Lady Lions win 25th sectional title
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The smile on senior Heather Huff's face as she rounded the bases after hitting her first career home run summed up the Division IV SE District Sectional final for the Fairfield Lady Lions.
FHS, who are ranked No. 3 in the state in Division IV, used not only power at the plate, but their defense and focus were on point, defeating the Western Latham Lady Indians 10-0 to win their 10th consecutive sectional title and 25th in school history, Saturday.
"This was a good way to get the tournament started," Fairfield head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "What I worried all week about is that we hadn't played for seven days. We tried to go to Blanchester Friday, but the storm came, so we didn't get to do that. But, we've had a great attitude this week. We came out, got off to a slow start, but then we hit the ball the way we are capable of hitting the ball.
"Our defense was good, we got bunts down and Lauren (Larrick) pitched well. Those are the things the Lady Lions have to do win games … fundamental softball."
Not even the rain could stop the Lady Lions at the plate, collecting 12 hits and 10 runs as they are not only working on their postseason run, but are in process of making up three regular-season games as they are in a battle for the Southern Hills League Division II crown. FHS (10-0 in SHL) still has two games remaining with second-place Peebles (who trail by one game) and one with Manchester.
Against Western Latham, the Lady Lions scored two runs in the first but broke away for seven runs in the third. For good measure, they added one final run in the fifth for the run-rule win.
"We were pleased with the mental toughness," assistant coach Tom Purtell said. "The element was just as much as anything. We needed to get this game done today, so being mentally tough and playing through the rain was good."
Fairfield (14-2) had three players finish with a multi-hit game as junior Lauren Larrick finished 3-for-3 (two doubles) with one run and one RBI. Senior Abby Thackston was 2-for-3 with two runs, and Huff was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs and two steals.
In the first inning, the Fairfield runs were scored by Huff and Thackston on a ground-out by Danielle Butler and double by Larrick.
After a scoreless second inning, the Lady Lions took care of business with seven runs added to the scoreboard, tallying eight hits, while taking advantage of two Lady Indian errors in the inning.
Butler was first to reach the bases in the inning on a fielding error by Western Latham. She scored on a base hit by Thackston. Whitney Hanenkrat singled in Thackston and went to third on a double by Larrick. Kortney Paris cleared the bases with a triple and scored on a error by the Lady Indians.
Shelby Smithson continued the inning with a single, as did Courtney Huff. Both runners scored in the inning. A fielder's choice by Kylie Bates allowed Huff to score. Heather Huff then crushed the ball over the left field fence, adding two more runs for the FHS lead, which jumped to 9-0.
The final run scored when Smithson scored on a base hit by Heather Huff.
Larrick (14-2) earned the win, pitching five innings, allowing two hits with no walks and no runs. She struck out nine of the 17 batters she faced, as the Lady Lions defense retired the final 12 batters of the game, including eight strikeouts.
"Our pitching and defense will keep us in game," Purtell said. "It's not that we have to play perfect defense … if we make a bobble, we just have to let it go and go on to the next play. I think we can hit the ball, but we have some unfinished business in the league first."
FHS is scheduled to face Peebles on Sunday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. in a make-up game. On Monday, the Lady Lions will take on Manchester at Whiteoak High School in a make-up game. FHS will play their district semifinal game against Eastern Meigs on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Minford High School. Then on Thursday, the Lady Lions are scheduled to play at Peebles in their final regular season make-up game.
The coaches talked about balancing the postseason and regular season at the same time.
"It's tricky, but the good part is we do have stuff to focus on," Purtell said. "That's the good part. We have let this win go. We took a picture, congratulated each other on a sectional championship, and now we have to focus on the league again."
"We started talking about the league again … that is our focus right now," Zimmerman said.
GAME NOTES: Fairfield stranded three runners … The Lady Lions collected four extra base hits and six steals … FHS had eight RBIs and struck out twice … FHS has 10 run-rule wins in '11.
[[In-content Ad]]
FHS, who are ranked No. 3 in the state in Division IV, used not only power at the plate, but their defense and focus were on point, defeating the Western Latham Lady Indians 10-0 to win their 10th consecutive sectional title and 25th in school history, Saturday.
"This was a good way to get the tournament started," Fairfield head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. "What I worried all week about is that we hadn't played for seven days. We tried to go to Blanchester Friday, but the storm came, so we didn't get to do that. But, we've had a great attitude this week. We came out, got off to a slow start, but then we hit the ball the way we are capable of hitting the ball.
"Our defense was good, we got bunts down and Lauren (Larrick) pitched well. Those are the things the Lady Lions have to do win games … fundamental softball."
Not even the rain could stop the Lady Lions at the plate, collecting 12 hits and 10 runs as they are not only working on their postseason run, but are in process of making up three regular-season games as they are in a battle for the Southern Hills League Division II crown. FHS (10-0 in SHL) still has two games remaining with second-place Peebles (who trail by one game) and one with Manchester.
Against Western Latham, the Lady Lions scored two runs in the first but broke away for seven runs in the third. For good measure, they added one final run in the fifth for the run-rule win.
"We were pleased with the mental toughness," assistant coach Tom Purtell said. "The element was just as much as anything. We needed to get this game done today, so being mentally tough and playing through the rain was good."
Fairfield (14-2) had three players finish with a multi-hit game as junior Lauren Larrick finished 3-for-3 (two doubles) with one run and one RBI. Senior Abby Thackston was 2-for-3 with two runs, and Huff was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs and two steals.
In the first inning, the Fairfield runs were scored by Huff and Thackston on a ground-out by Danielle Butler and double by Larrick.
After a scoreless second inning, the Lady Lions took care of business with seven runs added to the scoreboard, tallying eight hits, while taking advantage of two Lady Indian errors in the inning.
Butler was first to reach the bases in the inning on a fielding error by Western Latham. She scored on a base hit by Thackston. Whitney Hanenkrat singled in Thackston and went to third on a double by Larrick. Kortney Paris cleared the bases with a triple and scored on a error by the Lady Indians.
Shelby Smithson continued the inning with a single, as did Courtney Huff. Both runners scored in the inning. A fielder's choice by Kylie Bates allowed Huff to score. Heather Huff then crushed the ball over the left field fence, adding two more runs for the FHS lead, which jumped to 9-0.
The final run scored when Smithson scored on a base hit by Heather Huff.
Larrick (14-2) earned the win, pitching five innings, allowing two hits with no walks and no runs. She struck out nine of the 17 batters she faced, as the Lady Lions defense retired the final 12 batters of the game, including eight strikeouts.
"Our pitching and defense will keep us in game," Purtell said. "It's not that we have to play perfect defense … if we make a bobble, we just have to let it go and go on to the next play. I think we can hit the ball, but we have some unfinished business in the league first."
FHS is scheduled to face Peebles on Sunday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. in a make-up game. On Monday, the Lady Lions will take on Manchester at Whiteoak High School in a make-up game. FHS will play their district semifinal game against Eastern Meigs on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Minford High School. Then on Thursday, the Lady Lions are scheduled to play at Peebles in their final regular season make-up game.
The coaches talked about balancing the postseason and regular season at the same time.
"It's tricky, but the good part is we do have stuff to focus on," Purtell said. "That's the good part. We have let this win go. We took a picture, congratulated each other on a sectional championship, and now we have to focus on the league again."
"We started talking about the league again … that is our focus right now," Zimmerman said.
GAME NOTES: Fairfield stranded three runners … The Lady Lions collected four extra base hits and six steals … FHS had eight RBIs and struck out twice … FHS has 10 run-rule wins in '11.
[[In-content Ad]]