Fairfield softball explodes in 6th

FAIRFIELD — Keokuk certainly wasn’t supposed to give No. 10 Fairfield a fight in the Class 4A Region 4 softball semifinals on Saturday, but the Trojans certainly had to break a sweat.

The Chiefs put the pressure on the Trojans all day long, taking two separate leads and having it tied in the sixth inning, but a seven-run bottom of the sixth helped Fairfield pull away with a win, and punch its ticket into the regional final.

“They played well,” said Fairfield head coach Bob Bradfield. “Their pitcher threw well and they hit well. You've got to give Keokuk credit”

The game was tied with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hannah Simpson, the Trojans’ top hitter this season, delivered a two-run RBI double to give Fairfield its first lead of the ballgame.

“I do pretty good under pressure,” Simpson said. “I've been in those situations a lot.”

Emersyn Manley followed Simpson’s hit with an RBI single. The Keokuk defense started to break shortly after that, committing a series of errors that helped the Trojans kept piling on.

“I came in from the dugout and I saw 12 runs,” said Manley. “Then, we just started having fun again and doing our thing. It was just like old times.”

The Chiefs scored three runs in the first inning and held that lead until the bottom of the third. Fairfield battled back to tie it in the bottom of the third on a pair of RBI hits from Simpson and Manley and an RBI ground out from Peyton McCabe.

Keokuk scored two more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. Manley brought one home on a Keokuk error in the bottom half, and McCabe delivered an RBI single to tie it.

Simpson finished the night 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. McCabe went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and Manley finished 1-for-4 with one RBI. Coty Engle and Delaney Breen both collected multiple hits.

Engle found her groove late in the pitcher’s circle and ended up giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits, while striking out nine Keokuk batters in a complete-game victory.

The Trojans are set to play for a chance at a Class 4A state tournament berth on Tuesday, but Fairfield doesn’t know where its playing or who the opponent is just yet. No. 4 Carlisle will play Grinnell on Monday night for the other spot. If Carlisle wins, the game will be in Carlisle, but Fairfield could host if Grinnell pulls the upset.