Fairfield advances to Div. VI SE District Semifinals with 15-run shutout victory over Belpre

LEESBURG — Tuesday was a game full of scoring runs and excellent pitching by the No. 4 seeded Fairfield Lady Lions, allowing them to gain a 15-0 run-rule win in their Division VI SE District Quarterfinal game against the visiting No. 12 seeded Belpre Lady Golden Eagles. 

The May 12 win by Fairfield saw Fairfield have a dominant game with four runs in the bottom of the first inning, followed by five runs in the second, then another run scored in the third and the five runs in the fourth to seal the tournament victory. 

“We were really happy to come out and hit the ball, and we expected to do well, but you don’t want to take anything for granted. You still want to play hard, play to win and don’t let off the gas,” FHS head coach Ellen Binegar said. “I was happy the girls got their confidence back in their hitting, and we scored a lot of runs and did it in five.”

Fairfield’s win puts them in the district semifinals for the 38th time — the current district quarterfinals are the former sectional finals — as the win goes back to the first inning where the Lady Lions gained a 4-0 lead. 

The Lady Lions (17-8) saw five of their first six batters swing at the first pitch of the at-bat (the other at-bat saw two pitches), resulting in three doubles and three singles with four runs scored. Ally Maynard hit a one-out double, followed by an RBI double from Jorgia Smith, plating Maynard. Next was another RBI-double, this time hit by Alyssa Bales in a two-pitch at-bat, scoring Smith. 

Then came an RBI-single by Ava White that scored Bales for a 3-0 lead. Later in the inning, following a single by Avery Morrow, Jorgia May gained the RBI which scored White for a four-run lead. 

Fairfield scored five more runs in the bottom of the second, beginning with Whitlee Morrow getting on the bases with a bunt, and then came Rilee Quickle taking first with a hit-by-pitch. Ally Maynard was next to the plate, and she too was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Jorgia Smith. 

Smith, on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, doubled to left-centerfield for two RBI as Morrow and Quickle scored runs. Bales followed with a two-run triple to centerfield, scoring Maynard and Smith. Fairfield took an 8-0 lead when White singled to centerfield, scoring Bales. 

Fairfield in the third scored one run with Quickle drawing a walk to lead-off the inning, and she scored off a one-out sacrifice fly hit to centerfield by Smith. 

The bottom of the fourth inning began with a walk by Kyla Thomas, and next was a single off the bat of Whitlee Morrow. The bases were loaded when Quickle walked. A sacrifice fly hit by Maynard brought home Thomas for a run. 

Then came an inside-the-park home run by Smith, who hit the ball to centerfield, as she not only scored, but the bases were cleared as Morrow and Quickle also scored runs. Bales then hit a single and later scored a run on a wild pitch. 

The game ended with Ava White going 4-for-4 with one run and two RBI. 

Smith finished 3-for-3 with three runs and seven RBI. Also with three hits was Bales, as she was 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Whitlee Morrow went 2-for-3 with two runs. 

Maynard finished 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI. Avery Morrow went 1-for-3. Quickle scored three runs and two walks. Layla Howard collected an RBI and drew a walk. Jorja May forced a walk. Thomas finished with a run and a walk. 

In all, the Lady Lions totaled 15 runs, 14 hits and had no errors. Belpre finished with three hits and three errors. 

Quickle was the winning pitcher with five innings pitched, allowing no runs on three hits and one walk with 13 strikeouts. She faced 20 batters as she improved to 14-7 on the season.

“We are very proud of Rilee. She’s a little thing, but she gets the job done,” Binegar said. “She can throw some fastballs past the hitters later down in the lineup, and she hit the corners against the other hitters. There were no hard-hit balls.

“We were thankful everyone was feeling healthy today, and we are still working back through some injuries, but everybody played their position well defensively with Rilee leading us in the circle.”

No. 5 seeded Fairfield (17-8) will play in the Division VI SE District Semifinals on Tuesday, May 19 against the No. 4 seeded Peebles Lady Indians (17-5) at Unioto High School with a 6 p.m. start. 

This will be the third time the two teams will face each other as they split their regular-season series as FHS won the first meeting of the season on April 2 by a 3-0 score. Peebles — the 2026 SHAC Division II champions —  defeated Fairfield, 7-4 on May 7 as each team won their home game. PHS finished with a 10-3 SHAC mark, and Fairfield was 9-4. 

“This will be the third time we face them, and we split with them so far and we’ve worked through a couple issues we’ve had with injuries and hitting slumps, and now is the time to be on the rise,” Binegar said.

BOX SCORE
BHS    000 00x x — 0 3 3 
FHS    451 5xx x — 15 14 0