A lights-out performance by New Franklin pitcher Tanner Bishop held Fayette to just one hit in an 8-0 decision in the Class 2 District 7 semifinals Monday night.

The game was moved from New Franklin to Moberly High School due to rainfall early in the day. 

New Franklin, seeded second, improves to 19-5 on the season and will face top-seeded Salisbury (20-1) at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday). The game will be played in New Franklin.

Fayette, the third seed, concludes its best season in team history with an overall record of 12-11.

Fayette’s lone hit was a double by senior Haden Kelly in the top of the fourth. Down 4-0 with two outs, the No. 3 hitter in the lineup drove a 3-1 pitch to center field to give Fayette a late spark in the inning.

“Haden is a good hitter,” Bishop recalled after the game. “I put a fastball right down the middle, which I shouldn’t have, and he got the best of that one.”

Kelly led Fayette all season in extra-base hits with five doubles, five triples, and two home runs.

“It’s fitting because that’s what he does. Extra-base hits are his thing. I’m thrilled for him that he got that,” said Fayette coach Andy Oeth.

The hit would allow Fayette’s only baserunner of the night. Bishop pitched an otherwise unblemished game through six innings with no walks and 12 strikeouts.

“I felt great tonight,” said the junior right-hander. “That was probably one of the best games I’ve ever pitched. I just had everything going for me.”

Out of 78 pitches Bishop threw against 19 batters, 55 were strikes. But after three times through the lineup, he admitted that putting in another pitcher to close out the game was the right move. 

“I was getting a little tired at the end,” Bishop said. “I had already faced them three times, and their one through five are really good hitters. We had to get someone new in to face those batters.”

New Franklin coach Erich Gerding said not only were the upcoming hitters a factor, but he wanted to give his ace, senior Clayton Wilmsmeyer, time on the mound after having a week off. Because they received a first-round bye, the Bulldogs’ last game was on May 8. “We just wanted to give them something different to look at,” he said. “And we also wanted to give Clayton a little time on the mound in this type of atmosphere.”

The senior righty made easy work of the Falcons in the top of the seventh. He induced a ground out and a popout before closing out the game with a strikeout of Fayette cleanup hitter Payton Oeth.

Offensively, New Franklin finished the game with eight runs on 11 hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts. Five of those strikeouts came in the first three innings at the hands of freshman Payton Oeth, who earned the start after finishing the regular season with one of the lowest ERAs in the conference.

Oeth concludes the season 3-3 in seven starts on the mound with an ERA of 1.721, the lowest of Fayette’s starting pitchers.

Coach Oeth said he decided to start his freshman hurler instead of senior Haden Kelly because New Franklin had already faced the Falcons’ ace this season. Kelly lost a 3-1 decision in the season opener on March 20 in New Franklin.

“They saw Haden this year. We thought that could change things up for them,” Coach Oeth said. “Payton throws a lot of strikes. And they hit a lot of strikes. They don’t make many mistakes at the plate.

“We weren’t in a position where I could put Haden in again to pitch one more game.”

Oeth opened the game with two strong innings. After allowing a leadoff hit from Clayton Wilmsmeyer in the bottom of the first, he retired the next six batters in order.

But the bottom of the Bulldogs’ order sparked the New Franklin offense in the bottom of the third. Senior Keaton Eads led off the bottom half of the frame with a line-drive single to center field. A walk by junior Sawyer Felton followed. Then, in his second at-bat, Clayton Wilmsmeyer drove a two-base line drive to center field that scored two runs. 

Later in the inning, with one out, Bishop helped his own cause with an RBI single to center field. Another single, this time by junior Connor Wilmsmeyer with two outs, scored New Franklin’s fourth run of the inning.

“It eased the tension a little bit,” Gerding said about the third-inning rally.

The Bulldogs added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on a leadoff double by junior Jake Marshall and singles by junior Drew Rhorer and senior Owen Armentrout to pull ahead 6-0.

New Franklin made it an eight-run game in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Clayton Wilmsmeyer reached on an error and advanced to second on another error. Back-to-back doubles by Marshall and Bishop gave the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead.

Clayton Wilmsmeyer retired the final three Fayette batters in order in the top of the seventh to end the game and advance New Franklin to the championship game against Salisbury.

The win marked Bishop’s sixth this season in seven starts on the mound.

“I thought Tanner really rose to the occasion. The first inning of any game like this is huge, and he came out and had a shutdown inning for us,” Gerding said about his starting pitcher. “That’s the best game I’ve ever seen him pitch. He’s a guy we trust in this kind of atmosphere because, mentally and emotionally, he’s steady. He doesn’t get rattled. I can’t say enough about what he did tonight.”

The Bulldogs hope to win their first district title since 2016. But they have to get past an outstanding Salisbury team tonight. New Franklin has won its last 10 games, and Bishop said his team is rolling.

“We’re on a mission right now,” Bishop said. “We’re not done. So, Wednesday, we’re going to come hot and ready and do the same thing.”

Gerding said the key to defeating Salisbury for the district title is to silence the Panthers’ bats. And while the starting pitcher has not been decided, he said Clayton Wilmsmeyer will definitely see time on the mound.

“He’s going to be pitching in some capacity probably,” Gerding said. “They’re a great offensive team. We’re going to have to make the plays in the field. I think our outfield is going to have to have a great game for us. And we’re going to have to have some good at-bats.”

For Fayette, the loss was bittersweet. No team enjoys losing its final game. But as far as records are known, Fayette played the best season in program history.

This season is about more than just wins and losses. It’s about a culture change for baseball in Fayette. “The future for Fayette baseball is very bright,” said Coach Oeth. “We’re building that baseball culture here. They set up something the next generation can shoot for. And the little kids who love watching their games can shoot for. Go watch our young kids play baseball because it’s a fantastic sport that teaches them about life.”

With the end of the season, Fayette bids farewell to eight seniors. Coach Oeth said he is proud of what those seniors did in three seasons of baseball. The class lost an entire year to the COVID-19 pandemic and still managed to put this season in the Fayette record books.

“This is a special group of seniors,” said Coach Oeth. “I love these guys. I will never forget these guys.”