Bloodhound pitchers shut down Fairfield

All-state pitcher Morgan Louck put the Fairfield bats on ice from her first hurl towards the plate, and the Trojans never warmed back up.

Class 3A fifth-ranked Fort Madison held Fairfield to one run on nine hits in two games Monday night as the Bloodhounds swept the Southeast Conference doubleheader with 13-1 and 6-0 victories to stay in the early title race. Meanwhile, Fairfield dropped to 0-4 to begin the SEC season.

As Louck put a stranglehold on the Fairfield offense, Fort Madison found its groove the second time through the lineup against starter Haley Grunwald. The Bloodhounds pounded out 10 hits total, and the innings only got bigger as the game went on. Fort Madison opened up a lead that grew to as big as 13 runs before Katie Anderson finally scored an unearned run for the Trojans in the bottom of the sixth.

?We?re good enough hitters to get more than three hits, but we?re still not going to score many runs against Morgan Louck,? said Fairfield head coach Bob Bradfield. ?The second game was more disappointing. The pitching was about equal, and we should?ve been able to put some runs on the board. Our hitting took a step backwards tonight.?

And that?s not to say the Trojans didn?t have their chances.

Fairfield loaded the bases with just one out down twice in game two ? both times with a chance to cut into the 4-0 deficit. But both times, Bloodhound pitcher Kortney Estrada worked her way out of the inning including a nifty inning-ending double play started by third baseman Chalie Meyer.

Fort Madison also showed off their defensive prowess throwing out Samantha Nystrom at the plate all the way from centerfield to save another run in the sixth inning.

With the loss, the Trojans fall to 2-7 overall in 2010 with a tough slate coming up. Thursday, Fairfield will travel to No. 3 Keokuk before coming back home for the Fairfield Invitational Friday and Saturday.