Fairfield softball wins battle of ranked teams

SIGOURNEY — It was a clash of titans Monday night, as Class 4A’s No. 3 Fairfield Trojans visited Class 1A’s Sigourney Savages for a season-opening doubleheader. It was the visiting team that did the savaging, as Fairfield won 6-4 and 17-7.

Game 1 was a battle. Fairfield led 2-0 after the first inning, but Sigourney tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth. Both squads scored two in the fifth to make it 4-4, and the Trojans added one each in the sixth and seventh.

Fairfield sophomore Emersyn Manley entered the Trojans’ starting lineup and made her presence known in Game 1. She went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to lead the team.

Hannah Simpson was 2-for-3 in Game 1. Brynley Allison was 1-for-4 with a double. Bailey Hird and Peyton McCabe each knocked in one run.

Coty Engle picked up her first win of the season, throwing all seven innings in the circle. She gave up just four runs (three earned) on four hits and eight walks, while striking out two batters.

The Trojan offense exploded in Game 2, spreading 17 runs over seven innings. Engle went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, and Delaney Breen finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs of her own.

Manley went 3-for-4 in Game 2. Allison, Simpson and McCabe each had two RBIs. Danielle Breen had two hits and an RBI.

Hird picked up the win in Game 2. She threw all seven innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and five walks, while striking out three.