Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Trojan softball heating up
Fairfield blasts Burlington, upsets Albia over Fourth of July weekend
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield softball team might be heating up at just the right time.
The Trojans had a big weekend, going 2-1 overall, which included a Southeast Conference blowout against Burlington and a huge win over a Class 3A ranked foe.
Fairfield beat Burlington 8-1 to close out SEC play on Thursday night. The Trojans then upset No. 8 (3A) Albia, 4-1, and nearly did the same to No. 7 (5A) Pleasant Valley, falling 6-5, at Saturday’s Ottumwa tournament.
On Thursday, it was all Trojans from the get-go. Fairfield scored the first eight runs and never let Burlington sniff the lead in a dominant league victory.
“We played well,” said Fairfield head coach Bob Bradfield. “We sort of let down on offense in the last two innings, or we could have been done a little bit sooner.”
Olivia Hollander went a perfect 3-for-3 in the win, finishing the night with a double and an RBI to help lead the team to victory. Lilly Bergren was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
“We’re starting to really play together,” said Hollander after the win. “Everyone’s doing their job, and when they do their job, we play well.”
Leah Helmick had a double and an RBI in the win. Haylee Eklund was 3-for-3 with a double, and both Faith Jones and Laney Norris had RBIs.
Helmick also had a strong start in the circle, going seven innings and giving up just one earned run. She struck out four Grayhound batters.
On Saturday, the Trojans got a look at the top seeded team in their upcoming regional tournament, as Fairfield handed Albia a 4-1 defeat.
The big moment came off the bat of Bergren, who launched a two-out grand slam in the second inning. That gave Fairfield a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
Bergren finished 1-for-4 with the grand slam and all four of the team’s RBIs. Helmick was a perfect 3-for-3.
Norris pitched a gem against the Lady Dees. She threw a six inning complete game, giving up just one earned run, while striking out four batters.
Fairfield was down 5-0 against Pleasant Valley heading into the sixth inning. The Trojans scored five runs over their next two at-bats to tie things up at 5-5, but Pleasant Valley walked it off in the bottom of the seventh.
Emma Septer was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs against the Spartans. Eklund and Norris both had an RBI, and Maddy Martin and Helmick both went 2-for-3.
Helmick and Ryan split time in the circle. Ryan was tagged with the loss.
Fairfield is now 19-15 overall with one game to go. The Trojans finished all alone in second in the SEC, finishing 11-4.
