Fairfield Christian Academy tops Berne Union to secure its first-ever league title
LANCASTER – A year after winning their first-ever district championship, the Fairfield Christian Academy baseball team had huge expectations coming into this season.
With the nucleus of that 2022 Division IV district title team returning, the Knights were primed to accomplish something else that has never been done in school history and that is to win a league championship.
With an opportunity to accomplish that feat on Thursday, the Knights knew it wouldn’t be easy because they were facing rival Berne Union, who had already handed them their only Mid-State League-Cardinal Division loss earlier this season.
Fairfield Christian jumped out a quick 1-0 lead, and then put together back-to-back innings where they scored three runs with two outs in the second and third innings to take a commanding 7-0 advantage. It was more than enough to secure a well-earned 9-2 victory, and with it, the Knights won at least a share of the league championship.
“First and foremost, we wanted to make sure we played with a lot of energy because the last time we played them, they had it and we didn’t,” Fairfield Christian senior Matthew Keener said. “I felt like we had that right from the start in this game, and it made a difference. We are just a scrappy bunch and everyone on the team gives it their all, so to get a piece of the league title for the first time feels great.”
The Knights, who are one of the top Division IV teams in the Central District, improved to 14-4 overall and 11-1 in the MSL. The Rockets slipped to 12-6 and 9-3.
Fairfield Christian coach Josh Baker said the Knights certainly earned it, thanks to all the hard work the Knights put in during the offseason, and knew his team wouldn’t let the opportunity that presented itself on Thursday go by the wayside.
“We put together three of the best practices leading up to this game we’ve had since I’ve been the coach here,” Baker said. “They were pushing each other, they knew what was on the line, they were prepared, and their preparation told me they were ready. I could see it in their faces.
“The work that we put in during the offseason with the summer practices, the lifting in the winter, we are doing a lot of things that a lot of kids don’t want to do to get the things that we have. If you want to be a champion, you have to do what is required to be a champion and we haven’t shied away from it.”
The Knights came out on fire by collecting eight of their 10 hits in the first three innings.
Matthew Keener, who went 3-for-4 and had three RBI, led off the game with a double and scored on Aiden Langwasser’s RBI single to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
As far as Berne Union is concerned, what happened the next two innings were backbreakers because the Knights scored a total of six runs with two outs.
In the second inning, with two outs, Matthew Keener doubled again to keep the inning alive, and after JP Vance was hit by a pitch, Andrew Keener singled home his brother. Brayden Stem followed with a single to score Vance and Andrew Keener scored on a throwing error to give the Knights a 4-0 lead.
In the third inning, with one out, AJ Holbrook was hit by a pitch and Sam Harper walked. After the second out was recorded, Matthew Keener hit an RBI single to plate a run, Vance was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Andrew Keener was hit by a pitch to force in another run. Stem, who went 4-for-4 with three RBI, came through again with an RBI single to push the lead to 7-0.
“The run in the first got things going, but even bigger than that was the fact that in the second and third inning, we scored three runs with two outs in both innings,” Baker said. “We earned those runs, and when you have a team putting the ball in play with two outs, it’s hard on, mentally, on the other team.”
Berne Union coach Chad Cupp it is hard to overcome when a team scores that many runs with two outs, but felt his team battled through it as well as they could.
“FCA did a lot of good things and did a lot of damage with two outs,” Cupp said. “It’s tough, and you do get a little frustrated because you feel like you are making good pitches and they are still putting the ball in play, but you have to keep your head down and keep working and pushing through it. I felt like we put pressure on them and had guys on, but we just couldn’t get that key hit.”
The Rockets cut the deficit to 7-2 in the bottom of the third inning on a William Bolton RBI single and a ground out but could get no closer. The Knights added a couple of insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Jimmy Schmitz started for the Knights and picked up the win as he pitched four innings, giving up two runs on three hits. Holbrook pitched the final three innings, giving up just one hit and not allowing a run.
Nate Nemeth suffered the loss in two-plus innings of work. Cade Pugh came on in relief to finish out the game.
Nemeth led the Rockets’ offense with two hits, a run and he had four stolen bases.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Fairfield Christian Academy tops Berne Union to secure its first-ever league title
