Lions earn wins against Fayetteville, Paint Valley on consecutive days

Playing on the diamond this past Friday and Saturday the Fairfield Lions defeated the Fayetteville Rockets and the Paint Valley Bearcats, moving their overall record to the .500 mark. 

Fairfield on Friday (April 18) gained a Southern Hills Athletic Conference win on the road by defeating the Fayetteville Rockets by a 13-11 score. The Lions jumped out in the lead early with a 4-0 lead after the top of the first, and when each team scored a run in the second, it was Fairfield leading 5-1. 

The Lions increased their lead to 6-1 with a run in the top of the third. Neither team was able to add runs in the fourth, and in the fifth inning the Lions scored three runs, while Fayetteville battled back with a five-run bottom of the fifth for a 9-6 score with the Lions still in front. 

Fairfield had one cross the plate in the top of the sixth, while the Rockets added two runs to their total for a 10-8 score as the Lions held a two-run advantage. 

The two teams continued to have runs cross home plate in the seventh and final inning with each team scoring three runs for the final 13-11 score. 

In the 24-run combined effort, Fairfield totaled 16 hits and committed two errors, while the Rockets had six hits and no errors. 

Zane Matthews led Fairfield with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate with two doubles, one run, three RBI and a walk. Matthews was also hit by a pitch. 

Cameron Miller was 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and two walks. Corbin Willey ended the day at 2-for-4 with one run, three RBI and a walk. 

Blaine Fauber also had two hits going 2-for-3 with a walk. Zach Ahsaruk was 2-for-5 with a run and one RBI. Caleb Rice finished 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, one walk, and one of his two hits was a double, plus Rice was hit by a pitch and finished with four steals. 

The Lions also had three players with one hit each, starting with Corey Zimmerman going 1-for-5 with one run, one steal, one RBI and a walk. Heath Flint was 1-of-1, and Ben Miller finished 1-for-3 with two runs, a steal and two walks. Otis Cockerill totaled two runs, one RBI and a walk. 

The win on the mound went to Cameron Miller, who in five innings allowed six earned runs on five hits, four walks and he collected eight strikeouts. Also pitching was Ben Miller, who in two innings allowed three earned runs on one hit and four walks with four strikeouts. 

BOX SCORE 
FHS    411 031 3 — 13 16 2
FAY    010 052 3 — 11 6 0 

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The following day (Saturday, April 19), the Lions traveled to Ross County, where they earned a non-conference win over the host Paint Valley Bearcats by a 9-6 score. 

In this game, the Lions had back-to-back three-run innings with three runs in the first, followed by three more runs in the top of the second for a 6-1 lead as Paint Valley scored one run in the bottom of the first. 

Fairfield built a 7-3 lead when they scored a run in the top of the third, but PVHS responded with a two-run bottom of the third. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth, but the Bearcats added two runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-5 score after five complete innings. 

The Lions scored two runs in the top of the sixth, extending their lead to 9-5, and the Bearcats were unable to make a comeback as they had one run in the bottom of the seventh.

Fairfield ended the day with six hits and two errors, and the host Bearcats had eight hits and four errors. 

Blaine Fauber was the winning pitcher for Fairfield as he pitched all seven innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk with five strikeouts. He threw a total of 114 pitches, 89 for strikes. 

The Lions also had five batters with at least one hits, with Otis Cockerill leading the way at 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

Cameron Miller finished 1-for-4 with a double, two runs, two RBI and a walk. Zane Matthews went 1-for-4 with two runs, a stolen base and a walk. 

The Lions also had Zach Ahsaruk go 1-for-3 with one run, two RBI and he forced two walks in the win. Corbin Willey ended his day at 1-for-3 with two runs and a steal, plus he was hit by a pitch twice. 

Corey Zimmerman forced two walks, and he had one steal. Anderson Humphreys finished the game with a run and two walks. 

The Lions now stand at 5-5 this season. 

BOX SCORE
FHS       331 002 0 — 9 6 2 
PVHS    102 020 1 — 6 8 4