I was really happy to get that win, symbolically, just because it’s the last regular season Lewis & Clark game.”

Fayette coach Andy Oeth

Class 2 District 7 Standings

Harrisburg(15-7)

Westran(11-4)

Fayette(7-11)

Marceline(7-9)

Salisbury(5-9)

Slater(1-10)

The Fayette Falcons bid a fitting adieu to the Lewis & Clark Conference on Tuesday with a 10-7 victory over longtime rival Salisbury. Tuesday’s contest also marked the final home game for Fayette this season. It was the fifth victory in a row for the Falcons, who now sit at 7-11 overall.

Tuesday’s game was the final contest ever for the Falcons as members of the Lewis & Clark Conference. Fayette was a founding member of the conference in 1973 and has forged storied rivalries with teams such as Salisbury over those five decades.

But even when Fayette begins competing in a new conference, the Central State 8, next year, the schedule won’t be much different. Gone will be long trips to Schuyler County and Knox County, but Coach Andy Oeth said he expects to keep such familiar teams as Salisbury, Westran, and Marceline on the schedule.

“I was really happy to get that win, symbolically, just because it’s the last regular season Lewis & Clark game,” said Fayette coach Andy Oeth. “They’re a team we will probably still keep on the schedule. Since I’ve been with the program, we haven’t beaten Salisbury. They’ve been really good, and they’re a lot like us. They’ve lost a lot of seniors. So, they have a lot of guys now who are really trying to learn who they are. It was good to get that win. I would have liked to have kept our big lead but, like I told the guys, that’s life. Sometimes you have to store up a little extra for emergencies and that’s what happened.”

Regardless of the significance of the final game in an esteemed conference, as was the Lewis & Clark, more important are the Class 2 District 7 implications. Fayette has now defeated three teams in the six-team district and now sits in third place behind Harrisburg and Westran. Coach Oeth hopes that means his team will land somewhere in the top half of the bracket during Thursday’s seeding meeting.

The win was the first time Fayette had defeated the Panthers since 2018 and only the fifth time in 18 games dating back to 2009. Salisbury has been an absolute powerhouse over the last few years, winning the district title the last two seasons and finishing runner-up in the state a year ago.

Fayette got off to a somewhat slow start with sloppy defense behind starting pitcher Payton Oeth. Even as the Panthers are experiencing somewhat of a down season compared to their recent success, the bats came out swinging. Salisbury led off the game with a double on a fly ball off the left field wall by sophomore Gavin Binder. Junior Jace McAllister then singled to move Binder to third base. He eventually scored on a sacrifice groundout to give the Panthers an early one-run lead.

Salisbury made it a three-run game with a pair of runs in the top of the third on two singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly.

The Falcons cut the lead down to one run in the bottom of the inning as Panthers left-handed starter Brady Graskewicz began to struggle on the mound. A leadoff single by sophomore Ethan Bean was wallowed with back-to-back walks to Sterling Hilgedick and Austin Kunze to load the bases. The Falcons scored their first run on a hard-hit ground ball to center by freshman Thaddeus Quint. A sacrifice fly by Oeth scored Hilgedick from third, but Quint was thrown out advancing to second after tagging up to end the inning.

Fayette manufactured the tying run in the bottom of the fourth. A single from junior first-baseman Thomas Elliott, followed by a walk to freshman Parker LaValley and another single by sophomore Caleb Craig loaded the bases. Bean then delivered his second hit of the day on a ground ball to center field to send Elliott home even the game at three runs apiece.

The Falcons all but put the game away with a breakout inning in the bottom of the fifth, scoring six runs on a single by Quint and a two-base blast to left field by junior Kaleb Friebe, along with three walks and two errors.

The Panthers changed pitchers early in the inning. Right-handed senior Eli Jackson took some time to find his groove but walked his first two batters, sending Quint home for the Falcons’ go-ahead run. The Falcons extended the innings on back-to-back defensive errors by Salisbury to take a 7-3 lead. Friebe’s double then sent home two more runs to give Fayette a healthy 9-3 after five frames.

 “We just kept battling and putting the ball in play,” Coach Oeth said. “We’ve been trying to find that groove where we can just put the ball in the gaps, and sometimes you can force errors if you’re just really battling and really attacking and keeping them on their heels. Our guys just kept putting the ball in play, kept seeing good pitches. And we started to finally cash in on some of their mistakes.”

Despite falling behind, the well-coached Panthers were hardly ready to cede the game. They inched back with an RBI-single from Austin Cravens in the top of the sixth.

Fayette was able to maintain a six-run lead with a sacrifice groundout from freshman Ledgyr Conrow in the bottom of the inning.

Salisbury came within three runs of the lead in the top of the seventh. Conrow pitched the final inning in relief of Oeth, who had topped out at 99 pitches in six complete frames. After leading off with a single and a walk, the Panthers scored three runs on back-to-back infield errors.

Down by three with no outs, Salisbury sophomore Jake Pieffer singled to bring the tying run to the plate.

Conrow then induced a pop-out. Two pitches later, Cravens was called out via the infield fly rule with runners on first and second. The short pop fly was misplayed by the Fayette infield. Panthers’ freshman Hayden Ramsey attempted to take advantage of the mistake with aggressive base running but was tagged out by Friebe trying to advance to third.

The somewhat confusing turn of events ended the game with Fayette in front 10-7.

The Falcons have now won five straight games to improve to 7-11 overall.

Oeth allowed four runs (3 earned) on six hits over six innings with two walks and five strikeouts.

“I was thrilled about Payton’s performance,” said Coach Oeth. “I really thought he did well. He’s given up some more runs than he normally doesn’t. But that’s kind of where our defense is right now. While Payton’s got some velocity, he’s never been completely a strikeout pitcher.”

Conrow gave up a walk and surrendered three unearned runs on two hits in one inning of relief.

Fayette outhit Salisbury 9-8 with two extra-base hits. Elliott led the offense, going 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, and two runs scored. Quint drove in one run on two hits in four plate appearances. Bean was Fayette’s third multi-hit batter. He drove in a game-high three RBI with a 2-for-4 performance and scored two runs.

Friebe went 1-for-3 with a two-RBI double, a walk, and a stolen base. Oeth went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored. Craig finished 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.

“We struggled a little bit [on the base paths],” Coach Oeth said. “We had several opportunities that we didn’t take, several opportunities where we should have advanced or should have scored and we didn’t. Those are lessons these guys will take into the next game, the next week, the next season.”

McAllister led the Salisbury offense with the team’s only multi-hit performance, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Binder had the team’s only extra-base hit, a leadoff double in the first. Ramsey led the Panthers in RBI with two on a 1-for-4 day.

Salisbury is now 5-9 overall with three games left. The Panthers end the regular season on the road at Glasgow on Tuesday, May 7.

Fayette hopes to keep its win streak alive on Wednesday. The Falcons travel to Prairie Home (6-6) for the first of five road games to end the season. On Monday, Fayette travels to Tipton for a Central State 8 preview. The Falcons close the regular season on Tuesday, May 7, at Pilot Grove.

The Class 2 District 7 Tournament kicks off on Thursday, May 9. Seedings and schedules have yet to be announced.