Fairfield 5, Hamilton 0
Fox outduels fall teammate Boyd
They both came into the GMC contest with 0.62 ERAs, and the Indians ace struck out 11 Big Blue batters.
PHOTOS: View photos from the game
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
HAMILTON — A day before its bout with first-place Colerain High School, the Fairfield softball team reclaimed its stake as the Cardinals' top contender with a 5-0 victory over an upstart Hamilton squad Tuesday, April 22.
Led by a masterful performance by sophomore pitcher Jaisa Fox, the Indians (13-2, 8-2 Greater Miami Conference) handed Big Blue their second loss of the season (13-2, 9-2).
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsFox (10-2) muted the conference's top hitting team, giving up only one hit and striking out 11 in a complete-game victory.
"(Hamilton was) aggressive at the plate. They came right after (Fox)," Fairfield coach Brenda Stieger said. "She did a nice job of keeping them down."
Hamilton junior Ashley Boyd (12-2), who entered the game with the same ERA as Fox (0.62), gave up a season-high five runs, three of which were earned.
"They're a tough team," Boyd said. "They have a whole lineup of players that can put the ball in play."
"It was a big game. We didn't play very well," Hamilton coach Steve Heckman said. "We got down, and it was like we'd never played from behind before. We panicked. I'll take responsibility for that."
Fairfield got on the board in the third inning when junior Megan Lockhart tripled to right field and subsequently scored on a wild pitch.
The Indians' eighth and ninth batters — senior Whitney Kelly and Courtney Holschuh — each delivered insurance runs later in the game, both with two-out singles.
"We're a very good two-out hitting team, usually late in the game, too," Fox said.
Tuesday's matchup pitted two of the best pitchers in the Cincinnati area, two girls who know each other quite well.
"We played fall ball together, and we have the same pitching coach," Fox said.
Boyd throws a bit faster than Fox. But Fox's bread-and-butter pitch, the curveball, baffled Big Blue hitters all afternoon.
She hopes to confound Colerain hitters at 4:30 p.m. today in Fairfield. The Indians lost to the Cardinals (10-2, 9-0) in their season opener, 1-0.
Hamilton plays host to Middletown (5-8, 1-7) at 4:30 p.m. today.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5128
or edawisha@coxohio.com.
