The Fayette Lady Falcons closed out the home portion of their season with a 16-1 rout of Pilot Grove Monday night.

Fayette is now 17-5 overall and finishes with a home record of 5-2.

Monday’s game marked the final night on the home field for seniors Addison Powell and McKenna Botts. Fayette coach Mike James gave high praise to both of his seniors, only one of whom was able to play.

Botts was forced to sit out with an injury sustained during the summer season but has been a constant figure in the dugout all year. “She has been to every practice and every game and has been an absolutely unbelievable leader,” James said. “It’s tough for a girl who knows she won’t be able to play and shows up anyway. That’s pretty amazing. I’m really proud of her. She’s been really great for us.”

Powell has been the team’s leadoff hitter all season. She paces the team in total hits with 30, and boasts a second-best batting average of .462. James said the senior left fielder has become a primary offensive weapon.

“She has come a long way from last year,” he said. “She worked her tail off in the summer with her travel teams and has learned to become quite an offensive weapon for us. I’m really proud of her. Most teams know about her now, but they didn’t know about her in the beginning of the year. She’s an absolute offensive weapon.”

Powell sparked Fayette’s offense on Monday with a leadoff single to left field. Fayette scored seven runs in the bottom of the first on four singles and an RBI double by freshman Addison Gibbs, along with three walks. 

“It was nice to see us get our sticks going. Our sticks have been dormant here for a while, so it was nice to see several girls hit balls in the gaps, hit hard line drives, or ground balls,” James said.

All but two Falcon batters picked up at least one hit, and the entire lineup reached base. The outliers were sophomore catcher Leah Thies, who was walked twice in three plate appearances, and sophomore second baseman Mariah Felten, who recorded an RBI and a run scored while reaching on a walk.

“We’ve been in a little bit of a slump offensively the last week or two. Tonight, maybe we busted out of that a little bit,” James said.

Powell led the way, batting 3-for-3 with two RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. Gibbs drove in a game-high four runs in a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with three doubles. Pitcher Skylar Sunderland helped her own cause with three hits in four at-bats with a double and one RBI. 

Junior right fielder Cayle John finished with the big hit of the night, an RBI triple in the bottom of the third to extend Fayette’s lead to double digits. Junior Whitley Sunderland picked up two hits in three at-bats with a run scored. Sophomore Payton Kindle drove in two runs and scored twice with a single and two walks. Freshman Paige Vroman drove in one run on a single with a run scored.

Fayette drove in 13 of its 16 runs on 15 hits and six walks with only three strikeouts.

Skylar Sunderland earned her 13th win of the season after delivering a masterful performance from the pitching circle. She struck out 11 of 15 batters faced and issued no walks in four innings, allowing just one unearned run to score on one hit.

“Our pitching, 99.9% of the time, is solid as a rock. When we hit the ball and play good defense, and she pitches the way she pitches, we’re a tough out,” James said.

Fayette is just over a week away from entering the district tournament, and coach James said Tuesday’s game against Lewis & Clark rival Salisbury will test his team’s readiness. The rivals squared off at 5 p.m. in Salisbury after the Advertiser went to press.

“Tomorrow is a great opponent that is a traditional powerhouse,” James said. “We were able to get them last year and the year before. I think tomorrow it will tell us a lot about where we are. They’re going to put some pressure on us that most teams do not.”

The game at Salisbury marks the first in a final stretch of three away games to end the regular season. On Thursday, Fayette travels to Glasgow. The Lady Falcons play their last regular-season game against Eugene on Monday. All games begin at 5 p.m. The Class 2 District 8 Tournament begins on Thursday, October 12.