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Lilley of the ‘Valley’ blossoms as Fairmont stuns Centerville, 4-0, for sectional title
JUNIOR SOUTHPAW DID IT ALL;
HURLS 4-HITTER, SMASHES A
3-RUN BLAST IN SIXTH AS
FIREBIRDS CELEBRATE BIG WIN
Alex Lilley had an ice bag strapped to his left elbow, greasy eye black smeared on his cheeks and a big ol’ smile plastered on his face.
Fairmont High School’s junior lefty pitched the game of his life and delivered the biggest hit of the Firebirds’ season.
Lilley crushed a three-run homer in the sixth inning and hurled a four-hitter as Fairmont shocked Centerville, 4-0, for the Division I Sectional baseball title at Fairborn High School on Monday, May 18.
The Firebirds (17-10) will face Cincinnati Elder for the District championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Princeton High School.
“What a heart-stopper!” beamed Fairmont coach Kent Drake. “That old adage — it’s tough to beat a team three times — came true. It feels great anytime you pick up a win against a rival.
“Hopefully, this is something that takes us to the next level. We’ve been trying to change the culture around here — the whole school, in every sport. It always seems like we’re the step-brother of Centerville. But we’ve been preaching from day one, hey, we can play with anyone.”
The Elks (19-6) had defeated Fairmont 7-4 and 5-0 this season, and for most of Monday’s game, senior southpaw Andrew Brown was dominant, fanning 10 through five innings on his way to 13 strikeouts and a tough-luck, six-hit loss.
But the game turned in the top of the sixth.
“We were ready to step up,” Fairmont third baseman David Steele said. “We really needed to.”
Erik Terrell doubled to left center. Alex Marcano then beat out a hit on a soft liner to shortstop, sending Terrell to third. Marcano stole second.
With two out and two on, Lilley did his best imitation of Roy Hobbs in The Natural, sending Brown’s inside fastball over the right-field fence. The Firebirds added a run in the seventh on Mike Green’s triple and Steele’s single.
“(Brown) was working us outside the entire game,” Lilley said. “He just made one mistake. He threw me an inside pitch and I took advantage of it.
“It was in my wheelhouse. I knew it was gone as soon as I hit it. Now we’re on Cloud 9 because we beat Centerville in the tournament.”
When it ended, Steele was the first Firebird to reach Lilley.
“It felt good to give him a hug,” Steele said. “He deserved it. We’ve got solid defense, timely hitting and Alex just pitched amazing.”
Centerville coach Terry Dickten praised his squad, especially Brown’s “gutsy performance. It was a good ride. We’re a good team and we got beat by a good team. I wish Fairmont all the luck in the world.”
FAIRMONT COACH KENT DRAKE
“What a heart-stopper. Centerville dominated us for 19 innings this year. But Alex pitches the game of his life and comes up with a huge hit. We’ve been preaching timely hitting ever since I took over in June. It all came to fruition today.
“Lilley was gutsy, gutsy gutsy. One thing about his pitching is he’s a guy who trusts his defense. He says, ‘I’m going to make a tough pitch — usually his cutter, change up or curveball — and let ‘em beat it into the ground and let my infielders take care of business for me.’
“At the plate, he has a sweet left-handed swing.”
FAIRMONT THIRD BASEMAN DAVID STEELE
“I’s a great feeling beating Centerville, especially in sectionals — make it hurt worse.
“We were expecting a big hit out of Lilley. Just don’t challenge him inside. Just don’t do it.”
FAIRMONT PITCHER ALEX LILLEY
“My mindset was to just keep the ball low, keep it around the plate. i know my defense has my back, so they just did it for me.”
CENTERVILLE COACH TERRY DICKTEN
“The baseball gods weren’t on our side today.
“He (Andrew Brown) got a couple balls up in the strike zone and they hit ‘em. For Andrew, it was a gutsy performance. He had his pitches down low. He mixed his pitches well. It was a heck of an effort.
“But you have to take your hat off to Fairmont. Fairmont is a good team.
“They’re coached well. They play hard and don’t make a whole lot of mistakes. They don’t quit. They come back. They’ve got good kids. They got good quality pitching today and we didn’t hit the ball.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Baseball
Comments
By tom
May 19, 2009 9:36 AM | Link to this
Are there no Firebird fans out there? You just beat the university of Centerville stand up and be counted. Show some excitement about a successful season and respond with some comments.By Seth Moore
May 19, 2009 12:00 PM | Link to this
alex lilley is the man. He is an ace and i know cause ive caught him for 3 years of summer ball. Easily the best pitcher ive ever caught kid has some sick stuff.By elkfan
May 19, 2009 12:11 PM | Link to this
Congrats, Fairmont - that was about as well played a ballgame as I’ve seen this year on both sides. Good luck the rest of the way - go win the tourny now!