Coach Fairchild passes 400th career win
By Donnie A. Lucas
Strong pitching performances led the Lion baseball team to a sweeping 3-0 record in the Windthorst tournament last week and gave coach David Fairchild his 400th career win.
Albany will open district next Tuesday, March 23, hosting Stamford at 5:00 p.m. The Lions will travel to Haskell on Friday, March 26 as the race for the district title continues.
Fairchild was recognized by fans and players after the third win of the tourney over Peaster, 8-5, including the unveiling of a banner, signs, and a plaque noting the milestone.
This year is the coach’s 26th year of coaching, after he spent the first three years in Savoy, followed by four seasons in Lockney and two in Ballinger. He took the Albany job as head baseball coach during the 2004-2005 school year and is currently in his 17th year of guiding the Lions.
“Getting 400 wins is very exciting,” Fairchild said. “Most of those wins came here in Albany, which speaks to the number of good ball clubs we have had to work with.”
He also thanked his assistant coach Denney Fairchild, along with Angelyn Faith who keeps the books and assists in a number of other ways.
Albany teams have posted 291 wins over the last 17 seasons, racking up seven district championships, 10 bi-district wins, five area wins, four regional quarterfinal wins, three regional semifinals wins, and two regional final victories.
The Lions have played in the state semifinal at the state tournament two times.
Fairchild likely would have hit the 400-win mark last season, with the Lions posting a 7-0 season prior to the shutdown of schools in Texas due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Windthorst Tourney
The Lions opened the two-day tourney last Thursday with a 5-1 win over the No. 4 state-ranked Windthorst Trojans.
“Our pitching was the key in all three wins in the tournament,” Fairchild said. “Cade Neve struck out 11 against Windthorst and was in command throughout the entire game.”
The coach noted that Caden Price (three for four) and William Webb (two for three) led the team at the plate.
In the second game on Friday against Archer City, Jackson Chapman was credited with the win from the mound, striking out six. Cooper Fairchild led the team at the plate going three for four, along with Caden Price who was two for three.
Cole Chapman got the win in Game 3, pitching three and two-thirds innings against Peaster, recording four strikeouts. Cade Neve, Cooper Fairchild, and Cole Chapman led the hitting, each going two for three.
“Overall, those were three good wins,” the coach said. “Like I said earlier this season, pitching will be the key to success, especially in the tough district we have coming up.”
The varsity has a 6-3-1 overall record.
LIONS vs Windthorst
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 5/8/1
WindThorst 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1/5/2
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 1 for 3, 1 sgl
P Henry 0 for 2, 2 RBIs
C Neve 1 for 5, 1 dbl
J Chapman 1 for 3, 1 dbl
C Price 3 for 4, 3 sgls, 2 RBIs
W Webb 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 1 RBI
Pitching - Cade Neve (W), IP 6.1. 1 run, 5 hits, 1 BB, 11 SO.
Pitching - Jackson Chapman, IP - 0.2. 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 SO.
LIONS vs Archer city
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 R/H/E
ALBANY 2 1 8 0 0 x 11/9/3
Archer city 0 0 0 2 0 x 2/2/4
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 3 for 4, 2 sgls, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
P Henry 0 for 2, 1 RBI
C Neve 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 2 RBIs
J Chapman 1 for 3, 1 HR, 3 RBIs
C Chapman 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
C Price 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
W Webb 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
Pitching - Jackson Chapman (W), IP 5.0. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 BB, 6 SO
LIONS vs Peaster
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 R/H/E
ALBANY 1 4 3 0 0 x 8/9/2
Peaster 1 0 0 2 2 x 5/5/2
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 1 RBI
C Neve 2 for 3, 2 sgls
J Chapman 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 2 RBIs
C Chapman 2 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
C Read 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
W Webb 1 for 4, 1 sgl, 2 RBIs
Pitching - Cole Chapman (W), IP 3.2. 3 runs, 4 hits, 3 BB, 4 SO.
Pitching - Caden Price, IP 1.1. 2 runs, 1 hit, 2 BB, 1 SO.
Loss In Breckenridge
The Lions traveled to Breckenridge on March 9, bringing back a 11-1 defeat.
“We had three solid innings with Cade Neve throwing well and hitting his spots,” Fairchild said. “He went 2.2 innings, giving up two hits and striking out seven. But then we fell apart in the fourth, with Breckenridge scoring eight runs.”
The coach said he was pleased with the pitching despite the loss.
LIONS vs Breckenridge
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 0 0 1 0 0 0 x 1/5/4
Breck 0 0 2 8 0 1 x 11/7/2
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 1 for 3, 1 sgl
P Henry 2 for 3, 2 sgls
J Chapman 1 for 3, 1 sgl
W Webb 1 for 3, 1 dbl
Pitching - Cade Neve (L), IP 2.2. 2 runs, 2 hits, 2 BB, 7 SO.
Pitching - Jackson Chapman, IP 0.2. 5 runs, 2 hits, 1 BB, 2 DO.
Pitching - Cole Chapman, IP 0.2. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 SO, 0 BB,
Pitching - Caden Price, IP 1.1. 1 run, 0 hits, 1 BB, 3 SO.
JV Records Loss
The JV Lions lost in Breckenridge, 5-4, on March 9.
“We found a way to stay in the game and tied it up in the last inning,” Fairchild said. “I thought our pitchers fought hard considering the wind conditions. We have to get better at the plate, which I think will happen as the season continues.”
This was the first loss for the JV, which now has a 6-1 record.
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