Lions to face Hawley in quarterfinal series
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lion baseball team won two straight games in the area series last week against Ozona, advancing to the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs starting Friday.
Albany (20-3-1) will face district foe Hawley (12-20-0, 5-5) for the playoff rematch starting on Friday at 1:00 p.m., with Game 2 set for 1:00 p.m. Saturday. A third game will follow the second bout if needed.
The series is set for Abilene High School, depending on the weather.
“Abilene High has a turf infield, but the drawback is that they don’t have much parking,” coach David Fairchild said. “They will be having classes on Friday during the first game, which means fans may have to park in the surrounding neighborhood and walk a ways to the field.”
The main student parking lot across Mockingbird Street will be open for parking on Saturday.
“We have reserved Hermleigh again in case we get so much rain this week that it makes the Abilene field unplayable,” he said.
Tickets at Abilene High will be $5 for adults and $3 for students at the gate.
“Hawley is a very well-coached team,” Fairchild said. “They are young this year, but they are very scrappy and determined.”
The Lions and Bearcats are very familiar with each other since both advanced out of District 8-2A. Albany was undefeated in district with a 10-0 record, while the Bearcats lost twice to Albany, 11-1 and 7-2, finishing fourth in district in the 2A bracket. The second game was called in the sixth due to rain.
The Bearcats won their bi-district series against DeLeon 16-8, 15-5, then faced Eldorado last week taking two out of three, 7-5, 6-7, 8-5.
The Lions defeated Coleman in two games for the bi-district title.
The winner of the regional quarterfinal series will advance to play the winner of the New Home and New Deal series. Both teams were the winner in their respective districts.
Lions Sweep Ozona
Game 1 of the area series was played in Hermleigh on Thursday, with Albany winning 8-1.
Cade Neve led Albany to the victory from the pitching mound, giving up only one run on two hits over six and two-thirds innings. He struck out 12 and walked zero. Caden Price came in as relief for the final out.
“Cade had great control from the mound,” the coach said. “Cooper Fairchild was the leading hitter, going two for four, and William Webb had a great game on defense.”
The Lions took an early 2-1 lead in the first inning, adding another run in the second. Two more runs were collected in the fourth, with a three-run fifth for the win.
In Game 2, played Friday at 4:00 p.m., Jackson Chapman threw all five innings of the shutout to lead the Lions to an 11-0 win over Ozona and clinch the area championship.
Chapman allowed three hits for no runs over the five innings, striking out eight and not giving up any walks.
The Lions scored twice in the first and three times in the second to lead 5-0. After another run in the fourth, Albany scored five runs in the fifth to seal the win.
“Overall in the series, Cooper Fairchild was five for eight and Caden Price was four for eight, which was a great job at the plate by both,” the coach said.
Area Playoff Game 1
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
Ozona 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1/2/4
Albany 2 1 0 2 3 0 x 8/7/3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 2 for 4, 2 sgls
C LeFevre 1 for 3, 1 tpl, 1 RBI
P Henry 1 for 0, 1 RBI
C Neve 0 for 3, 1 RBI
J Chapman 1 for 4, 1 sgl
C Chapman 0 for 2, 1 RBI
L Ivy 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
C Price 1 for 2, 1 sgl
W Webb 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 2 RBIs
Area Playoff Game 2
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 2 3 0 1 5 x X 11/8/1
Ozona 0 0 0 0 0 x x 0/3/8
INDIVIDUAL STATS
C Fairchild 3 for 4, 2 sgls, 1 dbl
C Lefevre 0 for 4, 1 RBI
C Neve 2 for 4, 2 sgls
C Price 3 for 4, 3 sgls, 4 RBIs
W Webb 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
