Fairdale had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 runs), and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Sacred Heart Valkyries 3-2. For Fairdale, this counts as revenge for the 7-4 defeat Sacred Heart walked away with the last time they faced one another back in March.
Gracie Smithson was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last five games she's played.
On Sacred Heart's side, Sadie Hayes spent all 7.2 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on five hits and racked up 13 Ks. Those 13 strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, Tatum Etheridge was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Hadley Dierking was another key contributor, going 3-for-4 with a triple.
Even though they lost, Sacred Heart didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fairdale only tossed five.
Fairdale has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. As for Sacred Heart, their loss ended a six-game streak of away wins and brought them to 14-10-1.
Fairdale will look to defend their home field on Monday against North Hardin at 6:00 p.m. Fairdale is on a three-game streak of home wins, North Hardin a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field. As for Sacred Heart, they will head out on the road to face off against Christian Educational Consortium at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
