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Fairfield 2nd at home tourney
Trojan softball goes 2-1, falls to Chariton in final game
FAIRFIELD — Four area teams took part in Fairfield’s annual home softball tournament on Friday and Saturday, and the hosting Trojans came just a couple of innings short of an undefeated run.
Fairfield was 2-1 on the weekend. On Friday, the Trojans beat New London 11-0 to advance to the winner’s round robin tournament. On Friday, Fairfield defeated Central Lee 9-5 before falling to No. 14 (3A) Chariton, 4-3.
The Trojans had to storm back from a five-run deficit in their first game on Saturday. Central Lee put up five in the top of the third, and Fairfield didn’t get anything going until the bottom of the fourth.
“A lot of times when you're down 5-0, you're dead,” said Fairfield head coach Bob Bradfield.
But Bradfield’s Trojans were far from it. Fairfield rallied for four runs in the fourth, four more in the fifth and one in the sixth to get past the Hawks 9-5.
Olivia Hollander had a big game in the win over Central Lee, finishing 2-for-3 with four RBIs to lead Fairfield. Emmelia Miller was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Laney Norris finished 2-for-4.
Coty Engle threw all seven innings in the win. She gave up five earned runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out three batters.
Due to Chariton staging their own rally against Central Lee earlier in the day, the Trojans’ final game against the Chargers served as the de facto championship game.
Fairfield led early against Chariton. The Trojans scored two runs in the first inning and held a lead until the sixth. Down 3-1 in the top of the sixth inning, Chariton scored two in the inning to knot it up at 3-3.
Fairfield and Chariton went into the seventh inning tied, but the Chargers scored on a two-out bloop single just past second base, which scored a run from second.
“The ball was in just the perfect spot,” said Bradfield. “They got the ball on the bat, so it counts. It's not like we've never had balls that have blooped in that helped us out.”
The Trojans couldn’t get anything across in the bottom of the seventh, and Chariton escaped with the win.
Fairfield had eight hits in the championship game. Savannah Hollander led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Lilly Bergren was 1-for-3 with an double off the top of the fence and an RBI.
Engle threw all seven innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits and five walks. She struck out three Chargers.
“Coty pitched really well in two games,” Bradfield said. “She pitched really well against Chariton, which has a good team.”
Mt. Pleasant, New London and Van Buren County all lost their games on Friday. Along with New London’s loss to Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant fell 16-6 to Central Lee, and Van Buren County dropped a 13-0 game to Chariton.
That meant the Panthers, Tigers and Warriors would all play in a round robin on Saturday to decide the consolation bracket champion.
Van Buren County beat Mt. Pleasant 7-3 in Game 1. Lexie Wiley went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and both Ashlynn Huff and Sophia Jirak knocked in two runs for the Warriors, while Ally Cambell picked up the win on the mound.
In the second game of the day, Mt. Pleasant walked off New London 7-6 in eight innings.
The Panthers had a slew of multi-hit performances. Jersey Beachy went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Saige Burchett was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Bethany Drury went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Jolynn Martin was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Ella McNamee finished 2-for-4.
New London’s Natalie Burden had a couple of base hits to the fence early in the Tigers’ loss.
Van Buren County went on to defeat New London 10-0 in the third game to lock up the consolation bracket. In that one, Huff was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Ivy Davidson went 2-for-3 with a double, and Cambell threw a five-inning, two-hit shutout to earn the win.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Chariton; 2. Fairfield; 3. Central Lee; 4. Van Buren County; 5. Mt. Pleasant; 6. New London
