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Fairfield finishes sweep
Olivia Hollander’s huge day lifts Trojans past Panthers
FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield softball team finished off a 3-0 week against rival Mt. Pleasant on Thursday night with a 10-run, five-inning victory.
The Trojans beat the Panthers 10-0 in a Southeast Conference clash at Fairfield Middle School, completing the season sweep.
“They're starting to get better,” said Fairfield head coach Bob Bradfield about his squad. “And the ones who are a little bit older and played a little bit more, they're hitting well.”
One of those players, Olivia Hollander, had a career night. Hollander went 3-for-3 with her first career home run, a triple and a single that walked things off in the bottom of the fifth.
“I feel like I've grown a lot,” said Hollander after the win. “Toward the beginning of the season, I would strike out and pop up a lot, and it was really hard. I don't know what, but something clicked.”
Hollander’s triple came in the first inning. Her home run, which cleared the right field fence, came a couple of frames later.
“I just kept my head on it and did my best,” Hollander said. “The ball went a lot further than I thought it was going to.”
Overall, Fairfield scored three runs in the first, three more in the third and two each in the fourth and fifth innings.
Hollander’s 3-for-3 day came with a game-high five RBIs. Lilly Bergren was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Savannah Hollander went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and both Leah Helmick and Morgan Ament knocked one in.
Coty Engle threw five shutout innings, striking out three Panthers on the night.
Mt. Pleasant’s Ella McNamee went 1-for-2 with a double to lead the team Jersey Beachy was 1-for-2 with a single.
Jolynn Martin threw 4.2 innings for the Panthers, giving up nine earned runs. She struck out five batters in the loss. Myah Starr appeared in relief.
The Trojans couldn’t keep up the momentum, falling three times at the Clear Creek-Amana tournament on Friday and Saturday. Fairfield fell 10-0 to Williamsburg, 5-0 to CCA, and 8-0 to Solon.
Fairfield now sits at 12-12 overall and 7-5 in conference play. Mt. Pleasant is 4-20 overall and 1-11 in the SEC.
On Monday, the Trojans will host Keokuk in a doubleheader, while Mt. Pleasant travels to Fort Madison.
