Lady Lions move to regional finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
PICKERINGTON — The postseason tournament run continued for the Fairfield Lady Lions on Friday, as they gained a Division IV Regional semifinal win over the Green Wave of Newark Catholic.
FHS (19-2) won by taking advantage of NC (the No. 6 team in the state)'s mistakes, but again, it was their pitching and defense that kept them in the game, winning by a score of 1-0, with that run coming in the first inning.
"This is a fantastic win for this group of young ladies," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "This is a fantastic win for the program. We've talked all season about how we had goals we wanted to reach, and so far we've reached every goal that we set out to do … being in a regional final game was one of those goals."
Next is the final step in the regionals, as the No. 2 state-ranked Lady Lions will face off against the No. 1 team in the state in Strasburg-Franklin Saturday at noon at Pickerington Central High School. The winner will advance to the state Final Four in Akron next weekend. Strasburg-Franklin defeated Portsmouth Notre Dame 3-0 in their regional semifinal.
Strasburg-Franklin is 23-2 this season, as they are located 10 miles out of New Philadelphia. Last season, they were 20-10, and two seasons ago, they were the state champions. Their coach is George "Bud" Weisgarber, who was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 2003. He has over 600 wins in his coaching career.
The Lady Lions were the home team Friday, as they are the Division IV No. 2 team in the state, and in their first appearance to the plate, they took advantage of what turned out to be two very costly miscues by the 19-win Green Wave.
Senior Heather Huff (2-for-3) opened the FHS half of the first by reaching first on a bunt base hit. Danielle Butler sacrificed Huff over to third (she stole second base). Huff scored on a second miscue by the Green Wave (19-9) defense.
"This was a one-run game, and we need to get the first run … we need to score first to be successful," Zimmerman said. "We play small ball as good as anybody. Heather got on base and ran the bases well. Getting the first run put them on their heels."
FHS finished with a total of four hits, as Butler and Abby Thackston each had one single, both coming in the fifth. Three of the four FHS hits came in the fifth. This postseason, the Lady Lions have outscored their opponents 23-0, with 38 hits.
More on the defense, in a game that lasted under two hours, the Lady Lions were again perfect in the field. In fact, they haven't committed an error in their last six games, four being tournament games and one being a game that clinched the Southern Hills League championship.
In that six-game span, the Lady Lions haven't allowed a single run to cross the plate, as the defense and pitching has kept their opponents scoreless for the last 38 consecutive innings.
"The defense, especially for the last three weeks, has been fantastic," Zimmerman said. "We have a .947 fielding percentage as a team, which is absolutely unbelievable. What has happened to this group of young ladies is they have so much confidence in themselves and confidence in Lauren. She makes a pitch, we knock the ball down and make a play. We have done that all season long."
To play their defense, the Lady Lions had to overcome the tense atmosphere of being this far in the postseason. They did that with a simple smile.
"We are playing with so much confidence right now. We may not be the most talented team out here, but we are the most confident team. The team is very relaxed on the field, and being relaxed at this stage of the season is what will win games. From the moment we stepped on the field they have had smiles on their faces, ready to play and for being at this level of play, they are relaxed, and that comes from confidence," Zimmerman said.
FHS pitcher Lauren Larrick gained the win for the Lady Lions, her 19th of the season. During the 38-inning scoreless streak, Larrick has been in the circle delivering the pitches to the opposing hitters. Against the Green Wave, the junior ace went three up, three down in the order four of the seven innings played. The most batters Newark Catholic sent to the plate in an inning was five, which occurred in the sixth.
With the focus on defense, one of the game-changing plays for both teams came in the top of the fifth when the ball hit by NC bounced off the glove of Larrick, and second baseman Thackston picked up the ball, tagged out the runner at second and thew the ball to first baseman Shelby Smithson for the double play and the first two outs of the inning.
The final NC threat came in the top of the sixth with they had two runners on base, with the game-tying run standing at third with two outs. Larrick forced the batter in the a fly out to Huff, ending the threat. In the seventh inning, the lead-off batter walked, but a pop-up bunt to third baseman Kortney Paris, along with a fly out to Butler were the first two outs of the inning. The game's final out came when Larrick fielded a ground ball hit near the circle and flipped it to Smithson.
GAME NOTES: Larrick had one strikeout … FHS had two runners out on the bases in the fifth inning … The first three spots in the batting order for FHS were a combined 4-for-7 with one walk and a sacrifice bunt. They reached base a total of six times (twice on errors) … From the 4-9 spots in the order, FHS went 0-for-14 with two walks … NC's Maggie Yochum made a diving, over-the-head catch at second base … NC's Abbey Fetter, the pitcher, made a diving grab for an out … The last and only regional championship for the Lady Lions came in 1982.[[In-content Ad]]
FHS (19-2) won by taking advantage of NC (the No. 6 team in the state)'s mistakes, but again, it was their pitching and defense that kept them in the game, winning by a score of 1-0, with that run coming in the first inning.
"This is a fantastic win for this group of young ladies," FHS head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "This is a fantastic win for the program. We've talked all season about how we had goals we wanted to reach, and so far we've reached every goal that we set out to do … being in a regional final game was one of those goals."
Next is the final step in the regionals, as the No. 2 state-ranked Lady Lions will face off against the No. 1 team in the state in Strasburg-Franklin Saturday at noon at Pickerington Central High School. The winner will advance to the state Final Four in Akron next weekend. Strasburg-Franklin defeated Portsmouth Notre Dame 3-0 in their regional semifinal.
Strasburg-Franklin is 23-2 this season, as they are located 10 miles out of New Philadelphia. Last season, they were 20-10, and two seasons ago, they were the state champions. Their coach is George "Bud" Weisgarber, who was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 2003. He has over 600 wins in his coaching career.
The Lady Lions were the home team Friday, as they are the Division IV No. 2 team in the state, and in their first appearance to the plate, they took advantage of what turned out to be two very costly miscues by the 19-win Green Wave.
Senior Heather Huff (2-for-3) opened the FHS half of the first by reaching first on a bunt base hit. Danielle Butler sacrificed Huff over to third (she stole second base). Huff scored on a second miscue by the Green Wave (19-9) defense.
"This was a one-run game, and we need to get the first run … we need to score first to be successful," Zimmerman said. "We play small ball as good as anybody. Heather got on base and ran the bases well. Getting the first run put them on their heels."
FHS finished with a total of four hits, as Butler and Abby Thackston each had one single, both coming in the fifth. Three of the four FHS hits came in the fifth. This postseason, the Lady Lions have outscored their opponents 23-0, with 38 hits.
More on the defense, in a game that lasted under two hours, the Lady Lions were again perfect in the field. In fact, they haven't committed an error in their last six games, four being tournament games and one being a game that clinched the Southern Hills League championship.
In that six-game span, the Lady Lions haven't allowed a single run to cross the plate, as the defense and pitching has kept their opponents scoreless for the last 38 consecutive innings.
"The defense, especially for the last three weeks, has been fantastic," Zimmerman said. "We have a .947 fielding percentage as a team, which is absolutely unbelievable. What has happened to this group of young ladies is they have so much confidence in themselves and confidence in Lauren. She makes a pitch, we knock the ball down and make a play. We have done that all season long."
To play their defense, the Lady Lions had to overcome the tense atmosphere of being this far in the postseason. They did that with a simple smile.
"We are playing with so much confidence right now. We may not be the most talented team out here, but we are the most confident team. The team is very relaxed on the field, and being relaxed at this stage of the season is what will win games. From the moment we stepped on the field they have had smiles on their faces, ready to play and for being at this level of play, they are relaxed, and that comes from confidence," Zimmerman said.
FHS pitcher Lauren Larrick gained the win for the Lady Lions, her 19th of the season. During the 38-inning scoreless streak, Larrick has been in the circle delivering the pitches to the opposing hitters. Against the Green Wave, the junior ace went three up, three down in the order four of the seven innings played. The most batters Newark Catholic sent to the plate in an inning was five, which occurred in the sixth.
With the focus on defense, one of the game-changing plays for both teams came in the top of the fifth when the ball hit by NC bounced off the glove of Larrick, and second baseman Thackston picked up the ball, tagged out the runner at second and thew the ball to first baseman Shelby Smithson for the double play and the first two outs of the inning.
The final NC threat came in the top of the sixth with they had two runners on base, with the game-tying run standing at third with two outs. Larrick forced the batter in the a fly out to Huff, ending the threat. In the seventh inning, the lead-off batter walked, but a pop-up bunt to third baseman Kortney Paris, along with a fly out to Butler were the first two outs of the inning. The game's final out came when Larrick fielded a ground ball hit near the circle and flipped it to Smithson.
GAME NOTES: Larrick had one strikeout … FHS had two runners out on the bases in the fifth inning … The first three spots in the batting order for FHS were a combined 4-for-7 with one walk and a sacrifice bunt. They reached base a total of six times (twice on errors) … From the 4-9 spots in the order, FHS went 0-for-14 with two walks … NC's Maggie Yochum made a diving, over-the-head catch at second base … NC's Abbey Fetter, the pitcher, made a diving grab for an out … The last and only regional championship for the Lady Lions came in 1982.[[In-content Ad]]