Miscue Costly For Lady Warriors
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
The Lady Warriors made the only mistake in the game, Fairfield took advantage and earned the sectional title with a 1-0 win Thursday.
Playing as the visiting team, the first two Fairfield hitters grounded out to second baseman Allissa Flores in the top of the third inning. Alexis Zook hit a third grounder to Flores, who bobbled it just enough for the speedy Zook to reach first base.
Zook stole second, then Lady Falcon pitcher Lairen Miller lined a pitch back at Wawasee hurler Meghan Fretz. The ball kicked off Fretz’s glove into short right field, allowing Zook to score.
Wawasee’s best chance to score came in the bottom of the fourth. Kylee Rostochak lined a one-out double into the left field corner, and Flores followed by drawing a walk. But Fretz flied to left and Danielle Gunkel popped to short to end the threat.
While not overpowering, both pitchers were very effective. Miller struck out just three hitters, and Fretz two, but the Lady Warriors didn’t get a runner past second base in the game, and Fairfield only had one other runner get as far as third.
“You could see how excited those kids were when we scored that one run,” said Fairfield head coach John Skibbe. “They knew right then they had that first step they needed to take to win this game.”
He said the Fairfield game plan was to keep Wawasee’s power from taking over the contest.
“Lairen did a good job of keeping them off balance, and we played solid defense,” said Skibbe. “We gave up a few walks, but we wanted them to swing at our pitch. It was just a great job in the circle by Lairen today.”
The loss was tough to take for a Wawasee team that won 80 percent of their games in the 2016 season.
“Fairfield isn’t going to give you anything. They made every play they needed to make,” said Wawasee coach Jared Knipper. “But our kids expect to win every time they come out to play. They’re the best team to ever wear the Wawasee uniform, and those seniors are going to be missed.
“But the program’s in good shape. We’ll return with our pitching intact, and there’s some talented kids coming up, so the future’s looking pretty bright.”
Still, to come so close to claiming a second sectional title in three years and not get there is tough on everyone close to the Wawasee program.
“We made one mistake, and they didn’t make any. This was what you expect a championship game to be; you just hope to come out on the better end of the score.”
Wawasee finished the season with a 24-6 record.
Fairfield will host Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger in a one-game regional at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the Twin Lakes Semistate on June 4.
FAIRFIELD 1, WAWASEE 0
F 001 000 0 – 1 3 0
W 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Fairfield – Lairen Miller (W, 7IP. 3H, OR, OER, 3BB, 3K)
Wawasee – Meghan Fretz (L. 7IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K)
2B – Kylee Rostochak (W)
Records: Fairfield 18-6, Wawasee 24-6[[In-content Ad]]
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The Lady Warriors made the only mistake in the game, Fairfield took advantage and earned the sectional title with a 1-0 win Thursday.
Playing as the visiting team, the first two Fairfield hitters grounded out to second baseman Allissa Flores in the top of the third inning. Alexis Zook hit a third grounder to Flores, who bobbled it just enough for the speedy Zook to reach first base.
Zook stole second, then Lady Falcon pitcher Lairen Miller lined a pitch back at Wawasee hurler Meghan Fretz. The ball kicked off Fretz’s glove into short right field, allowing Zook to score.
Wawasee’s best chance to score came in the bottom of the fourth. Kylee Rostochak lined a one-out double into the left field corner, and Flores followed by drawing a walk. But Fretz flied to left and Danielle Gunkel popped to short to end the threat.
While not overpowering, both pitchers were very effective. Miller struck out just three hitters, and Fretz two, but the Lady Warriors didn’t get a runner past second base in the game, and Fairfield only had one other runner get as far as third.
“You could see how excited those kids were when we scored that one run,” said Fairfield head coach John Skibbe. “They knew right then they had that first step they needed to take to win this game.”
He said the Fairfield game plan was to keep Wawasee’s power from taking over the contest.
“Lairen did a good job of keeping them off balance, and we played solid defense,” said Skibbe. “We gave up a few walks, but we wanted them to swing at our pitch. It was just a great job in the circle by Lairen today.”
The loss was tough to take for a Wawasee team that won 80 percent of their games in the 2016 season.
“Fairfield isn’t going to give you anything. They made every play they needed to make,” said Wawasee coach Jared Knipper. “But our kids expect to win every time they come out to play. They’re the best team to ever wear the Wawasee uniform, and those seniors are going to be missed.
“But the program’s in good shape. We’ll return with our pitching intact, and there’s some talented kids coming up, so the future’s looking pretty bright.”
Still, to come so close to claiming a second sectional title in three years and not get there is tough on everyone close to the Wawasee program.
“We made one mistake, and they didn’t make any. This was what you expect a championship game to be; you just hope to come out on the better end of the score.”
Wawasee finished the season with a 24-6 record.
Fairfield will host Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger in a one-game regional at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the Twin Lakes Semistate on June 4.
FAIRFIELD 1, WAWASEE 0
F 001 000 0 – 1 3 0
W 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Fairfield – Lairen Miller (W, 7IP. 3H, OR, OER, 3BB, 3K)
Wawasee – Meghan Fretz (L. 7IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K)
2B – Kylee Rostochak (W)
Records: Fairfield 18-6, Wawasee 24-6[[In-content Ad]]
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