield off the bat of Jacob Morgan, who finished the game 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI. After the first out was recorded, Cade Miller (2-for-4, two runs, two doubles, one RBI) was safe at first base on an error, allowing Burns to score the first run of the game.
Fairfield’s second run was scored off a double by Hunter Burns hit to centerfield, scoring Miller for the 2-0 lead. Burns led the Lions with a 3-for-4 performance with one run and three RBI.
Fouch began his path to 16 strikeouts by striking out the first two batters he faced, and the inning ended on a groundout to the shortstop.
The Lions (4-1, 7-1) added their third run of the game starting with an infield single by Owen Larrick, and he followed that by stealing second base. Larrick went to third on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Dow Moon, and he scored off a two-base hit by Morgan for the three-run advantage. Larrick ended the game at 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Fouch wasted little time in the bottom of the second by striking out all three batters he faced on 15 pitches, including a called third strike for the second out of the inning.
Fairfield left their lead-off runner stranded after Burns reached the bases on an infield error. He moved to second base on a passed ball.
When Fouch took the mound in the third, he and catcher Burns were on point once again, as the three batters who stepped to the plate for the Mustangs all struck out, giving Fouch eight batters in a row out via strikeout to end the third inning.
After the Lions left Moon (who drew a walk) on the bases in the top of the fourth, the Mustangs — who hadn’t played a game since April 6 — had their best inning of the game with a lead-off walk by Josiah Burns, who went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Barnhill and to third on a passed ball. Josiah Burns scored off a two-out hit by Brayden Simmons to make it a 3-1 deficit for the host Mustangs.
Even giving up his first hit of the game and walking two in the bottom of the fourth, Fouch still struck out two batters, including ending the inning with a strikeout, his 10th of the game.
Fairfield bats were revived in the top of the fifth with Miller starting the inning with a lead-off single hit to centerfield. Burns was next in the order and smashed a home run over the left field fence for a 5-1 advantage with no outs. Fouch followed with a double to right field and eventually went to third on a passed ball. At the plate, Fouch finished 2-for-3 with one run and one walk.
“I keep shouting him out after every game, but Hunter Burns played a great game behind the plate, and he had his two-run homer,” Zimmerman said. “Defensively for us, he does such a good job, and catching is a thankless job, but he’s working game-in and game-out.”
After two outs via strikeouts, Larrick doubled to centerfield — on a 2-1 count — scoring Fouch, putting the Lions ahead by five runs. Larrick went to third on a balk by the LC pitcher and scored off a single by Moon (1-for-1, one RBI, one walk) for the 7-1 Lions lead.
Returning to the mound after racing around the bases for a run, Fouch still was at his best with another three-strikeout inning, as those three put his strikeout total to 13 at that point of the game on 70 pitches through five innings.
The Lions loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth with three straight singles from Noah Allering, Miller and Burns. The Lions left the bases loaded by recording three consecutive outs as they kept their lead at six runs.
Fairfield continued to play well on defense as Fouch had strikeout on the mound to start the bottom of the sixth, and though he left the game after making this big play, Moon made a diving catch for the second out of the inning, but left the game following the landing on the catch. Next came Lynchburg-Clay’s second hit of the game, a double by Cole Wells, as he ended up taking third on a passed ball.
The bottom of the sixth ended on a called third strikeout, which was Fouch’s 15th strikeout of the game.
There were a total of six batters combined by both Highland County counterpart in the seventh inning as Braedon West struck out the side in his one inning of relief work, while Fouch gained the complete game win off a fly ball to centerfield, a ground out to second and a looking strikeout.
“Jake Morgan, Cade Miller, Noah Allering, Dow Moon’s catch in the outfield, all of the components came together for us to pick up a very nice league win, against a very good Lynchburg-Clay ball team,” Zimmerman said. “(LC head coach) Vince Pitzer does a super nice job with these guys, and when you play against them, you have to earn everything you get.”
The loss moves Lynchburg-Clay to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SHAC.
Next for the Mustangs is a game scheduled for Tuesday, April 19 at home against the Ripley Blue Jays in SHAC action.
The Lions are scheduled to play again on Tuesday, April 19 at home against the Northwest Mohawks in non-conference play.
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