Smithfield-Fairchance earns walk-off win in split with TJ
Smithfield-Fairchance was down to its final out twice in a game that went 10 innings over two days but still found away to pull out a 7-6 walk-off win over visiting Thomas Jefferson in Fayette American Legion baseball action on Monday.
Thomas Jefferson (7-4) bounced back after dropping the completion of a suspended game from June 4 to win the second game 9-1.
Smithfield-Fairchance trailed 6-5 in the bottom of the 10th inning of the first game when Evan Weakland drew a lead-off walk with Kaiden Brady beginning the inning already on second base due to the extra-inning rule. AJ Watson bunted into a force out and TJ then got a strikeout but Kayden Perez drew a walk to load the bases and keep manager Tony Watson’s squad alive.
Ben Lilley then stepped to the plate and, after going down 0-2 in the count, took a ball and then hit a two-run, game-winning single with Weakland and then Watson racing home to end it. It was Lilley’s fourth hit of the game.
Smithfield-Fairchance (7-5) was down 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh but pushed across two runs to tie it and sent the game into extra innings.
Nico Edwards walked to start the inning but a strikeout and a line out brought up Brady, who delivered a single to center and both runners then scored on Weakland’s hit to left to knot the score at 5-5.
Thomas Jefferson jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the first game thanks to a three-run double by Hunter Horne and an RBI single by Tyler Mitrisin.
Smithfield-Fairchance also used two-out lightning to score twice in the fourth inning. Weakland singled and scored on Watson’s double. Matt Malinsky brought in Watson with a single to right.
Cesar Pardon’s run-scoring single in the fourth gave TJ a 5-2 lead but Smithfield-Fairchance pulled within two again with a run in the fifth on Watson’s sacrifice fly.
Malinsky earned the win with one inning of work after following Brady who gave up one run on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in seven solid innings of relief.
Weakland, Edwards and Brady had two hits apiece for Smithfield-Fairchance.
Thomas Jefferson trailed 1-0 in the second game before exploding for nine runs in the bottom of the fifth, which included a home run and a single by Mitrisin. Nico Knight had four hits for TJ.
Smithfield-Fairchance scored its run in the fourth inning on Watson’s RBI double.