A warm evening in Fairfax saw the visiting South Lakes High baseball team take down Fairfax High, 5-2, behind a complete game outing from winning pitcher John Beck and the nine-hit Seahawk hitting attack. The Liberty District game took place last Thursday, April 14.
The Seahawks scored twice in the first inning on RBI singles from right fielder Ryan Forrest and third baseman Will Sweet. The score remained 2-0 until the top of the fifth inning when center fielder WIlfredo Corps-Ortiz drove in teammate David Odlen on a sacrifice fly to deep right center field to make the score 3-0.
Fairfax came back and scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth inning. But the Seahawks answered with two insurance runs in the sixth, the highlight of the inning coming on a bases-loaded, two-run single to center field off the bat of Corps-Ortiz. The base knock scored pinch-runners Michael Francis (running for Austin Gibbons, who had singled) and Nathan Vellayan (running for Ausitn Schweppe, who had walked).
Fairfax managed a single run in the bottom of the sixth inning to get within 5-2.
Following a scoreless Seahawk seventh, Beck yielded a pair of leadoff singles in the bottom of the seventh before settling down. He coaxed an infield pop-up for the first out, than benefited from a slick 6-3 double play from shortstop JoJo Lear to end the game.
The Seahawks' offense was led by Corps-Ortiz (1 hit, 3 RBI) and first baseman Billy McLauglin (2 hits, including a double, and a sacrifice fly).
Forrest and Sweet each contributed singles and had RBIs, and Odlen and Gibbons also added singles to complete the South Lakes attack.
Beck went the distance, scattering seven hits while striking out four and walking just one while throwing 79 pitches. He consistently stayed ahead in the count, throwing a first-pitch strike to 21 of the 29 Fairfax batters he faced.
<b>THE FOLLOWING DAY</b> saw South Lakes lose a district road game at Langley, 9-5. On the cold, windy night in Great Falls, the Seahawks staked out a 4-0 lead, but Langley clawed back to win. After a scoreless first inning, the Seahawks came alive in the second inning behind two-run homers from both Nick Beaulac and Wilfredo Corps-Ortiz. Austin Schweppe, the South Lakes catcher, doubled and scored ahead of Beaulac and leftfielder David Odlen singled and scored ahead of Corps-Ortiz.
Langley, trailing 4-0, came back with two runs in the bottom of the second inning, then added four more runs in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead. Later, in the sixth, the Saxons scored three more times to go ahead 9-4 before South Lakes added a run in its last at-bats - the run crossing the plate on a Langley balk.
Corps-Ortiz (2 hits) led the Seahawks with his two-run homer to right center. Beaulac knocked his two-run shot over the left field fence. Other offensive contributions in the six-hit Langley night came from first baseman Austin Gibbons (single), Schweppe (double), and Odlen.
South Lakes starting pitcher Will Sweet went the distance for the Seahawks, allowing nine hits over six innings with five strikeouts and no walks.