PREP SOFTBALL: Fairfield rallies to beat We-Bo, advance to semistate title game

Jun. 5—CHALMERS — The Fairfield softball team will play for a spot in the Class 2A state championship game after beating Western Boone, 7-3, in the northern semistate semifinal game Saturday afternoon. The Falcons (26-4) now get to play No. 1 Pioneer (33-2) at 6:00 p.m. for the semistate championship.

Fairfield won in dramatic fashion over the Stars, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning — all with two outs. Laney Faldoe singled, then Brooke Sanchez hit a go-ahead triple to make it a 4-3 game. Sydney Stutsman followed with an RBI single to drive in Sanchez, and Kayla Miller capped it all off with a two-run home run over the center field wall.

Falcon coach John Skibbe said Miller is the leader of the team, and she acted like that in the sixth inning. Along with the home run, she pitched out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the top half of the frame to keep the game tied at three.

"That was huge, that last home run by Kayla to give us that four-run lead," Skibbe said. "That just kind of settled everybody down. They're going to follow the leader, and when the leader hits that shot, that says a lot."

Fairfield scored the first three runs of the game. Mackayla Stutsman had an RBI single in the bottom of the second, scoring Carsin Stutzman. The next batter was Faldoe, and she ripped an RBI double to center that scored a charging Mackayla Stutsman.

In the bottom of the fourth, Sanchez launched a solo home run to left-center field to extend the lead to 3-0.

Western Boone would tie the game in the top of the fifth. The first run scored on a throwing error from the Falcons. Then, Gabriella Lewis and Hannah Redlin had back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game.

Redlin reached base with one out in the top of the seventh, but Mya Fisher lined out to Sanchez at shortstop in the next at-bat. The junior then had the presence of mind to throw to first base, doubling off Redlin to end the ball game.

"I was really struggling, defensively, this game, so it was a huge confidence boost," said Sanchez about ending the game with a defensive play. "I took advantage of that line drive and caught the runner off-balance. Just a good confidence boost and energy going into the next game."

Fairfield now has less than three hours to prepare to face the top-ranked team in Class 2A in Pioneer. The Panthers beat Frankton, 13-0, in the first semistate semifinal game of the day.

This is the third time under Skibbe that the Falcons will have a chance to advance to the state championship game. They're 0-2 in previous attempts, both at the Class 3A level.

"Tactically wise, we've done everything we can do at this point anyways," Skibbe said. "We just need to rest, especially on a day like today; stay cool, that type of thing. Strategy wise, we're not changing anything we do, whether it be Pioneer or Western Boone or whoever it is we play. We're going to play the same kind of ball."

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.