The New Franklin Bulldogs improved to 2-0 on the season after defeating county rival Fayette 8-3 on Monday night at Central Methodist University’s Estes Field.

After three innings of what was emerging as a pitchers’ duel between New Franklin starter Lane Hackman and Fayette ace Payton Oeth, the Bulldogs found their rhythm the second way through the lineup in the fourth inning. After leading off with two singles, leadoff hitter Land Hackman scored on a passed ball to put the Bulldogs on the board. Junior Landon Shaw then drove home senior Brandon Phillips with a single to right.

Another single by sophomore Jake Marshall late in the inning scored Shaw to give New Franklin a 3-0 lead.

Fayette answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Thad Quint led off with a single and later scored on a fly-ball double to right by junior Ethan Bean.

Fayette coach Andy Oeth said Hackman’s pitching kept his players off balance. “We struggled to adjust to his pitching style. He’s very good at mixing his breaking stuff with his fast ball and keeps you guessing. Our guys struggled with that quite a bit.”

The Bulldogs pulled ahead with three more runs in the fifth to take a commanding lead. After leading off the inning with a walk, Lane Hackman scored his second run of the game on a bunt by Phillips and subsequent Fayette infield error.

Two more runs crossed the plate in the next at-bat. Junior Nolan McGowan scored from third on a passed ball. Phillips then scored on a ground out by Shaw to put the Bulldogs in front 6-1.

New Franklin increased its lead to 8-1 with two runs in the top of the seventh. An RBI single to center by Shaw drove in Phillips. The Bulldogs’ final run came when Shaw scored his second run of the game on a wild pitch by Fayette reliever Ledgyr Conrow.

Trailing 8-1 with half an inning left, the Falcons scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh on three singles. With one out, freshman Morgan Campbell got things started with a single up the middle, then advanced to third on a single by senior Kaleb Friebe. Both would score on a hard single by Quint.

A final Fayette popout ended the game with the Falcons trailing by six.

Hackman secured his second win of the season on the mound for New Franklin, striking out six batters in four innings, and surrendered one earned run on three hits.

“Lane and Josh did a fantastic job on the bump for us,” said New Franklin coach Erich Gerding.

Marshall mopped up the final three innings, allowing two runs (none earned) on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Fayette ace Payton Oeth struck out four batters in 3.2 innings pitched. He gave up three earned runs on three hits and a walk. Middle reliever Ethan Bean allowed three runs (none earned) on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings on the mound. Sophomore Ledgyr Conrow fanned one batter while allowing two earned runs on three hits with a walk in the final inning.

At the plate, Fayette finished with seven hits. Bean had the team’s only multi-hit game with two, including Fayette’s lone extra-base hit, an RBI-double in the bottom of the fourth. Friebe, Quint, Caleb Craig, Austin Kunze, and Campbell each singled. Quint stole one base.

Coach Oeth said despite the loss, he has a lot of faith in his team. “We’re excited to see where we can go.

“They were kind of down last night because they really felt like this was a win bowl game. Anytime you’re facing an Erich Gerding New Franklin team, you’d better be on your game because they’re really well coached and they’re always going to have talented guys no matter how many they have on the roster.”

New Franklin finished with eight hits, all singles. McGowan and Shaw each finished with two hits in four at-bats. Shaw led all batters with three RBI, followed by Marshall with one run driven in. Hackman, Phillips, Johan Bishop, and Marshall each singled.

“The top and middle of our lineup did an amazing job, and Landon had an amazing all-around game in the field and at the plate,” Gerding said. “It was a good collective win for us.”

The Falcons are now 1-1 on the season after winning their opener at Higbee on Friday. Fayette travels to Moberly on Thursday. The Spartans are currently ranked fourth in Class 4. They return home to face area rival and Central State 8 opponent Harrisburg on Monday.

New Franklin cruised over Christian Fellowship 16-0 in its opener and faces its third road game in a row on Thursday at Jamestown. The Bulldogs debut at home on Friday against Sacred Heart.