Lady Lions are district champions once again
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MINFORD — For the sixth time in school history, the Fairfield Lady Lions stamped their ticket to the regional tournament.
This time, getting that ticket took extra innings, defeating Symmes Valley, 7-4 in eight innings at Minford High School, by taking advantage of errors by the Lady Vikings in the top of the eighth to enter the Round of 16.
The Lady Lions (15-10) have now won district softball titles in 1981, '82, '86, '06, '11 and '13.
"We came out strong, got the lead, but then we relaxed," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "We let them (Symmes Valley) back into the game, but then we made the plays we needed and went back to small ball.
"We forced them to make plays on us, and we took advantage of their mistakes."
Symmes Valley finishes the year with 13 wins.
Zimmerman said one word that describes the play of Lady Lions as of late: confidence.
"We have our confidence now, and when we have it, we've been fantastic," he said. "I'm proud of the girls."
Forcing plays was evident in the top of the eighth as the Lady Lions took a three-run lead, breaking a 4-4 tie.
Cynnamon Sova-Davy began the top half of the eighth with a triple to right field, sliding into third base. After an out was recorded, Sirenity Smith was safe on an error. The error occurred when the Lady Vikings attempted a throw to third base, but the throw went into the outfield, allowing Sova-Davy to score.
With Shaylee Carson being a courtesy runner for Smith, she eventually rounded the bases with Courtney Huff taking first on a bunt, as Kaitlin Evans equaled the feat.
Halie Chain loaded the bases after hitting a single, and the final run of the game came with Huff crossing home plate on a fly ball by Grace Larrick for the 7-4 advantage.
Before all the action in the eighth inning, there was a home run for the Lady Lions in the first, with Heather Sanderson (2-for-4) crushing a three-run blast, also scoring Larrick and Smithson, who each took the bases with one-out walks.
FHS, the No. 3 seed, added one run in the third as Justice Hattan scored on a base hit by Huff. Huff initially reached the bases with a one-out base hit, as she led FHS at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Lady Lions held the 4-0 run after three innings, but at the conclusion of the fifth, Symmes Valley had made the game interesting with a one-run fourth and two more runs in the fifth for a 4-3 score.
No. 5 seeded SV tied the game, eventually forcing extra innings, with Stephanie Brown scoring on a base hit, on a full-count, by Kaitlin Parr. In the same sequence of events, the inning was ended with a throw from Evans to Chain at home plate for the final out of the inning.[[In-content Ad]]
"The play at home was a huge momentum change for us," Zimmerman said.
Evans had a knack for ending the inning with flair as she had a leaping catch just in the web of her glove for the final out of the bottom half of the third, saving runs and the lead for FHS.
Speaking of dramatic ways to end an inning, FHS pulled off a double play that read 9-3-5-1-6 in the bottom of the fourth as Sova-Davy began the double play by catching a fly ball in right field, eventually with Evans tagging the SV runner out at second base.
"Kaitlin (Evans) had a great game defensively," Zimmerman said. "She had a career game and saved us some runs with catches and throws."
Arica Melson was the winning pitcher, gaining her 15th win of the year, moving to 15-7 overall. She pitched eight innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and seven walks. The sophomore struck out four.
Melson retired the side in the third and seventh innings, with three straight groundouts in the second. In the seventh, Melson forced a ground out and two fly outs to left field and shortstop.
Brown was charged with the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits and four walks. She struck out three as she ends the season at 13-10.
Kaitlyn Payne and Caitlin Carpenter each led SV with two hits, with Carpenter collecting two RBIs. SV also scored one run in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Assistant head coach Tom Purtell spoke about how, in a season where the Lady Lions replaced many veteran players from the season before, they've been able to win their second district title in three seasons.
"Matthew and I agree in how the ladies have developed into slap hitters, and those girls who have developed that at the plate showed it (Saturday)," Purtell said. "Early on this season, at times, some of our hitting was ugly, but now … the slap hits were key and forced our opponent to make mistakes.
"Another thing is the schedule we play, especially in non-conference. I've never been around a team that is this poised. Defensively, the girls are focused, and in this game, everyone took turns making plays. We endeavor to identify roles for each player and encourage each player to accept those roles."
Entering in the Round of 16, the Lady Lions will play again on Wednesday, May 29 as they face Newark Catholic at 5 p.m. at Pickerington Central High School. NCHS is the No. 5 seed in their district as they defeated No. 3 seed Danville, 5-4.
This postseason, the Lady Lions have also defeated Green, 8-5 and Eastern Meigs, 8-1. Newark Catholic has also defeated Christian (13-0), Grove City Christian (7-0) and Millersport (7-0).
This time, getting that ticket took extra innings, defeating Symmes Valley, 7-4 in eight innings at Minford High School, by taking advantage of errors by the Lady Vikings in the top of the eighth to enter the Round of 16.
The Lady Lions (15-10) have now won district softball titles in 1981, '82, '86, '06, '11 and '13.
"We came out strong, got the lead, but then we relaxed," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "We let them (Symmes Valley) back into the game, but then we made the plays we needed and went back to small ball.
"We forced them to make plays on us, and we took advantage of their mistakes."
Symmes Valley finishes the year with 13 wins.
Zimmerman said one word that describes the play of Lady Lions as of late: confidence.
"We have our confidence now, and when we have it, we've been fantastic," he said. "I'm proud of the girls."
Forcing plays was evident in the top of the eighth as the Lady Lions took a three-run lead, breaking a 4-4 tie.
Cynnamon Sova-Davy began the top half of the eighth with a triple to right field, sliding into third base. After an out was recorded, Sirenity Smith was safe on an error. The error occurred when the Lady Vikings attempted a throw to third base, but the throw went into the outfield, allowing Sova-Davy to score.
With Shaylee Carson being a courtesy runner for Smith, she eventually rounded the bases with Courtney Huff taking first on a bunt, as Kaitlin Evans equaled the feat.
Halie Chain loaded the bases after hitting a single, and the final run of the game came with Huff crossing home plate on a fly ball by Grace Larrick for the 7-4 advantage.
Before all the action in the eighth inning, there was a home run for the Lady Lions in the first, with Heather Sanderson (2-for-4) crushing a three-run blast, also scoring Larrick and Smithson, who each took the bases with one-out walks.
FHS, the No. 3 seed, added one run in the third as Justice Hattan scored on a base hit by Huff. Huff initially reached the bases with a one-out base hit, as she led FHS at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Lady Lions held the 4-0 run after three innings, but at the conclusion of the fifth, Symmes Valley had made the game interesting with a one-run fourth and two more runs in the fifth for a 4-3 score.
No. 5 seeded SV tied the game, eventually forcing extra innings, with Stephanie Brown scoring on a base hit, on a full-count, by Kaitlin Parr. In the same sequence of events, the inning was ended with a throw from Evans to Chain at home plate for the final out of the inning.[[In-content Ad]]
"The play at home was a huge momentum change for us," Zimmerman said.
Evans had a knack for ending the inning with flair as she had a leaping catch just in the web of her glove for the final out of the bottom half of the third, saving runs and the lead for FHS.
Speaking of dramatic ways to end an inning, FHS pulled off a double play that read 9-3-5-1-6 in the bottom of the fourth as Sova-Davy began the double play by catching a fly ball in right field, eventually with Evans tagging the SV runner out at second base.
"Kaitlin (Evans) had a great game defensively," Zimmerman said. "She had a career game and saved us some runs with catches and throws."
Arica Melson was the winning pitcher, gaining her 15th win of the year, moving to 15-7 overall. She pitched eight innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and seven walks. The sophomore struck out four.
Melson retired the side in the third and seventh innings, with three straight groundouts in the second. In the seventh, Melson forced a ground out and two fly outs to left field and shortstop.
Brown was charged with the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits and four walks. She struck out three as she ends the season at 13-10.
Kaitlyn Payne and Caitlin Carpenter each led SV with two hits, with Carpenter collecting two RBIs. SV also scored one run in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Assistant head coach Tom Purtell spoke about how, in a season where the Lady Lions replaced many veteran players from the season before, they've been able to win their second district title in three seasons.
"Matthew and I agree in how the ladies have developed into slap hitters, and those girls who have developed that at the plate showed it (Saturday)," Purtell said. "Early on this season, at times, some of our hitting was ugly, but now … the slap hits were key and forced our opponent to make mistakes.
"Another thing is the schedule we play, especially in non-conference. I've never been around a team that is this poised. Defensively, the girls are focused, and in this game, everyone took turns making plays. We endeavor to identify roles for each player and encourage each player to accept those roles."
Entering in the Round of 16, the Lady Lions will play again on Wednesday, May 29 as they face Newark Catholic at 5 p.m. at Pickerington Central High School. NCHS is the No. 5 seed in their district as they defeated No. 3 seed Danville, 5-4.
This postseason, the Lady Lions have also defeated Green, 8-5 and Eastern Meigs, 8-1. Newark Catholic has also defeated Christian (13-0), Grove City Christian (7-0) and Millersport (7-0).