The Fayette baseball team won two games on Saturday to improve to 9-7 overall. The Falcons took down the Jamestown Eagles 9-5 in the first game before defeating potential district opponent Slater 5-0 in the nightcap.

On Monday, the Falcons won their fourth straight game with a 4-1 defeat over Calvary Lutheran in Jefferson City.

Game 1:

Jamestown 5 - Fayette 9

Fayette opened Saturday with a convincing 9-5 win over Jamestown, the Falcons’ third win over the Eagles in the last four meetings since 2023. Fayette took advantage of six errors by Jamestown to build an early 6-1 lead before allowing four seventh-inning runs.

“They have a winning record and have had some quality wins. They were formidable competition coming in, but we rose to the task, and we took advantage of their mistakes,” said Fayette coach Andy Oeth.

The Falcons dealt most of their damage in the second inning. After allowing a run in the top of the frame on a tag-up, the Falcons answered with a half-dozen runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning. Leading off, freshman Sawyer Asbury reached base on an error by the Jamestown outfield and ended up rounding all three bases before sliding into home to tie the game at one run apiece.

“It was exciting to see him get that run. I know it wasn’t technically an inside-the-park home run, but he went four bases and never slowed down. He picked up his coaches and did everything he had to do and got in,” Coach Oeth said. “He’s a kid who we expect a lot of that from in the future. Making big things happen. As I valuate ballplayers; he’s just one of those guys who has it.”

Senior first baseman Caleb Craig then walked and scored on a single by senior Austin Kunze to put Fayette up by a run. A single by senior Thad Quint followed by a walk to junior Parker LaValley loaded the bases ahead of power-hitting senior Payton Oeth, who drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to center field.

With two outs, a single by senior pitcher Ethan Bean once again loaded the bases. Next up, sophomore second baseman James Hogg tapped a 1-0 pitch back to the Jamestown pitcher. But the throw to first was wild. The error allowed three runs to score, with Hogg advancing to second.

Those six runs gave the Falcons a cushion and eased the pressure for Falcon ace Ethan Bean.

“They were kind of like piranhas at that point. It was good to see them frenzy hit. That’s the team we are,” Coach Oeth described that second-inning flourish.

Bean cruised through the third inning, bookending an induced groundout with a pair of strikeouts to breeze through the top of the third with just 12 pitches.

Bean walked two runners and gave up a single in the top of the fourth but didn’t surrender another run until the final inning, when he was charged with three runs after allowing a walk, a single, and loading the bases with a hit batsman before being relieved by sophomore Easton Fehling.

“He did a really good job. He had struggled in the last few games he’d pitched, and I wanted him to know that he’s our guy,” Coach Oeth said about his starting pitcher, who delivered 104 pitches over six innings. “We won’t have him for the early games this coming week. When we got down to where we could have pulled him, we decided to let him roll and get the win. That would be really good going into the second game and into next week.”

Fehling allowed an earned run on a single and double before ending the game on a strikeout to earn the save, walking off the mound ahead 9-5.

Offensively, Fayette drove in five runs on 10 hits, all singles, despite the Falcons capturing extra bases on a half-dozen Jamestown errors.

Fayette also had little difficulty catching up to Eagles’ pitcher, senior Ethan Schoenthal, who allowed six runs (1 earned) on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts over five innings.

Quint led the Falcons, leading off with a 3-for-4 performance with two runs scored. Craig went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. LaValley, Oeth, Bean, Hogg, and Kunze each singled.

Jamestown freshman reliever Troy Bondurant allowed three runs (2 earned) on a hit and a walk, securing one out. The Eagles then sent in Anthony Coonce, who had reportedly been absent from the mound due to an injury. The junior secured the final two outs of the bottom of the sixth, striking out one of three batters faced.

“He had some really good breaking stuff that kept us off balance,” Coach Oeth said.

Game 2: Slater 0 - Fayette 5

The Falcons kept the momentum going heading into the second game of the afternoon, a makeup game against fellow Class 2 District 7 team, Slater. The Wildcats entered the game 6-6 overall with wins over common opponents Glasgow, Harrisburg, and Prairie Home.

“Slater’s had some good games this year with some good-quality wins. They’re well coached, and they could be sneaky at times and catch us off guard,” said Coach Oeth, moments before taking the field against the Wildcats.

An infield error and the first of only two Slater hits allowed base runners at the corners with one out in the top of the first. But the Falcons got out of an early jam behind right-hander Payton Oeth on the mound with a 4-6-3 double play.

The momentum carried into the bottom of the inning when the Falcons delivered four runs on four hits, aided by a walk by Slater pitcher Tristen Klasing and a Wildcats error. Quint led off with a double and scored on an RBI single by LaValley. Oeth then singled, and Bean walked to load up the bases. An error on a ground ball by Hogg allowed LaValley and Oeth to score.

Later in the bottom of the first with two outs, Bean scored from second on an RBI single by Fehling, but Hogg was thrown out attempting to score, ending the inning with Fayette in front 4-0.

Following four scoreless innings, the Falcons added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Craig reached on a fielder’s choice and later scored on a wild pitch by Klasing to make it a five-run game.

The Falcons tallied five runs on five hits and four RBI. Quint’s leadoff double was the only extra-base hit of the day. The junior also scored one run. LaValley went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Oeth went 1-for-3 and scored a run. Asbury had one hit in two at-bats and walked once. Fehling went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Although he didn’t record a hit in the game, Hogg led the team with two runs batted in while reaching on an error. The sophomore drove in a total of four runs on the day, two in each game.

Oeth dominated from the mound, striking out 12 batters in a seven-inning, complete-game shutout. He allowed just two singles and one walk and struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth.

Oeth’s strong arm is the second in the pitching rotation. Coach Oeth said it was important to get the win against a district opponent.

“It is a district game, so we want to make sure that we lock in and treat it with the respect it deserves.”

Fayette’s top two pitchers were rendered ineligible to start Monday due to pitch counts.

“We won't see Ethan Monday or Tuesday. My hope is that we handle this game in such a way that we can have Payton for Tuesday,” explained Coach Oeth. “It’s a conference game on Tuesday, but there’s nothing we can do at this point to win conference. So I really want to hone in on the postseason. I have to prioritize districts as far as pitch counts go.”

The Falcons are tied with Marceline for third place among Class 2 District 7 teams heading into the seeding meeting on Friday. Fayette defeated another potential district opponent, longtime rival Westran, last Wednesday for the first time since 2023.

Fayette was scheduled to play its final regular-season home game on Tuesday after the Advertiser went to press against Central State 8 opponent South Callaway. The Falcons then hit the road for the final two games before the postseason. On Thursday, they travel to Prairie Home/Bunceton before closing out the regular season next Tuesday at Pilot Grove.

Fayette will host the Class 2 District 7 Tournament at Estes Field. The bracket is expected to appear in next week’s Advertiser.