For the seventh time in program history, the Fairfield baseball squad will be dancing in the district playoffs.
The Knights nailed down the sixth and final spot in the District 3 Class 1A Tournament with a strong performance down the final stretch of the regular season, and on Friday will be taking a business trip to Geigertown to take on third-seeded High Point Baptist in the quarterfinals.
We’ve selected this win-or-go-home matchup as our Game of the Week.
Fairfield will likely be fighting an uphill battle against the Eagles, who own nearly twice as many victories as the Knights do this spring. But it would be unwise to count out coach Steve Bell’s squad, which fought back from an 0-4 start to the season just to reach this point.
In the weeks and months to come throughout the high school sports season, we plan on spotlighting multiple teams and sports with our Game of the Week. Any big upcoming contests we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
District 3 Class 1A Quarterfinals
No. 6 Fairfield at No. 3 High Point Baptist
First pitch: Friday, 4:30 p.m., at High Point Baptist
Records: The Knights check in at 8-11, while the Eagles soar in with a 14-6 record.
Last game: Fairfield fell 8-1 to York Catholic in its regular-season finale, while High Point Baptist prevailed 6-5 over Executive Education Academy Charter School in eight innings.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the semifinals on Monday to face No. 2 Shalom Christian. The season is over for the loser.
Meet the Knights: Fairfield is back in the postseason, earning the sixth and final playoff spot with three wins over its last five games … It’s been a rollercoaster season for Steve Bell’s squad, which started the year 0-4 before storming back to double their win total from 2025 … The Knights, who have scored 124 runs this season and allowed 139, are led offensively by the bats of Jacob Liller and Layton Wilhide … It’s been a monster season for Liller, who leads Fairfield in batting average (.464), triples (2), home runs (3), and RBI (33), while also ranking among team leaders in doubles (4), runs (19), and stolen bases (7) … Wilhide, the Knights’ leader in extra-base hits (10) and stolen bases (11), is batting .434 with 18 runs scored … Haden Hicks (.361, 20 runs, 9 stolen bases) is having a fine freshman season, and the same can be said for the senior campaign of Vaughn Lewis (.333, 14 RBI) … Two others in the Fairfield batting lineup, Michael Petrakos (.321) and Riley Brown (.311, 24 runs, 12 RBI), are hitting above .300 … It will be all hands — or shall we arms — on deck for the Knights pitching staff, which split work up between six pitchers on Wednesday to keep arms fresh for the playoffs … Hicks and Lewis have been the go-to pitchers for Fairfield this spring … Hicks has worked a staff-high 31 2/3 innings and is 4-1 with a 4.20 ERA and 33 strikeouts, while Lewis has pitched 28 1/3 innings to the tune of a 1-2 record and a 3.21 ERA, to go along with 36 strikeouts … Wilhide (2-1, 4.34 ERA) and Brown (1-2, 24 strikeouts) each have 19 1/3 innings under their belts this spring, and could get called into action.
Meet the Eagles: Coach Tom Davenport’s boys have won seven games in a row and enter the postseason riding a wave of confidence … Freshman Trey Booz does a little bit of everything for the Eagles, and in addition to batting .355 (22 for 62), he leads his team in home runs (3), runs (22), RBI (21), and stolen bases (9) … Senior Bradon Howe helps set the table for the High Point Baptist offense and is batting .400 (26 for 65) with five doubles, five triples, 22 runs, eight RBI, and six stolen bases … There are four others in Eagles lineup batting over .300: Zach Howe (.364), Colton Swenson (.328, 12 runs, 17 RBI), Carter Thompson (.322, 6 doubles, 12 RBI), and Lincoln Davenpot (.304, 14 runs) … Paxson Wodicka (.263) and Reagan Wodicka (.265) are regulars on the field for High Point Baptist, as is Max Perrone (.288, 18 runs, 17 RBI) … Three Eagles — Swenson, Howe, and Logan Cone — have handled the lion’s share of the pitching duties this season, but two members of that trio are coming off three days rest … Cone (2-3, 2.50 ERA) started in the regular-season finale on Tuesday and worked 3 1/3 innings, before he gave way to Swenson (5-0, 1.70 ERA, 83 strikeouts) for the final 4 2/3 innings … That means Howe, who leads his team in innings (61 1/3) and ERA (1.26) while posting a 5-0 record with 70 strikeouts, will likely get the start.
Sandrik’s pick: Eagles by 3.
