Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
MOWRYSTOWN — Gabe Fouch wasn’t just effective on Thursday night. He was unhittable.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Fairfield’s staff ace pumped gas across home plate all evening while mixing a lethal curveball into the process at his discretion.
The Lions (9-2, 6-0 SHAC) gave the right-hander two runs in the top of the second inning and that’s all the insurance he needed in a 2-0 league victory at Whiteoak — marking the Wildcats’ first loss of the season.
“I was just trying to throw strikes early,” Fouch said. “They couldn’t really hit the curveball too well, and if they did, it was weak contact. But I just pounded the zone.”
It worked like a charm.
Whiteoak’s usually high-powered offense scratched out just a pair of hits — one in the first inning and one in the sixth — and was sat down on strikes on 13 occasions.
“It’s a mental game,” Fouch said. “I love it. You can make hitters look [foolish], it just makes you feel great when you’re throwing well.”
The Wildcats (11-1, 5-1 SHAC) didn’t get a bad outing by any means from starter Landon Barnett.
In seven innings of his own work, Barnett also allowed just two hits, struck out seven and didn’t allow a single earned run.
However, two errors in the second inning doomed the performance — a rally that was spearheaded by Fairfield’s Cade Miller.
PHOTOS: Images from Fairfield’s win over Whiteoak
“[Whiteoak] is our rival and we’ve been back and forth,” Fairfield’s Cade Miller said. “But this means a lot because we haven’t beaten them since freshman year. Last year was kind of a disappointing loss. This just feels great, man.”
Corbin Willey started the Lions’ two-run second inning by taking first base after being hit by a pitch. Landry Hattan then reached on a fielding error before Miller tripled into the left-center field gap to put Fairfield ahead 1-0.
Miller then scored when Wyatt Willey reached base on error to produce the eventual final score.
“Coach preaches everyday to work hard and focus on attention to detail,” Miller said. “When you come out with intensity, it’s a lot better than coming out slow. We’ve been playing together forever. It just helps so much.”
Fouch’s final pitching line, alongside the 13 strikeouts, included three walks and 110 pitches — 64 of which were strikes. Miller finished the night 2-for-3 at the dish with a triple and an RBI, Wyatt Willey logged an RBI and Corbin Willey was 0-for-1 but reached base twice by being hit by two pitches.
Whiteoak’s two base knocks came via Luken Rhoades, who was 1-for-2 with walk, and Barnett, who went 1-for-3.
Fairfield, who followed Thursday’s win with a 22-3 drubbing of West Union, will get back to action against Greeneview, Monday at VA Memorial Stadium. The Wildcats will try and get back in the win column on Tuesday, hosting Fayetteville.
“Our team chemistry … I mean, we’ve been together forever and we’ve been a part of this varsity team for a while now,” Miller said. “We trust each other everyday and every single game. That’s what will help us get [to where they want to be].”
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