It showed on Thursday.
Fasig held her own in the pitcher’s circle, and the visiting Firebirds had enough offensive production to beat the Greater Miami Conference rival Hamilton Big Blue 5-2.
Lakota West (6-6, 3-6 GMC) has won two of its last three.
“I feel like this just shows everybody else that we’re not going to stop working hard,” said Fasig, a senior who is 2-0 as a pitcher this season. “We’re going to show up every day and work even harder.
“Our fielding, I feel like, is one of our best things — but our hitting will end up taking its toll. If we continue to play like we are, we’re going to be ready by tournament time.”
The Firebirds snapped a three-game losing streak against the Big Blue. The last time Lakota West beat Hamilton prior to Thursday was March 29, 2023, in a 6-2 contest.
“I was just thinking that we needed to beat a caliber team,” Firebirds coach Keith Castner said. “They really do have a caliber team because they play hard, and they play well, they have a good pitcher and good hitters.
“Steve (Heckman) does a great job. He’s a super guy. He does it the right way. He’s a veteran, and I love playing against him.”
The Firebirds broke a 0-0 tie with a four-run fourth inning highlighted by sophomore Jenna Dilley’s two-RBI base hit.
Hamilton junior pitcher Emili Schappacher walked three straight batters that inning — including Lakota West’s Adelyn Twyman with the bases loaded to bring home Leah Witmer, who reached on an error.
Dilley scored Claire Wilburn and Mia Anderson with her single, and Twyman scored on a Jordan Beimesche groundout to give the Firebirds a 4-0 lead.
“That’s what has happened to us a couple of times,” Castner said of specific losses to Mason and Lakota East earlier in the season. “Now we did it to (Hamilton), and that just means the world to the girls when they can get big innings like that.”
Reese Thieken drilled a two-run homer to center to pull Big Blue within 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth, and the Firebirds got an insurance run in the top of the seventh Elle Albright’s RBI single.
“We’ve just got to make sure that we’re eliminating our mistakes — our errors in the field that hurt our pitcher,” Castner said. “This win means a lot to us because they know that we’re growing. These other games, when you lose by one, you can tell that we’re growing and getting better.”
Paige Kopp and Albright each had two hits for Lakota West.
Peyton Eversole, Brennan Davis, Heather Krause and Kate manGetz each had a hit for Hamilton, which committed two errors. Big Blue got on a runner on in the bottom of the seventh but wasn’t able to do much with it.
“They’re a good team,” Big Blue coach Steve Heckman said. “(Fasig) kept us off balance all day. So, congrats to them. They played great defense. I thought we played great defense. It was a wonderful game. It was just one inning. I wish we would have gotten another runner or on there and see what happens.
“We’ve had some really big wins, and then there are other teams we haven’t played so well,” Heckman added. “It’s just learning how to play through that, those moments when it’s not well. Because it’s going to happen.
“We’re not a dominant team that’s just going to show up and just beat the snot out of everything. That’s not who we are. We’ve got to do stuff right, and that’s hard sometimes. I keep telling them that we’re OK. We get the chance to get them tomorrow.”
About the Author