Chiefs get revenge with sweep of Trojans

In three previous meetings this year, Fairfield had outscored Keokuk 50-3, but the results of Thursday?s doubleheader indicate that the Chiefs may not have cared.

Keokuk jumped on Fairfield early in game one and late in game two to get back some of that score differential by sweeping the Trojans by scores of 9-8 and 16-12.

?I think the outcome of the games is pretty representative of how the boys showed up today,? said Fairfield head coach Josh Allison. ?We had a lack of focus during batting practice and then followed with a lack of focus and lackluster performance on the field.?

The two wins were Keokuk?s first Southeast Conference wins of the year as Fairfield drops to 4-7 in league play.

More than five hours of baseball came to a head late in game two as the Trojans clung to a 12-10 lead heading into the sixth inning. Corbin Harwood inherited two runners in relief of Derek Fishel and forced an out on the first batter he faced before Keokuk warmed up the two-out bats.

The Chiefs? Ryan Kemp ripped a double and came around to score one batter later for the second run of the inning to tie the score 12-12. Harwood struck out Dayton Gibson to end the threat, but unfortunately for Fairfield, the two-out rally was a sign of more things to come.

Harwood got through the first two outs of the seventh without a run being added to the board, but once again, Keokuk seized its opportunity. With the bases loaded, a tough ground ball up the middle was missed by the Fairfield defense, Kyle Baum crossed the plate as the go-ahead run and the inning continued.

With the bases still juiced, Kemp smoked another double that cleared the pond and added three more runs of insurance.

With a 16-12 lead, Marcus Baum mowed the Trojans down 1-2-3 to end the game.

Brandon Veirs was 3-3 in the game with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to put the Trojans up 4-0 early. Keokuk roared back with a seven-run third inning that Veirs answered with another home run ? this time a solo shot.

Kemp had also put a ball over the fence in the game as just another part of the thorn he was in the side of Fairfield all night. Kemp finished the night 6-6 with five doubles, a home run, reached base in eight of his nine trips to the plate with the lone blemish to that record being a sacrifice fly that proved to be the game winner in the opener. Kemp got his night started with one of those doubles to lead off the second inning of game one and open the door to a four-run inning for the Chiefs.

From that point, Keokuk never trailed in the game and plated two runs in the sixth off Fairfield ace Willie Ghent ? pitching in relief of starter Brock Haines ? that were just enough to take the game. Two consecutive one-out doubles put the Chiefs ahead 8-7 to set the stage for Kemp?s sac fly.

Jake Dunbar came around to score on Ryan Brewington?s grounder in the bottom of the sixth to bring Fairfield back to within one run, but it was all the Trojans could muster. Dunbar finished the game two of four with one extra base hit and Willie Ghent smashed a three-run homer in the third inning but took the loss on the mound.

?We had one goal for this week and it was to play good baseball, win or lose. Those were definitely not good baseball games and we took a giant step backwards tonight,? Allison added.

With a regular season that is beginning to wind down, Fairfield has the holiday weekend off before running into an eight-game slate next week that includes five conference games beginning with Monday?s doubleheader at Mount Pleasant.