Regional Semifinal Preview: Fairfield set to face Newark Catholic
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the second time in three seasons, the Fairfield Lady Lions are preparing for a regional semifinal game, and with that, they are set to continue their path in the Division IV postseason.
The Lady Lions will match up with Newark Catholic on Wednesday, May 29 at 5 p.m. at Pickerington Central High School.
This past weekend, the Lady Lions (15-10) won their SE District championship with a 7-4, eight-inning victory over Symmes Valley, and before that, they won a district semifinal game over Eastern Meigs, 8-1 and a sectional final game against Green, 8-5.
FHS assistant head coach Tom Purtell said the Lady Lions don't feel the "pressure" of playing this late into the postseason.
"What pressure?" he said. "Our practices have been lighthearted at times and serious when we need to be. We talk about approaching this game like any other game. We know it’s not, but that is our approach. We want to limit our focus and attention to inside the fences.
"There is not a team in the tournament that we cannot beat. That is where our strength of schedule has helped us. Our players believe this, and it does help to have several players return to Pickerington Regional who were with us two years ago."
Those returning players who were on the last district champion team include Shelby Smithson, who was the starting first baseman on the team. Other team members were Courtney Huff, Sirenity Smith, Amanda Sanderson and Mikayla Coleman.
Even with a mix of players who are making a return trip and those who are playing in regionals for the first time, one word that can be used to describe the Lady Lions is "confidence."
At the plate, FHS has three players who are batting over .300 with at least 60 at-bats, with Grace Larrick batting .379 with an on-base percentage of .500. Shelby Smithson is batting .363 with a .650 slugging percentage, leading FHS with six home runs and 26 RBIs. Heather Sanderson is batting .333.
"We have played with a lot of confidence (in the postseason)," Purtell said. "If we make a mistake defensively, we turn around and make a great defensive play. We have hit with power at times and then can lay down a bunt to move and score runners.
"We run the bases very well, and our pitchers have been able to overcome rough spots and bumps in the road when they happen."
The defense of the Lady Lions must be mentioned, too.
Their defense is currently the best it has been all season, as they have a .950 fielding percentage entering the regionals. Starting shortstop Kaitlin Evans has just one error this season, and her defensive play in the district finals was a big reason they kept the lead throughout the championship game.
"On defense, we replaced five starters (from 2012), and a sixth starter changed positions when we moved Halie Chain from left field to catcher this season," Purtell said. "We work every day on defense and situations that might happen, and we haven't faced a situation yet this season that we did not simulate in a practice."
The Lady Lions began the season with an overhaul at pitching, replacing an All-Ohio player, but the pitching worked all season to gain the varsity experience and really showed in the district semifinals when Arica Melson tossed a no-hitter.
Melson this year is 15-7 overall with an ERA of 2.88 and 154 strikeouts. In three postseason games, she has 18 strikeouts. Four times this season (once in the postseason), she has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in a game in her first full season as a varsity starter.
So everything comes back to pitching and defense for the Lady Lions.
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"I am most proud of our pitching and defense," Purtell said. "Arica (Melson) and (Mikayla) Coleman have exhibited amazing poise and confidence when pitching, showing that time and again, getting out of jams.
"On defense, we always talk about stealing outs. That has been exactly what we have done in the three tournament games. Every game seems to be highlight reel for us defensively."
Purtell also spoke about the outfield of the Lady Lions.
"Our outfield is the best in the Southeast District, regardless of division," he said. "We have never had an outfield possess the arm strength these young Lady Lions have displayed. It is by far the best defensive team we have had in years."
This will be the third meeting between the two schools in their history, with the Lady Lions holding a 2-0 record.
As the No. 5 seed of the Pickerington District, the Green Wave of Newark Catholic,are 4-0 this postseason, starting their run with a 13-0 victory in five innings against No. 15 seeded Worthington Christian, followed by defeating Grove City Christian (a No. 4 seed), 7-0 in their sectional final.
From there in district play, NCHS defeated Millersport (a No. 2 seed), 7-0, and won their district championship with a 5-4 win over No. 3 seed Danville. In the win against Danville, the Green Wave held their opponent to four hits and walked them four times, while their pitching collected 14 strikeouts.
Currently, NCHS is on a seven-game winning streak, as they stand at 15-14 overall.
Purtell, who is in his 20th season as an assistant at Fairfield, spoke about the pitching of NCHS and what teams they compare to on their schedule.
"Newark Catholic uses two different pitchers about equally," he said. "Macie Yocum has eight wins, and Stacie Brown has four. Yocum is the harder thrower and compares to Grace Edwards of Eastern Meigs that we faced in the district semi-finals or Jade Sprigg of North Adams. Brown is more of a finesse pitcher that changes speeds and tries to locate the ball, and I would compare her to Megan Cox of Huntington Ross.
"Newark Catholic is probably similar to Huntington in how the approach the game, but they are not as good defensively and not as deep in their batting order. They may also compare to McClain."
In the district finals, Yocum recorded 14 strikeouts.
For those keeping track, NCHS has outscored their postseason opponents 32-4 in four games, while the Lady Lions have outscored their three postseason opponents, 23-10.
In regular-season games this year, NCHS scored 10 or more runs six times but had losing streaks of three (April 13-17) and four (April 27-May 3).
But all of this returns to the play of the Lady Lions and just how much improvement they have shown in the past two months, with one of the reasons being practice.
"The way they've played this postseason has been very poised and crisp," Purtell said. "As a team, we strive to get better every day in practice. We often practice JV and varsity together, so when we are all together, we have six coaches instructing 23 players.
"There is no standing around, and everyone gets plenty of repetitions on offense and defense. We run our practices as much as possible like a college program, and every player and coach has a playbook that contains everything we teach. Our players are very knowledgeable about the game."
The Lady Lions will match up with Newark Catholic on Wednesday, May 29 at 5 p.m. at Pickerington Central High School.
This past weekend, the Lady Lions (15-10) won their SE District championship with a 7-4, eight-inning victory over Symmes Valley, and before that, they won a district semifinal game over Eastern Meigs, 8-1 and a sectional final game against Green, 8-5.
FHS assistant head coach Tom Purtell said the Lady Lions don't feel the "pressure" of playing this late into the postseason.
"What pressure?" he said. "Our practices have been lighthearted at times and serious when we need to be. We talk about approaching this game like any other game. We know it’s not, but that is our approach. We want to limit our focus and attention to inside the fences.
"There is not a team in the tournament that we cannot beat. That is where our strength of schedule has helped us. Our players believe this, and it does help to have several players return to Pickerington Regional who were with us two years ago."
Those returning players who were on the last district champion team include Shelby Smithson, who was the starting first baseman on the team. Other team members were Courtney Huff, Sirenity Smith, Amanda Sanderson and Mikayla Coleman.
Even with a mix of players who are making a return trip and those who are playing in regionals for the first time, one word that can be used to describe the Lady Lions is "confidence."
At the plate, FHS has three players who are batting over .300 with at least 60 at-bats, with Grace Larrick batting .379 with an on-base percentage of .500. Shelby Smithson is batting .363 with a .650 slugging percentage, leading FHS with six home runs and 26 RBIs. Heather Sanderson is batting .333.
"We have played with a lot of confidence (in the postseason)," Purtell said. "If we make a mistake defensively, we turn around and make a great defensive play. We have hit with power at times and then can lay down a bunt to move and score runners.
"We run the bases very well, and our pitchers have been able to overcome rough spots and bumps in the road when they happen."
The defense of the Lady Lions must be mentioned, too.
Their defense is currently the best it has been all season, as they have a .950 fielding percentage entering the regionals. Starting shortstop Kaitlin Evans has just one error this season, and her defensive play in the district finals was a big reason they kept the lead throughout the championship game.
"On defense, we replaced five starters (from 2012), and a sixth starter changed positions when we moved Halie Chain from left field to catcher this season," Purtell said. "We work every day on defense and situations that might happen, and we haven't faced a situation yet this season that we did not simulate in a practice."
The Lady Lions began the season with an overhaul at pitching, replacing an All-Ohio player, but the pitching worked all season to gain the varsity experience and really showed in the district semifinals when Arica Melson tossed a no-hitter.
Melson this year is 15-7 overall with an ERA of 2.88 and 154 strikeouts. In three postseason games, she has 18 strikeouts. Four times this season (once in the postseason), she has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in a game in her first full season as a varsity starter.
So everything comes back to pitching and defense for the Lady Lions.
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"I am most proud of our pitching and defense," Purtell said. "Arica (Melson) and (Mikayla) Coleman have exhibited amazing poise and confidence when pitching, showing that time and again, getting out of jams.
"On defense, we always talk about stealing outs. That has been exactly what we have done in the three tournament games. Every game seems to be highlight reel for us defensively."
Purtell also spoke about the outfield of the Lady Lions.
"Our outfield is the best in the Southeast District, regardless of division," he said. "We have never had an outfield possess the arm strength these young Lady Lions have displayed. It is by far the best defensive team we have had in years."
This will be the third meeting between the two schools in their history, with the Lady Lions holding a 2-0 record.
As the No. 5 seed of the Pickerington District, the Green Wave of Newark Catholic,are 4-0 this postseason, starting their run with a 13-0 victory in five innings against No. 15 seeded Worthington Christian, followed by defeating Grove City Christian (a No. 4 seed), 7-0 in their sectional final.
From there in district play, NCHS defeated Millersport (a No. 2 seed), 7-0, and won their district championship with a 5-4 win over No. 3 seed Danville. In the win against Danville, the Green Wave held their opponent to four hits and walked them four times, while their pitching collected 14 strikeouts.
Currently, NCHS is on a seven-game winning streak, as they stand at 15-14 overall.
Purtell, who is in his 20th season as an assistant at Fairfield, spoke about the pitching of NCHS and what teams they compare to on their schedule.
"Newark Catholic uses two different pitchers about equally," he said. "Macie Yocum has eight wins, and Stacie Brown has four. Yocum is the harder thrower and compares to Grace Edwards of Eastern Meigs that we faced in the district semi-finals or Jade Sprigg of North Adams. Brown is more of a finesse pitcher that changes speeds and tries to locate the ball, and I would compare her to Megan Cox of Huntington Ross.
"Newark Catholic is probably similar to Huntington in how the approach the game, but they are not as good defensively and not as deep in their batting order. They may also compare to McClain."
In the district finals, Yocum recorded 14 strikeouts.
For those keeping track, NCHS has outscored their postseason opponents 32-4 in four games, while the Lady Lions have outscored their three postseason opponents, 23-10.
In regular-season games this year, NCHS scored 10 or more runs six times but had losing streaks of three (April 13-17) and four (April 27-May 3).
But all of this returns to the play of the Lady Lions and just how much improvement they have shown in the past two months, with one of the reasons being practice.
"The way they've played this postseason has been very poised and crisp," Purtell said. "As a team, we strive to get better every day in practice. We often practice JV and varsity together, so when we are all together, we have six coaches instructing 23 players.
"There is no standing around, and everyone gets plenty of repetitions on offense and defense. We run our practices as much as possible like a college program, and every player and coach has a playbook that contains everything we teach. Our players are very knowledgeable about the game."