Lions move into area baseball playoff May 10-11
The Albany Lions took a successful first step in the Class 2A baseball playoffs last week, sweeping Coleman in a bi-district series.
The 10th-ranked Lions (172) carry a nine-game winning streak into the area round against District 5-2A champion Eldorado, which had bye through the first round. The series will start at 5:00 p.m. Friday, May 10 at San Angelo Central’s Nathan Donsky Field. Game 2 will be at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 11Abilene Cooper’s Cougar Field with Game 3, if necessary, to begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 2.
Admission both days is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Passes will be accepted.
Against Coleman, Albany received complete games from pitchers Tyler Chapman and Cole Read. Chapman (4 for 8 in the series) and Cason Fairchild (3 for 7) each scored five runs with Read (3 for 8) and Zane Waggoner (3 for 7) each driving in three.
“This was a great series win over a good team,” coach David Fairchild said. “Our pitching was on point, we played good defense, and we put the ball in play.”
In Game1, played Thursday, May 2 at Ranger College rather than at Cisco College as first planned, Chapman struck out 10 while allowing two earned runs on four hits with three walks.
Albany jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings, then held on after the Bluecats closed to within 5-3 in the fifth.
“Zane Waggoner hads everal big defensive plays as well as Brody Oliver behind the plate,” David Fairchild said. “Brody has done a good job.”
Oliver, a sophomore, threw out a baserunner in each game.
Waggoner singled in a run in the first. Cason Fairchild singled in another to spark a three-run second, which saw tworunsscoredwhenWaggoner reached home plate on an error.
Read singled in a run in the fourth to make it 5-1, then Albany scored twice on errors in the sixth.
Cason Fairchild was 2 for 3 with a triple and Chapmanwas2for4.Chip Chambers, who tripled, and Calhan Fairchild also had hits.
In Game 2, Read and Coleman’s Jorge Salas both took shutouts to the fifth before the Lions broke through. Albany left the bases loaded in the second and fourth, but Waggoner doubled in a run and Woods Peterson drew a base-loaded walk to end the stalemate.
The Lions pulled away with five runs in the sixth and four in the seventh, going throughtheordertwice to finish off the series.
In the sixth, Chapman tripled in a run and Read and Waggoner followed with RBI doubles. In the seventh, Read and Oliver sandwiched run-scoring singles around Chambers’ RBI double.
Waggoner, Read, and Chapman each had two hits, while Chambers, Calhan Fairchild, Cason Fairchild, and Oliver each had one.
On the mound, Read scattered four hits while striking out seven. He also picked off two runners. Two of his five walks came in the seventh, when he worked out of a baseloaded jam to preserve the shutout.
CLASS 2A BI-DISTRICT SERIES GAME 1 ALBANY 7, COLEMAN 3 SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E COLEMAN 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3/4/5 ALBANY 1 3 0 1 0 2 X 7/8/1 atbat runs hits RBI
CsFairchild ss 3 3 2 1 Chapman p 4 3 2 0 Read 2b 3 0 1 1 Waggoner 3b 4 0 1 1 ClFairchild 1b 4 0 1 0 Chambers cf 2 0 1 0 Oliver c 2 0 0 0 Hoel cr 0 1 0 0 Peterson lf 3 0 0 0 McCloy rf 3 0 0 0 Totals 19 7 8 3 3B – Chambers, CsFairchild. HBP – Oliver. SB – ClFairchild 2, Hoel, Chapman.
IP H R ER BB SO
Chpmn W 7 4 3 2 3 10 WP – Chapman 2. HBP – Chapman.
GAME 2 ALBANY 11, COLEMAN 0 SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E ALBANY 0 0 0 0 2 5 4 11/10/1 COLEMAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/4/4 atbat runs hits RBI
CsFairchild ss 4 2 1 0 Chapman 2b 4 2 2 1 Read p 5 1 2 2 Hill cr 0 0 0 0 Waggoner 3b 3 2 2 2 ClFairchild 1b 3 2 1 0 Chambers cf 3 0 1 1 Oliver c 3 0 1 1 Hoel cr 0 0 0 0 Peterson lf 3 0 0 1 McCloy rf 2 1 0 0 Totals 30 11 10 8 2B – Waggoner 2, Chambers, Read. 3B – Chapman. HBP – Fairchild, Chapman, Peterson. SB – CsFairchild, Chapman.
CS – Hill, Chambers, Hoel.
IP H R ER BB SO
ReadW 7 4 0 0 5 9 WP – Read. HBP – Read.
