Fairfield made the most of its opportunities Thursday, both at the plate and in the field, to capture the first game of the Westview Class 2A high school baseball sectional over Jimtown, 9-3.
The Falcons had 14 runners reach base, only one more than the Jimmies, but timely hitting allowed them to score nine.
“We had a lot of big two-out hits and we finally started hitting the ball to the opposite field like we did earlier in the season,” Falcon coach Brodie Garber said.
Jimtown had at least one runner on base in six of the seven innings. But Fairfield made the plays in the field to keep the Jimmies at bay.
Starter Justin Scott struggled with his control early, walking four and throwing four wild pitches, but the Falcon defense turned three rally-killing double plays. Scott also picked off two runners to thwart Jimtown scoring chances.
Jimtown coach Mike Stout was frustrated at seeing those scoring opportunities disappear.
“We didn’t do ourselves any favors,” he said. “Every time we got something going we hit into a double play. And we didn’t run the bases very well.”
The sectional continues on Monday, with Westview playing Bremen at 5 p.m. and the Falcons taking on LaVille in the second game.
FHS Freshman Zach Newcomer drove in four runs with a pair of doubles and Scott blasted a three-run homer to highlight the scoring.
The Falcons scored in the top of the first when Brad Newcomer walked with two outs. Caleb Yoder followed with a double and Zach Newcomer brought them both home with a double to right center.
The Jimmies got one of those back right away when Jordan Smith walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Tyler Wallin’s single to left.
But neither team scored over the next two innings despite several opportunities.
Fairfield changed that in the top of the fourth with a five-run inning. Colin Holmes laced a triple to right center to score David Mohney, pinch running for Kyle Cross, who had singled. After a walk to Jerad Stump, Josh Brown singled home Holmes.
Then with two outs, Scott launched a drive over the centerfield fence to put the Falcons on top 7-1.
“He said he got jammed on that,” Garber said. “When he keeps his hands in and hits to all fields is when he’s most effective.”
The Falcons’ final runs in the seventh were almost a carbon copy of their first two. With two outs, Brad Newcomer singled, and Yoder followed with his second double of the game. Zach Newcomer then brought both home with his second double of the contest.
Fairfield played solid defense and even turned an error into an inning-ending out.
In the second, Jimtown’s Jeremy Hill popped up into short left. The convergence of three players and a gusting wind caused Cross to drop the ball for an error.
But shortstop Darin Hochstetler alertly scooped up the ball and fired to second to erase Hill trying to take the extra base.
“We played better defense than we have recently,” Garber said. “To win the sectional we have to make the plays on defense.”
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CHAD WEAVER
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