Fairfield baseball rolls past Keokuk

FAIRFIELD — Monday night’s Southeast Conference doubleheader between the Fairfield and Keokuk baseball teams showed just how much a handful of plays can turn a night. A sixth-inning swing flipped Game 1 from a one-run grinder to an 8-3 Fairfield victory, and the Trojans won Game 2, 7-0.

Fairfield had come back from a 3-0 deficit to lead 4-3 after four innings in Game 1. When the top of the sixth hit, Keokuk plated the first two runners, knocked out starting pitcher Connor Lyons and were seemingly in position to take back the lead.

Trojan relief pitcher Isaac Harris wiggled out of the jam with the help of the defense behind him. Harris forced a fly out for the first out of the inning, and one batter later, the Trojan infield turned an inning-ending double play.

“We played pretty good defense tonight,” said Fairfield head coach Josh Allison. “I know we had a few errors, but we came up with some big defensive plays when we needed them.”

In the bottom half of the sixth, the Trojans plated four runs, all with two outs, to push the lead to five. Harris would shut the Chiefs down in the final inning.

Tallon Bates had a big game for the Trojans, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Brody Angstead was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Nate Smithburg was 2-for-4, and Dylan Hunter, Brad Woodburn and Wyatt Baker all knocked in a run.

Game 2 was all about Fairfield’s Tate Allen. The sophomore threw a two-hit complete game to shut the Chiefs down and Fairfield did plenty enough on the offensive side of the ball to skate away with another victory.

“I was just going through the game like I normally do,” Allen said. “I just felt strong the whole way through.”

The Fairfield offense scored two runs each in the first, fourth and fifth innings of Game 2, and tacked on one in the sixth.

The Trojan baseball team moved to 10-15 overall and 8-10 in conference play with the win.