SYRACUSE – Remember when it was 70 degrees in Syracuse? Yeah, crazy how much 24 hours can change things. And with two softball teams returning from spring break, it was 3A No. 7 Fairfield that did better with the acclimation to the declining weather Monday night in a 7-1 victory at Wawasee.

In a matchup of two of the favorites in this year’s Fairfield Softball Sectional, the Lady Falcons used three runs in the first and the timing of pitcher Lairen Miller to overpower Wawasee in a game that ended with temps hovering around 35 degrees.

Fairfield pitcher Lairen Miller deals to Wawasee Monday night during the 7-1 Fairfield softball win. (Photos by Mike Deak)

A walk and an error in the first allowed Fairfield slugger DJ Martz to step to the dish with two runners on. Rather than crushing the ball deep, Martz placed the ball between four Wawasee infielders for a hit, which scored Alexis Zook for the game’s first run. The Lady Falcons would tack on two more runs in the frame, then add a crushing blow in the third.

With a runner on and two strikes in the count, Jalisa Schwartz took pitcher Amber Lemberg’s next offering up and through the teeth of the wind whistling down the hill in left center for a homer, sending the score to 5-0.

“I think it was key that we got out to the quick start,” said Fairfield head coach John Skibbe. “That was crucial for us to be positive and score some runs early to put pressure on Wawasee to respond. It let Lairen relax a little bit, this is the first game she pitched this year.”

Wawasee pitcher Amber Lemberg fields a ground ball against Fairfield.

The run support was more than enough for Miller to weave and whirl her way out of trouble. Wawasee loaded the bases in both the third and fourth innings, but came away with no runs as Miller produced a pair of ground ball outs to end the threats. Miller would strike out seven and walk four in her first win of the season.

“Lairen gets in the circle and focuses really well, she just does a good job finding ways to get it done,” Skibbe said. “She is such a competitor. Even if she throws a strike but misses a spot, she’s upset with herself. She’s a perfectionist like that. She did such a great job for us today.”

Wawasee (2-1) would finally break through in the sixth inning when Courtney Crabtree doubled to open the inning and came around on an RBI single from Paige Hlutke. The Lady Warriors would collect nine hits on the evening, but the 12 runners left on base were back breakers in a game Wawasee head coach Jared Knipper thought was a lot closer than the scoreboard showed.

“We just lost that game,” exclaimed Knipper. “We outhit them and you can’t leave the bases loaded twice against a team like that. That’s a team we likely will see later in the year, and if so, we really need to capitalize and play a little better than what we did.”

Fairfield catcher DJ Martz checks the signs against Wawasee.

Crabtree, Hlutke and Kylee Rostochak all had two hits for Wawasee, Rostochak’s connections helping her hit streak continue to 25 games dating to last season. Lemberg would give up eight Fairfield hits and walk six, but allowed just two earned runs as the Wawasee defense was credited with six errors in the contest.

Schwartz had three hits and three RBIs to lead Fairfield (2-0) while Martz added two hits and a stolen base.

“It was just a matter of young kids being put in situations tonight with runners in scoring position that couldn’t get them over,” Knipper said. “That’s softball. We’ll see that all year, whether it’s us or the other team. Tonight it just wasn’t our night.”

In the JV contest, Wawasee scored four runs in both the first and third innings of a 14-6 win against Fairfield. Hannah Haines won her third game of the season for Wawasee in the pitching circle while Nicole Streby added a triple and Kayla White scored three runs for the Lady Warriors, now 3-0 on the season.

Fairfield and Wawasee are both scheduled to play again Tuesday, but weather could say otherwise. Wawasee is scheduled to host Columbia City while Fairfield and Churubusco are slated to renew Northeast Corner Conference pleasantries. Should the game get cancelled, Fairfield will visit Angola Thursday and Wawasee would host Manchester Friday.