Lady Tigers chip away to win Lady Lion Invitational
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lady Lions made the visiting McClain Lady Tigers sweat a bit with runs in the latter portion of the finals of the Lady Lion Invitational.
The complete effort by the Lady Tigers outlasted any rally on Saturday afternoon with MHS winning over host Fairfield, 9-7, in the finals of the four-team tournament.
McClain (5-4) capped off a week which included a tough league loss to London and two rainouts with wins against Fairfield and Williamsburg, as the Lady Tigers defeated WHS, 10-0, in five innings.
"In the first game, our first three hitters did a great job," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "It was our best defensive game of the year, and our pitching was outstanding."
In this championship game, the Lady Lions and Lady Tigers combined for 27 hits, 15 RBIs, five walks and six strikeouts with FHS out-hitting MHS 14-13. MHS had three players reach the three-hit milestone, as FHS had six players with two hits each.
Fairfield reached the finals with a 5-4 victory over Huntington in the first round.
"Our bats have been quiet until (Saturday)," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "In these two games, we totaled 26 hits, but our problem is we get down early.
"Every game, it seems we have to battle back, as we give up too many hits, but McClain hit the ball hard."
The early stages of the championship game between the two neighboring Highland County counterparts opened with a run in the first inning by visiting Lady Tigers as Cierra Landrum, a senior, scored off a one-out double, on a 1-0 count, from Morgan Dettwiller.
From there, the Lady Tigers increased their lead to three runs with Landrum (3-for-4, three runs) and Dettwiller (3-for-3, three runs, one walk, one RBI) rounding the bases off a two-RBI, one-out double by Sarah Thompson, as Thompson had two strikes against her in the count.
"Fairfield put the ball in play and played a good game against us," Haines said. "We added runs, and our senior leadership was outstanding.
"We had great two-strike hitting and timely hits."
Not only did Landrum gain three hits at the plate vs. FHS, she was also the winning pitcher. The senior hurler went seven innings (earlier in the day, she pitched a five-inning shutout) in the circle, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits and one walk. She struck out four.
"I can't say enough about Cierra," Haines said. "I'm also proud of the girls because after our loss to London, we could have been down on ourselves, but they stepped up.
"We need to carry the momentum into this week."
Fairfield got on the board in the third with senior Courtney Huff scoring off a two-out double by junior Shelby Smithson. Huff initially led off the inning with a base hit.
The Lady Tigers added to their lead with two runs in the top of the fourth, taking a 5-1 advantage at the midway point of the fourth.
In the Lady Tigers' time at the plate in the inning, Valerie Caldwell forced a one-out walk on five pitches, followed by Anna Ehlers forcing a walk in the ensuing at-bat, also on five pitches, as Ehlers forced a 3-0 count.
McClain's Alli Willett brought both teammates home with the Lady Tigers gaining yet another two-out RBI hit, this time with Willett doubling in Caldwell and Ehlers on a 2-2 count.
Fairfield scored their second run in their half of the fourth with Cynnamon Sova-Davy scoring off a double by Justice Hattan. Sova-Davy reached the bases on a lead-off single.
MHS continued to add to their advantage in the top of the fifth with Dettwiller crossing home plate in a single from Katy Unger with one out, as Dettwiller led off the inning with a seven-pitch walk. Unger ended the day 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Lady Lions began to score more than one run in an inning, as they added two runs in the bottom of the fifth with Smithson and Halie Chain scoring runs. Smithson scored on an RBI single by Heather Sanderson, and Chain scored on an infield throwing error by the Lady Tigers, making it a 6-4 score after five innings.
The two-run lead morphed into a five-run advantage after the top part of the sixth was complete with Landrum, Dettwiller and Caitlyn Lovett all racing their way around the bases for Lady Tiger runs for a 9-4 advantage.
Though they would be the final three runs by MHS in the game, they proved to be very important runs, starting with Landrum taking first on a one-out single. She stole second and went to third on a base hit by Dettwiller. Both runners scored on a two-out double by Lovett. Lovett stole third base and scored on a double by Unger on a 1-0 count.
Fairfield was held scoreless in the sixth and threatened in the seventh with three runs crossing the plate, leaving one runner on base as their final batters recorded outs.
The FHS seventh-inning rally began with Chain forcing a four-pitch walk, followed by a first-pitch single by Sanderson. Sova-Davy also hit the first pitch she saw, doubling in Chain.
Hattan took first on a dropped third strike, allowing Sanderson to score on the throw to first. Sirenity Smith grounded out to the shortstop for an RBI, as Sova-Davy scored the final run of the game, with the game ending on a pop up to second base and a ground out to short.
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"I have great respect for Matthew and the Lady Lion program," Haines said. "They have a great program, and this is a fun team to play."
The loss went to Mikayla Coleman, who allowed six earned runs on eight hits and three walks. She struck out two in four innings. Sanderson pitched the final three innings in relief, allowing three earned runs on five hits and one walk.
"Defensively, we are where we want to be, and I was pleased with the pitching," Zimmerman said. "The whole staff pitched.
"The point of the day is we could have been down after trailing early and just gone home, but the girls battled back, we just didn't get that last hit."
MHS will host Clinton-Massie on Monday and travel to Washington C.H. on Tuesday as they face the Washington Lady Blue Lions in a makeup game. Both South Central Ohio League games begin at 5 p.m.
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In their first game of the invitational, the Lady Tigers defeated Williamsburg, 10-0 in five innings, as they collected 14 hits en route to the run-rule win.
MHS scored six of their 10 runs in the first inning, followed by a three-run fourth, and sealed the win with a single run in the fifth.
Willett, Landrum and Shania Massie, the top three batters of the Lady Tigers' order, went a combined 10-for-12 with Willett going a perfect 4-for-4 with one run from the leadoff spot.
Landrum finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, and Massie was 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs, including a two-run home run in the first inning, putting MHS ahead 3-0, as Willett scored on a single by Landrum in the inning.
Also for MHS against WHS, Dettwiller, Unger, Caldwell and Sydney Barton each had one RBI and one hit, while Thompson had one RBI.
Landrum had the shutout win from the circle. She pitched five innings, allowing two hits and walking one. The senior totaled four strikeouts as she didn't allow WHS to gain a hit until there were two outs in the fourth inning. All four strikeouts came in the first three innings.
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The Lady Lions of Fairfield won their first game of the day on Saturday with a late-inning rally, defeating Huntington, 5-4.
Both teams totaled 10 hits and two errors, but a three-run sixth by the Lady Lions proved to be the winning factor to advance to the finals.
Smithson and Shaylee Carson led FHS at 2-for-3 from the plate. Smithson and Carson each totaled one run and one RBI.
Kaitlin Evans, Chain, Sanderson, Sova-Davy, Sirenity Smith and Courtney Huff each had one hit.
Also collecting RBIs were Evans, Sanderson and Smith, while Sanderson also forced a walk.
The score was tied at 1-1 after the conclusion of the first inning, followed with HHS taking a 2-1 advantage after three innings and 4-1 lead following the fourth inning.
The Lady Lions added one run in the fifth and three in the sixth for the one-run win.
In the sixth Sanderson, Smith and Carson scored runs, with Carson's run being the go-ahead run for the one-run victory off a two-out base hit by Evans.
Arica Melson was the winning pitcher for FHS. In seven innings, Melson allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits and four walks. She struck out seven as she improved to 5-2 overall.
The complete effort by the Lady Tigers outlasted any rally on Saturday afternoon with MHS winning over host Fairfield, 9-7, in the finals of the four-team tournament.
McClain (5-4) capped off a week which included a tough league loss to London and two rainouts with wins against Fairfield and Williamsburg, as the Lady Tigers defeated WHS, 10-0, in five innings.
"In the first game, our first three hitters did a great job," MHS head coach Jarrod Haines said. "It was our best defensive game of the year, and our pitching was outstanding."
In this championship game, the Lady Lions and Lady Tigers combined for 27 hits, 15 RBIs, five walks and six strikeouts with FHS out-hitting MHS 14-13. MHS had three players reach the three-hit milestone, as FHS had six players with two hits each.
Fairfield reached the finals with a 5-4 victory over Huntington in the first round.
"Our bats have been quiet until (Saturday)," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "In these two games, we totaled 26 hits, but our problem is we get down early.
"Every game, it seems we have to battle back, as we give up too many hits, but McClain hit the ball hard."
The early stages of the championship game between the two neighboring Highland County counterparts opened with a run in the first inning by visiting Lady Tigers as Cierra Landrum, a senior, scored off a one-out double, on a 1-0 count, from Morgan Dettwiller.
From there, the Lady Tigers increased their lead to three runs with Landrum (3-for-4, three runs) and Dettwiller (3-for-3, three runs, one walk, one RBI) rounding the bases off a two-RBI, one-out double by Sarah Thompson, as Thompson had two strikes against her in the count.
"Fairfield put the ball in play and played a good game against us," Haines said. "We added runs, and our senior leadership was outstanding.
"We had great two-strike hitting and timely hits."
Not only did Landrum gain three hits at the plate vs. FHS, she was also the winning pitcher. The senior hurler went seven innings (earlier in the day, she pitched a five-inning shutout) in the circle, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits and one walk. She struck out four.
"I can't say enough about Cierra," Haines said. "I'm also proud of the girls because after our loss to London, we could have been down on ourselves, but they stepped up.
"We need to carry the momentum into this week."
Fairfield got on the board in the third with senior Courtney Huff scoring off a two-out double by junior Shelby Smithson. Huff initially led off the inning with a base hit.
The Lady Tigers added to their lead with two runs in the top of the fourth, taking a 5-1 advantage at the midway point of the fourth.
In the Lady Tigers' time at the plate in the inning, Valerie Caldwell forced a one-out walk on five pitches, followed by Anna Ehlers forcing a walk in the ensuing at-bat, also on five pitches, as Ehlers forced a 3-0 count.
McClain's Alli Willett brought both teammates home with the Lady Tigers gaining yet another two-out RBI hit, this time with Willett doubling in Caldwell and Ehlers on a 2-2 count.
Fairfield scored their second run in their half of the fourth with Cynnamon Sova-Davy scoring off a double by Justice Hattan. Sova-Davy reached the bases on a lead-off single.
MHS continued to add to their advantage in the top of the fifth with Dettwiller crossing home plate in a single from Katy Unger with one out, as Dettwiller led off the inning with a seven-pitch walk. Unger ended the day 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Lady Lions began to score more than one run in an inning, as they added two runs in the bottom of the fifth with Smithson and Halie Chain scoring runs. Smithson scored on an RBI single by Heather Sanderson, and Chain scored on an infield throwing error by the Lady Tigers, making it a 6-4 score after five innings.
The two-run lead morphed into a five-run advantage after the top part of the sixth was complete with Landrum, Dettwiller and Caitlyn Lovett all racing their way around the bases for Lady Tiger runs for a 9-4 advantage.
Though they would be the final three runs by MHS in the game, they proved to be very important runs, starting with Landrum taking first on a one-out single. She stole second and went to third on a base hit by Dettwiller. Both runners scored on a two-out double by Lovett. Lovett stole third base and scored on a double by Unger on a 1-0 count.
Fairfield was held scoreless in the sixth and threatened in the seventh with three runs crossing the plate, leaving one runner on base as their final batters recorded outs.
The FHS seventh-inning rally began with Chain forcing a four-pitch walk, followed by a first-pitch single by Sanderson. Sova-Davy also hit the first pitch she saw, doubling in Chain.
Hattan took first on a dropped third strike, allowing Sanderson to score on the throw to first. Sirenity Smith grounded out to the shortstop for an RBI, as Sova-Davy scored the final run of the game, with the game ending on a pop up to second base and a ground out to short.
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"I have great respect for Matthew and the Lady Lion program," Haines said. "They have a great program, and this is a fun team to play."
The loss went to Mikayla Coleman, who allowed six earned runs on eight hits and three walks. She struck out two in four innings. Sanderson pitched the final three innings in relief, allowing three earned runs on five hits and one walk.
"Defensively, we are where we want to be, and I was pleased with the pitching," Zimmerman said. "The whole staff pitched.
"The point of the day is we could have been down after trailing early and just gone home, but the girls battled back, we just didn't get that last hit."
MHS will host Clinton-Massie on Monday and travel to Washington C.H. on Tuesday as they face the Washington Lady Blue Lions in a makeup game. Both South Central Ohio League games begin at 5 p.m.
- - - -
In their first game of the invitational, the Lady Tigers defeated Williamsburg, 10-0 in five innings, as they collected 14 hits en route to the run-rule win.
MHS scored six of their 10 runs in the first inning, followed by a three-run fourth, and sealed the win with a single run in the fifth.
Willett, Landrum and Shania Massie, the top three batters of the Lady Tigers' order, went a combined 10-for-12 with Willett going a perfect 4-for-4 with one run from the leadoff spot.
Landrum finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, and Massie was 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs, including a two-run home run in the first inning, putting MHS ahead 3-0, as Willett scored on a single by Landrum in the inning.
Also for MHS against WHS, Dettwiller, Unger, Caldwell and Sydney Barton each had one RBI and one hit, while Thompson had one RBI.
Landrum had the shutout win from the circle. She pitched five innings, allowing two hits and walking one. The senior totaled four strikeouts as she didn't allow WHS to gain a hit until there were two outs in the fourth inning. All four strikeouts came in the first three innings.
- - - - -
The Lady Lions of Fairfield won their first game of the day on Saturday with a late-inning rally, defeating Huntington, 5-4.
Both teams totaled 10 hits and two errors, but a three-run sixth by the Lady Lions proved to be the winning factor to advance to the finals.
Smithson and Shaylee Carson led FHS at 2-for-3 from the plate. Smithson and Carson each totaled one run and one RBI.
Kaitlin Evans, Chain, Sanderson, Sova-Davy, Sirenity Smith and Courtney Huff each had one hit.
Also collecting RBIs were Evans, Sanderson and Smith, while Sanderson also forced a walk.
The score was tied at 1-1 after the conclusion of the first inning, followed with HHS taking a 2-1 advantage after three innings and 4-1 lead following the fourth inning.
The Lady Lions added one run in the fifth and three in the sixth for the one-run win.
In the sixth Sanderson, Smith and Carson scored runs, with Carson's run being the go-ahead run for the one-run victory off a two-out base hit by Evans.
Arica Melson was the winning pitcher for FHS. In seven innings, Melson allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits and four walks. She struck out seven as she improved to 5-2 overall.