The Fairfield Trojans had a week that told two very different stories — a pair of losses to open the season followed by a commanding 6-0 shutout win Wednesday night at EBF that gave the program its first victory of 2026 and a reason for optimism heading into a busy stretch of games. Fairfield sits at 1-2 on the season after the three-game run, which played out without the full contributions of Ethan Bisgard, Dayson Workman, and Voss Richardson — all state track and field qualifiers who pitched in relief but were not available to hit or play the field as they prepared for the state meet.
Game 1 — vs. Grinnell, Monday May 18th
The season opener at home against Grinnell had the makings of a competitive game early, with Fairfield’s defense holding firm through the middle innings while the offense struggled to get going. Grinnell took a 2-0 lead in the third and kept adding to it — one run apiece in the fifth, sixth, and seventh — while Fairfield’s bats stayed quiet until late.
The Trojans didn’t cross the plate until the sixth inning, plating one run there and two more in the seventh to cut it to 5-3. They had runners on base with a chance to tie or take the lead, but left them stranded and ran out of outs before they could do any more damage.
Aiden Westercamp and Jacob Crew each went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the offense, while Jaxon Coleman added a hit and an RBI. Archer Kreuter and Henry Konczal also contributed hits as Fairfield finished with seven total. Grinnell had eight.
Voss Richardson started on the mound and took the loss, working three innings and allowing two earned runs with two strikeouts. Dayson Workman pitched 2.2 innings giving up two earned runs, and Ethan Bisgard finished out the game with 1.1 innings and one unearned run allowed.
“We found some energy and better approaches at the plate later in the game,” coach Josh Allison said. “Good learning for some of our young guys and great opportunity for our seniors to lead. We battled all the way to the end, just like we expect of our teams.”
Game 2 — at Oskaloosa, Tuesday May 19th
Tuesday’s scheduled home game against Oskaloosa never made it to Fairfield. Wet field conditions from the day before forced the contest to move to Oskaloosa, and the Indians wasted no time taking advantage, putting up nine unanswered runs and never looking back.
The hole was deep and dug early — down 7-0 after just two innings and 9-0 after five. The Trojans showed some fight with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh, but it was far too little far too late. Fairfield managed just two hits all night.
Jaxon Coleman was the lone offensive bright spot, ripping a triple in the sixth before scoring. Chase Countryman brought him home with an RBI single, then scored himself on a combination of wild pitches and errors. Jacob Crew crossed the plate in the seventh for Fairfield’s third and final run.
On the mound, Carson Elmore drew the start and was touched for seven earned runs in just 1.1 innings before giving way to Bisgard for two-thirds of an inning. Jaxon Coleman then took the ball and settled things down considerably, working 2.2 innings with six strikeouts and allowing just two unearned runs. Owen Adam closed things out with 1.1 innings and two strikeouts.
“We had some good pitching moments with guys working around some mistakes,” Allison said. “Looking forward to the challenge of getting back on the field tomorrow.”
Game 3 — at EBF, Wednesday May 20th
Wednesday night at EBF was a different team, a different approach, and a different result. Fairfield came out aggressive, played their cleanest game of the young season, and walked away with a 6-0 shutout that snapped the skid and gave the program something to build on.
For the first time all season, Fairfield didn’t wait until the sixth inning to score. Jacob Crew came around in the first, and the Trojans added another run in the third — two early tallies that changed the entire complexion of the game and took the pressure off their pitcher. The offense did all of that against EBF starter Emmett Holohan, which is no small feat. Holohan went undefeated last season with a 2-0 record and a microscopic 0.24 ERA over 29 innings — one of the better pitching performances in the area a year ago. Wednesday night, Fairfield handed him his first loss in their season opener, scoring two earned runs over his four innings despite his seven strikeouts.
The Trojans saved their best for reliever Carter Fisher, who came on in relief and was greeted with four hits, four runs — three earned — and three walks over two innings to put the game out of reach.
The knockout punch came in the sixth inning, which the Trojans put together as well as any inning you could draw up. Chase Countryman led off with a double and advanced to third. Carson Elmore reached on an error, and Liam Hunter drew a walk to load the bases. Jacob Crew was then hit by a pitch, plating Countryman for the first run of the frame. Dain Burkhart stepped up next and delivered a two-RBI hit in center field that drove in Elmore and Hunter. Crew then scored on an Archer Kreuter single to cap a four-run inning that put the game firmly out of reach. Fairfield finished the night with seven hits.
What made Burkhart’s performance all the more remarkable was that he did it while barely able to lift his left arm. He was hit by a pitch in his very first at-bat of the game and spent the rest of the night managing through the pain, adjusting his approach inning by inning.
“I could hardly move my left arm and couldn’t move it inwards at all,” Burkhart said. “Swinging wasn’t easy so I made do with what I could and bunted and slap hit to make an impact.”
When his biggest moment came in the sixth, he knew he had no choice but to swing. “Bunting wasn’t an option, so I knew I had to swing,” he said. “I got the pitch I wanted towards the outer half and just stuck the bat out and got it to drop.”
On the mound, Burkhart was equally gritty. He gutted through six full innings with five strikeouts — two looking, three swinging — before his pitch count climbed to 90 and Allison turned to Owen Adam to close it out. Adam responded in emphatic fashion, recording two straight swinging strikeouts to end the game and seal the shutout. It was a fitting finish to what had been a complete team performance.
“Can’t be upset about a shutout, but I feel like I was throwing too many balls,” Burkhart said. “I like to challenge the batters and make them chase. Everyone contributed something tonight — it was a great team win.”
The win felt significant not just in the standings but in what it represented. “Feels good to get the first win of the season,” Burkhart said. “Hopefully we can ride this for a few more wins and carry it through the rest of the schedule.” He also credited the early runs for transforming his evening on the mound. “We’ve struggled this year with scoring early, and getting some runs early made a huge impact. It let me rely on just throwing it over the plate and letting my fielders work for me.”
Offensively, Kreuter was one of the night’s quiet stars, going a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI. Burkhart went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Countryman, Elmore, and Jacob Crew all made their presence felt on both sides of the ball. Grant Bisgard and Mason Crew also stepped in as base runners and made their impact felt, each scoring a run for the Trojans while contributing multiple stolen bases between them.
Allison was proud of how his team carried itself from the first inning to the last. “Good feeling to get the first win, but more importantly the team atmosphere that we played with,” he said. He singled out an under-the-radar standout when asked who impressed him most. “Obviously Dain stood out. Archer hit it well. I think the hidden standout from the game was our outfield play, especially Jacob Crew. He made a couple of difficult catches, and if those balls get down, it might change the game a bit.”
On the pitching side, Allison had nothing but praise for both arms. “Dain really gutted it out for us after getting hit by the pitch in his elbow and executed some great pitches when they had chances to score. Owen did a great job of coming into a bit of a pressure situation and executed pitches.”
Allison also pointed to the offense matching the combined run total of the first two games combined as a sign of what this team is capable of. “Came up with some clutch hits and executed some good base running to help propel the offense. It would have been nice to push across a couple more in some of those other opportunities, but definitely good to score first and put some pressure on the Rockets.”
Grant Bisgard and Mason Crew stepped in as base runners and made their impact felt, as they both got a run in for the Trojans with multiple stolen bases.
In the postgame huddle, the team sent off its track athletes headed to Drake Stadium with well wishes before shifting focus to what comes next. “Wished the track guys the best of luck and to represent Fairfield well at the meet,” Allison said. “Excited to get them back into the mix. We’ll have some tough playing time decisions to make as some of our younger guys really stepped up.”
The Trojans travel to Central Lee on Wednesday, May 27th before heading to the Davis County Tournament on Saturday, May 30th, where Fairfield will play two games against some combination of Davis County, Van Buren County, and Moravia. Southeast Conference play opens the following week against Mount Pleasant.
