Lions finish season as quarterfinal champs
By Sam Waller
Depth and quality were two hallmarks of the Albany Lions pitching staff this spring.
An ill-timed injury cut into the depth, and the inability to escape trouble with minimal damage eventually led to the end of Albany’s season.
The Lions (24-5) were eliminated from the Class 2A playoffs, losing 2 out of 3 to fifth-ranked New Home in the regional semifinal series, played Thursday, May 25 and Saturday, May 27. It was the second year in a row the Leopards ousted Albany from the playoffs, following a sweep in the 2022 regional final.
Albany won the series opener 5-2 at Abilene Christian High School. New Home bounced back when the series shifted to Odessa, winning 12-4 and 23-9.
“It was a great season; we were quarterfinal champions,” Lions coach David Fairchild said. “There are a lot of teams that would love to have been in the fourth round of the playoffs.”
But what had been Albany’s strength was lessened when Game 1 starter Tyler Chapman was forced from the mound with an arm injury after walking two batters to start the second inning.
“I said from Day 1 I thought our pitching would be our strength,” Fairchild said. “We just kind of got handcuffed this time. I think it would have been a better series if we’d had everybody available.”
Cole Read led Albany at the plate in the series, going 5 for 9 with a double and five RBIs. Coy Lefevre was 4 for 10 with two triples, an RBI, and five runs scored, while Tyler Chapman went 3 for 7 with four runs scored.
Read and Cason Fairchild (4 for 11, double) had a hit in every game of the series.
Albany was initially able to overcome Tyler Chapman’s injury. Cole Chapman pitched 5.2 innings in relief to get the win, getting the first batter he faced to ground into a double play. The senior held New Home to two runs on three hits with six walks and six strikeouts before hitting the pitch limit with one out to go.
Tyler Chapman walked the first two batters in both the first and second, then Cole Chapman did the same in the third before getting out of trouble.
“When Tyler got hurt, it changed the whole dynamic. At one time, I had Coy Lefevre in center field,” David Fairchild said.
Caden Price needed just one pitch to get the save, but not having the Chapmans available on Saturday was a key factor.
“We started running out of pitching,” the coach said.
At the plate in Game 1, Zane Waggoner homered for the third game in a row, Read had a two-run double, and Price had a pair of RBI singles. Price and Lefevre, who tripled, both went 2 for 3.
Both New Home runs scored on wild pitches. In the fourth, another leadoff walk, a one-out single and two wild pitches enabled the Leopards to break a scoreless tie. In the fifth, a leadoff double, stolen base and wild pitch allowed the second run to cross.
It was what the Lions did in between in the bottom of the fourth that turned the game around.
With one out, Waggoner connected to tie the score and Albany strung together five consecutive hits. Singles by Tyler Chapman and Lefevre were followed by Read’s two-run double that put Albany ahead to stay and Price’s first RBI single.
In the sixth, Lefevre led off with his triple and Price singled with one out.
In the seventh, Cole Chapman issued another leadoff walk, the fifth of the game by an Albany pitcher, then struck out the next two batters to reach his pitch limit. Price came on to get a ground ball to end the game.
On Saturday, the Leopards took advantage of Albany mistakes – 15 walks, six hit batters, 13 wild pitches, three passed balls, eight errors. New Home scored 13 unearned runs and 19 two-out runs over the final two games, scoring at least five runs in an inning four times.
In both games, New Home jumped out to big leads, 6-0 in Game 2 and 8-0 in Game 3, before Albany pulled close, getting within two runs on three occasions.
“I’m really proud of the team for how we battled back in both games Saturday,” David Fairchild said and got within two runs. “There was no reason for them to hang their heads.”
In Game 2, the Lions closed the gap with four runs in the fourth. Waggoner walked and scored on a wild pitch. Read, who went 2 for 3, singled in two runs and Keatin Russell scored on a balk. Albany had the tying run on base when the inning ended.
New Home responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to regain control.
Read, who had a 16-inning scoreless streak entering the game, was roughed up for the first time in the playoffs. He was charged with 11 runs, seven earned, on seven hits over 3.2 innings. The junior struck out four, but issued six walks, hit a batter, and had four wild pitches.
Game 3 also started poorly for the Lions as Price was tagged for eight runs in the first inning. He also went 3.2 innings, allowing 15 runs, eight earned, on 12 hits. He struck out two, walked four and had four wild pitches.
Albany got back into the game with six runs in the second. After singles by Tyler Chapman, Lefevre and Read loaded the bases, Price reached on catcher’s interference, and Russell walked to force in runs. With two outs, Cole Chapman doubled to drive in three runs, then scored on Waggoner’s infield hit and an error.
After New Home got a run in the third, the Lions closed to within 9-7 when Read singled and scored when Calhan Fairchild reached on an error. In both the second and third, Albany had the tying run on base.
The Leopard put the game away with six runs in the fourth, two in the sixth and six more in the seventh. Trailing 17-7 in the sixth, Albany avoided the mercy rule when Lefevre tripled in a run and scored on Read’s sacrifice fly.
One bright spot for the day was sophomore Will LeMay taking the mound in relief in both games, Pitching at the varsity level for the first time, LeMay worked a total of four innings, giving up two runs on two hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Cason Fairchild, who last took the mound on March 11, also pitched in both games, going 1.1 innings. Calhan Fairchild, a freshman, made his first varsity pitching appearance, getting the final out in the seventh inning of Game 3.
“Will came off the bench because we were out of pitchers,” David Fairchild said. “He did a good job. It just came down to having one of our starting pitchers out.”
GAME 1
ALBANY 5, NEW HOME 2
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
NEW HOME 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2/3/0
ALBANY 0 0 0 4 0 1 x 5/9/0
atbat runs hits RBI
CsFairchild cf 3 0 1 0
CChapman ss 3 0 1 0
Waggoner 1b 2 1 1 1
TChapman 3b 3 1 1 0
Lefevre 2b 3 2 2 0
Read c 3 1 1 2
Price p 3 0 2 2
Russell dh 3 0 0 0
Hill lf 0 0 0 0
ClFairchild rf 3 0 0 0
Totals 26 5 9 5
2B – Read. 3B – Lefevre. HR – Waggoner.
IP H R ER BB SO
TChapman 1 0 0 0 4 1
CChapman 5.2 3 2 2 6 6
Price 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
WP – TChapman, CChapman 4.
GAME 2
NEW HOME 12, ALBANY 4
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4/6/2
NEW HOME 3 2 1 5 1 0 x 12/7/3
atbat runs hits RBI
CsFairchild 3b 3 0 1 0
CChapman ss 3 0 0 0
Waggoner 1b 3 1 0 0
TChapman 3b 2 1 0 0
LeMay p 1 0 1 0
Lefevre cf 3 1 0 0
Read 2b 3 0 2 2
Price rf 3 0 1 0
Russell dh 3 1 0 0
Hill lf 0 0 0 0
Oliver c 3 0 1 0
Totals 27 4 6 2
SB – CsFairchild, TChapman, Lefevre.
IP H R ER BB SO
Read 3.2 7 11 7 6 4
CsFairchild 0.2 0 1 1 2 1
LeMay 1.2 0 0 0 0 3
WP – Read 4, CsFairchild. PB – Oliver 2. HBP – Read.
GAME 3
NEW HOME 23, ALBANY 9
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
NEW HOME 8 0 1 6 0 2 6 23/15/3
ALBANY 0 6 1 0 0 2 0 9/10/6
atbat runs hits RBI
CsFairchiild cf 5 0 2 0
CChapman ss 3 1 1 3
Waggoner 1b 4 0 1 0
TChapman 3b 2 2 2 0
LeMay p 1 0 0 0
Lefevre 2b 4 2 2 1
Read c 3 2 2 1
Price rf 3 1 0 1
Russell dh 3 1 0 1
Hill lf 0 0 0 0
ClFairchild p 3 0 0 0
Totals 31 9 10 7
Price reached on catcher’s intereference in second.
2B – CsFairchild, CChapman. 3B – Lefevre. HBP – CChapman, TChapman. SF – Read. SB – CChapman 2, Waggoner.
IP H R ER BB SO
Price 3.2 12 15 8 4 2
LeMay 2.1 2 2 2 0 2
CsFairchild 0.2 1 5 4 2 0
ClFairchild 0.1 0 1 0 1 0
WP – Price 4, CsFairchild 2, ClFairchild 2. PB – Read. HBP – Price, LeMay, CsFairchild 2.
