A walkoff home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh by senior Greycen Syferd lifted third-seeded Fayette over fourth-seeded North Callaway (RV) for the Class 2 District 3 title on Monday night in Harrisburg.

Tied 1-1 with a runner on and down to her last strike, Syferd connected on a fast ball down the middle, sending it soaring over the center field fence to claim the championship. She rounded the bases and crossed the plate into a hoard of teammates as Fayette brings home their first district title since 2019.

Fayette took down conference rival New Bloomfield 4-0 in the district opener on October 14, then upset second-seeded Salisbury (20-6) in the semifinals on Saturday to advance to the title game.

North Callaway blanked Slater 8-0 in the opener before upsetting top-seeded and third-ranked Harrisburg 9-7 in eight innings in Saturday’s semifinal. (See story on Page 9).

The Lady Birds entered Monday’s championship sporting a 17-8 overall record with confidence behind the arm of senior Megan Schmidt. The right-handed ace struck out six batters and went 3-for-5 at the plate against Harrisburg, driving in two runners and scoring to help advance her team to the district championship.

Schmidt struck out a game-high 12 Fayette batters in Monday’s title game, but a walk and three hits went for three Falcon runs, including the two-run walkoff homer. She walked one batter, senior Kennady Vroman, leading off the bottom of the second. That would make a difference early, as Vroman eventually scored on a sacrifice bunt from Syferd after stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice groundout by senior Brooklyn Wies.

“Having Greycen put that bunt down where we needed it to be and Kennady’s speed, that’s exactly what we needed from that situation,” said Fayette coach Bri Busker.

The RBI was the first of three for Syferd all game and gave the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.

New Bloomfield evened the game in the top of the fourth. Schmidt led off with a triple off the center field fence and tied the game 1-1 on a groundout during the next at-bat.

Schmidt reached base again in the top of the sixth, representing the possible go-ahead run with two outs. But Fayette ace Brylee Eubanks shut the door on the Ladybirds with a strikout to keep the game even at one run apiece.

Neither team would have another runner on base until the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Wies singled on a hard ground ball through the infield to right field. She advanced to second on a passed ball and would score the winning run on Syferd’s home run blast to center.

Syferd said she knew she had a responsibility once Wies reached base. “I knew if Brooklyn got on, then I would have to get her in to win. I was taking deep breaths, and I knew I needed to watch the ball. I couldn’t swing at high ones or low ones. I have to keep my head in.”

With a 2-2 count, Syferd was down to her last strike. Schmidt threw a fastball down the middle, and Syferd drove it out of the park. She said she knew it was gone right off the bat.

“I could tell. I could feel it in my bones,” she recalled.

Fayette pitcher recalled her thoughts during Syferd’s at-bat.

“I prayed to God. Greycen, please, just one base hit. And she did!” Eubanks said after the game. “I’m so astonished.”

Fayette coach Bri Busker said that’s what she had been waiting for all season from Syferd. “I’m just so proud of her. She stayed disciplined in the box and didn’t swing at anything up.”

In the circle, Eubanks claimed her 16th win in 23 starts. She struck out seven batters, including the leadoff hitter in the top of the first, and surrendered just one earned run on one hit with two walks in a complete seven-inning performance. She struck out the side in the bottom of the second and has now retired 193 batters on strikes so far in her freshman season.

“She was lights out,” Busker said. “Coming into this game, we talked about nerves and how they are expected and how it’s a good thing. And how to use it as motivation. The confidence that girl has is remarkable. I love it.”

Behind Eubanks, the Fayette defense was in fine form without committing an error. Senior shortstop Paige Vroman took away a hit from North Callaway sophomore Camrey Green, snagging a hard-hit line drive to end the top of the sixth. Sophomore catcher Camryn Ballew gunned down two batters at first after fielding bunts and caught a popup behind the plate. She also held runners on first without allowing a stolen base.

“That arm she has is amazing. The work and effort she puts in behind the plate is awesome,” Busker said about her catcher.

At the plate, the Falcons recorded three hits, singles by Paige Vroman and Wies, and Syferd’s game-winning home run. Syferd drove in all three of Fayette’s runs.

“We played with so much grit and so much determination, wanting to win it. After that semi-final game when we won against Salisbury, it was just like, Let’s win it all,” Busker said.

Fayette, now 18-8 overall, advances to the Class 2 State Tournament on Saturday. Their opponent was to be decided Tuesday night in the Class 2 District 4 championship between third-seeded Iberia (18-9) and top-seeded Fatima (15-11) after the Advertiser went to press. The time and location of the game were also undetermined as this newspaper went to press on Tuesday morning.