On April 23, the Fairview softball team appeared to be little more than an also-ran in Region 3.
On that day, the Tigers pushed region-leading Villa Maria to the limit. The Ali Grab-led Victors needed a run in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 3-2 victory over Fairview.
At the time, the Tigers dropped to 5-6 overall and 4-5 in the region, and a middle-of-the-pack finish seemed inevitable.
Seven games later, Fairview is arguably the hottest team in District 10, next to unbeaten Villa, of course.
The Tigers began their seven-game winning streak with a doubleheader sweep of Youngsville on April 25 and followed with a 4-2 victory over Eisenhower.
Last week, the Tigers turned up their level of play a couple more notches. Led by pitchers Megan Rog and Taylor Rozantz, Fairview went 4-0 to raise its record to 12-6 and 11-5 and move into a third-place tie with Northwestern and Fort LeBoeuf.
One day after a 5-0 win over Girard on May 5, the Tigers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Northwestern 7-6. On May 7, they recorded their third win in as many days, 4-1 over North East.
Finally, on Friday, Fairview turned in its biggest win of the season when it beat second-place Iroquois 6-5. Amazingly, the Tigers racked up 15 hits against Lindsey Phillips, one of District 10’s top pitchers.
They are scheduled to play Seneca on Tuesday before closing the region season Thursday against LeBoeuf.

-- The softball players aren’t the only athletes at Fairview who are excelling these days. The boys tennis team last week swept the District 10 Class AA singles, doubles and team titles. The boys track and field team won the Erie County Classic one week after completing an unbeaten Region 4 dual season. The girls track team placed second in the region and at the Erie County Classic.
Good times at Fairview, to be sure.
-- Jeff Kirik