Lion baseball squad off to strong start
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lion baseball team is off to a strong start, winning all three games at the Hamlin tournament last week and picking up a victory in Eastland to post an undefeated 5-0 record so far for the season.
Albany will play in the Lloyd Burton Memorial Tournament in Brock Thursday and Friday, opening with a 12:00 noon game against Covenant and a 2:00 p.m. bout versus Grandview.
The Lions will return on Friday for a 4:00 p.m. game against West, followed by a 6:00 p.m. pairing with DeLeon.
Albany is also entered in the Muenster tournament on March 20-21.
A trio of Albany pitchers combined to shut out Colorado City 9-0 in the first round of the Hamlin tournament played last Thurday.
“Pitching was the key to this win,” coach David Fairchild said. “We gave up just one hit over six innings, so I’m very proud of the command we had.”
Ben West pitched two innings, allowing the lone hit along with one walk and four strikeouts.
Cade Neve got the win with 2.1 innings on the mound, striking out five, and Caden Price pitched 1.2 innings with three strikeouts.
LIONS vs Colordao City
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 1 0 5 2 1 x x 9/4/2
Colorado 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 0/1/3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 0 for 2, 2 RBIs
B Kayga 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 1 run
P Henry 0 for 1, 1 RBI
C Neve 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 RBI, 1 run
J Chapman 0 for 1, 1 RBI, 1 run
L Ivy 0 for 2, 2 RBIs, 2 runs
C Price 0 for 2, 1 run
W Webb 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 1 RBI, 1 run
M Balliew 2 runs
The Lions scored three runs in the fifth to slip by Winters 4-3 in the second round on Friday in Hamlin.
Albany again used three pitchers in the game. Jackson Chapman was credited with the win with 3.2 innings on the mound, allowing one hit, one walk, and two runs while striking out two. Caden Price pitched 2.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks. He struck out four.
Cade Neve came in to finish for the save, striking out both batters he faced.
“All three of the guys pitched well, and I was very pleased with Price going 2.2 innings,” Fairchild said.
LIONS vs winters
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 4/9/4
Winters 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3/3/5
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 1 for 3, 1 sgl
B West 1 for 3, 1 sgl
C Neve 1 for 3, 1 sgl
J Chapman 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 2 runs
BJ Morris 0 for 3, 1 run
L Ivy 1 for 4, 1 sgl, 1 run
W Webb 2 for 4, 2 sgls
M Balliew 1 for 3, 1 sgl
The Lions capped the tournament with a 4-0 win over Merkel, coming on a no-hitter pitched by West and Neve.
“Ben and Cade got the no-hitter, with West going 5.1 innings and Neve closing the deal with a strikeout,” Fairchild said. “Overall, it was a great week with our pitching. Our defense was good and we are continuing to get better at the plate.”
LIONS vs Merkel
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 0 3 0 0 1 0 x 4/4/1
Merkel 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 0/0/6
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
B Kayga 1 run
C Lefevre 0 for 4, 1 run
B West 0 for 2, 1 run
C Neve 1 for 3, 1 sgl
BJ Morris 0 for 2, 1 RBI
L Ivy 1 for 1, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
W Webb 0 for 2, 1 run
West got the win, throwing 11 strikeouts. Neve came in for the final two batters, striking out one.
Early last week, the Lions were on the road in Eastland, earning a 5-2 win.
“We had some great pitching performances, allowing just two hits,” the coach said. “We played well defensively not commiting an error. William Webb and Parker Henry led us on offense.”
West got the win, pitching 1.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks. Neve took the mound for the first two and a third innings, allowing no hits or runs, walking one, and striking out two.
Chapman pitched three innings, striking out four.
LIONS vs Eastland
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 5/7/0
Eastland 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2/2/1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
P Henry 2 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 dbl,
C Neve 0 for 1, 1 run
C Hargett 1 run
J Chapman 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 1 RBI, 1 run
BJ Morris 1 for 4, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
L Ivy 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 1 RBI, 1 run
W Webb 2 for 2, 2 sgls
M Balliew 1 run
