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Lions move up to regional semifinal

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The Lion baseball team picked up a pair of decisive wins over Haskell last Thursday in the regional quarterfinal series held at McMurry University in Abilene, advancing to the fourth round of the Class 2A playoffs.

Albany (19-6) now moves on to play the Hale Center Owls (20-8) in the semifinal series with Game 1 set for Thursday (today) with a 6:00 p.m. game in Hermleigh. The first pitch for the second game is set for 1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 25 in Hermleigh. A third game, if needed, will be played 30 minutes following the end of Game 2.

Admission has been set at $5 per person and no passes will be accepted.

“We don’t know a lot about Hale Center, except they got a big win over Gruver last week,” coach David Fairchild said. “At this point in the playoffs, everyone is good, so we have to focus and be ready to play. We can’t get distracted by the rest of the activities of the weekend.”

Both schools will be graduating seniors on Friday, splitting the series.

“We have the challenge of not letting the disruption that goes with graduation affect us and be ready to play our best games,” said the coach.

The Owls took their quarterfinal series over Gruver 13-7, 12-6.

The Lions are certainly not strangers to making a deep playoff run, having advanced to the state tournament two years ago, losing a squeaker to Muenster, 1-0, in eight innings.

Albany lost in the third round last year to DeLeon. They made a quarterfinal appearance against Hawley in 2015 and lost to Stamford in the regional semifinals in 2016.

The winner of the semifinal series will advance to play the winner of the New Deal vs. Hawley series.

The Lions jumped out to an early lead against Haskell in the first game last week, knocking in 14 runs by the second inning on their way to a 15-1 win.

Ben West got the win from the mound, going one out short of four full innings. He allowed six hits but no runs, striking out five and giving up only one walk.

Jackson Chapman and Ryan Hill came in to close the game. Hill struck out two batters and walked three to allow one run in the final frame.

“Ben dominated the outing on the mound, with relief by Jackson and Ryan,” the coach said. “They both got in some quality pitches.”

Offensively, Fairchild cited several players for their efforts at the plate, including Blaine Kayga with three RBIs, and Josh Dyer and Cooper Fairchild with two RBIs each. 

“B.J. Morris also did a good job as the lead-off batter – going seven for seven.”

The coach commended Dyer for his defensive plays in the game.

The Lions sealed the series with a 6-3 win in the second game.

“Cade Neve went the distance for seven innings on the mound and battled hard,” Fairchild said. “He found a way to battle through a cramp and stay on the mound.”

Neve struck out five batters, allowing three runs on two walks and seven hits.

“At the plate, Jackson (Chapman) had a solid game going two for four with two RBIs,” the coach said. “It’s always hard to play a team from district, especially when it’s the third and fourth times,” Fairchild said. “The guys played with a lot of enthusiasm to win this series.”

The coach also praised Parker Henry at catcher.

“Parker did a great job at catcher, and he continues to get better with every game,” the coach said.

Game 1

SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 R/H/E

ALBANY 5 9 0 1 x 15/6/2

Haskell 0 0 0 0 1 1/6/2

INDIVIDUAL STATS

C Fairchild 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 2 RBIs, 1 run

B Kayga 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 3 RBIs, 2 runs

Ben West 3 runs

P Henry 0 for 2, 1 RBI, 1 run

C Neve 0 for 2, 1 RBI

J Chapman 0 for 2, 1 RBI, 2 runs

BJ Morris 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 3 runs

L Ivy 0 for 3, 1 run

J Dyer 1 for 2, 1 dbl, 2 RBIs, 2 runs

W Webb 1 for 1, 1 sgl

 

Game 2

SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E

ALBANY 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 6/9/0

HAskell 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3/7/1

INDIVIDUAL STATS

C Fairchild 1 for 4, 1 sgl, 1 RBI, 1 run

B Kayga 1 for 4, 1 sgl, 1 run

B West 1 for 4, 1 sgl, 1 run

P Henry 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 run

C Neve 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 1 RBI

J Chapman 2 for 4, 2 sgls, 2 RBIs

BJ Morris 1 for 2, 1 dbl, 1 RBI, 2 runs

J Dyer 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 RBI, 1 run