Fairfield softball swept in conference opener

WASHINGTON, Iowa ? A few big innings in each game of Wednesday?s softball doubleheader proved to be the difference for Washington as it picked up a Southeast Conference sweep of Fairfield.

In the conference opener for both teams, the fifth-ranked (Class 4A) Demons scored 10 runs in the bottom of the third inning to win game one 12-4. They then scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings of the nightcap, completing the sweep with an 8-2 win.

?It wasn?t like [Washington] did anything that scared us. We just need to play better defense,? said Fairfield head coach Bob Bradfield. ?We would?ve been in both games if we played a clean game. The key is you can?t make mistakes against the good teams.?

The Trojans committed three errors in the first game, and all three came in Washington?s crucial 10-run third. Only four of the 10 runs were charged to Fairfield starter Alli Deao in the inning.

?They hit the ball real well and then we had errors at crucial times. We just made a couple of errors in a row that compounded things,? Bradfield said.

And while Washington was taking advantage of its good fortune at the plate, the Trojans? night could be summarized by its own missed chances. Fairfield had 10 hits but left 11 runners on base in the opener.

Katie Anderson, Sydney Burnett and Kenady Waugh had two hits apiece in game one. Karley Williams smoked a double, drew three walks and scored twice.

Deao pitched all six innings and allowed 11 hits while fanning two.

Fairfield was held to only four hits in the nightcap as the Demons again took advantage of several Trojan miscues in the field. The two teams were locked up at 2-all until the bottom of the fifth inning, when a Fairfield error with the bases loaded scored two runs. The Trojans committed two more errors in the sixth inning, and Washington tacked on another three runs.

McKenna Ledger and Williams supplied one RBI each for the Trojans.

Haley Grunwald picked up the loss, tossing six innings of eight-run ball. Only three of those eight runs were earned, however.

The Trojans (3-3, 0-2 SEC) will look to regroup when they travel to Iowa City Friday for a tournament hosted by West High. Play begins at 4:30 p.m.

Fairfield @ Washington (Game 1)

Fairfield ? 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 ? 4 10 3

Washington ? 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 ? 12 11 1

FAIRFIELD ? Burnett 2-4, 2B, 2RBI; Anderson 2-3, Waugh 2-4; M. Roberts 1-4, HR, RBI, R; Williams 1-1, 2B, 2R; Ledger 1-3; Flattery 1-1; K. Roberts R

Pitching ? Deao (L) 6 INN, 11H, 12R, 6ER, 2K, 2BB

Fairfield @ Washington (Game 2)

Fairfield ? 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 ? 2 4 5

Washington ? 0 0 1 1 3 3 x ? 8 9 2

FAIRFIELD ? Anderson 1-4, Repp 1-3, R; Roberts 1-3; Williams RBI; Ledger 1-2, RBI; Flattery 1-2

Pitching ? Grunwald (L) 6 INN, 9H, 8R, 3ER, K, 3BB