Journal-News.com

FAIRFIELD — In its quest for back-to-back Division I state titles, the Lakota West High School baseball team's most pressing concern is its hitting. How will it fare after losing the likes of Brad Gschwind, Dustin Huff and Dane Fienning to graduation?

Well, if the 11-4 win over Fairfield on Tuesday, April 1, is any indication, the Firebirds have more firepower than some might think.

In its season opener, West unleashed 17 hits on the Indians, who are expected to be one of the better pitching teams in the Greater Miami Conference.

"We worked really hard on our offense this preseason. Those 5:30 a.m. workouts really paid off," said Firebirds senior Nick Murtland, who went 3-for-3 with a home run. "We kept reading that we lost all this and lost all that. That fired us up."

Junior lefty pitcher Nathan Smith (1-0) gave up three runs in six innings of work to record the win.

"(Smith) showed great command," West coach Bill Dreisbach said. "He did a great job of getting ahead of the hitters."

Fairfield's six hits against Smith came from three infield singles and three bloopers.

"We weren't as aggressive from the plate as we should have been," Fairfield coach Larry Price said.

West touched up Fairfield senior southpaw David Prichard, who gave up seven runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. The Firebirds' 1-2-3 hitters — junior Ricky Finley (3-4), junior Bryan Beaver (3-5) and senior Jimmy Brenneman (3-5) — each had three hits.

After West scored five runs in the second inning, Murtland launched a solo home run over the right-field fence in the third inning to give the Firebirds a 6-1 lead.

It was just his third varsity at-bat.

"The first time up, I was shaking pretty bad," Murtland said. "But on that home run, I just kept my weight back and there it went."

"(Murtland) is an aggressive hitter. He's a pretty powerful kid," Dreisbach said. "It's good to see us getting production from our seven hitter."

Senior Brennan Croy went 2-for-4 and sophomore Mitchell Durbin had two RBIs for the Indians, who return nine players from last season's 16-12 squad.

The Indians have five pitchers back, but lack a lot of power in its batting lineup, Price said.

"Once the score gets high, we're done," Price said. "Our hitting has to improve."

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5128 or edawisha@coxohio.com.

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