A couple of errors in the top of the first inning allowed Harrisburg to jump out to a 4-0 lead on the way to a 7-1 victory over the Fayette Falcons to open Central State 8 Conference action Monday night at CMU’s Estes Field in Fayette.

The two errors bookended singles by Harrisburg freshman Landon Atkins and senior Keagan Morris to make the score 3-0 with one out. Another Bulldog run scored when junior Hunter Caldwell tagged up on a flyout by junior Rylee Robinson to give Harrisburg a strong start.

Harrisburg coach Chris Ackman said he was a little nervous coming into Monday’s game because his team had not seen live pitching for nine days. Spring break was last week, and the Bulldogs didn’t have their first full-team practice until Sunday night.

“I knew with Payton [Oeth] throwing we would struggle to begin with. And with us not seeing live pitching for a while, I knew he would have his way with us for a while,” Ackman said. “We just wanted to focus on keeping the ball in play, and Fayette gave us a few runs.”

In all, the Falcons committed seven errors on the night, allowing Harrisburg to put the game away with another run in the fifth and two more in the seventh.

“Anytime we play Harrisburg, it’s a game the guys get up for. But we have to make sure our mindset and our approach does not change, as far as what we want to do at the plate,” said Fayette coach Andy Oeth. “I think we get a little knocked back on our heels easier in a game like this. We can be too careful sometimes.”

Despite the early four-run deficit, Coach Oeth said his team has the tools to come back. But Fayette struggled at the plate, laying down just three hits on the night.

“We have to stop watching perfect strikes, perfect pitches going down the middle,” Coach Oeth said. “We knew their pitchers we’re going to throw strikes and let their defense work. And we let them off the hook with that. We didn’t attack the ball like we should have. We were almost too careful at the plate.”

Fayette put two runners on base in the bottom of the first with two outs. Junior Payton Oeth started things off with a line drive down the left field line for a standup double. Senior Thomas Elliott then reached after he was hit by a pitch. But a final strikeout by Harrisburg right-hander Hunter Caldwell held the Falcons scoreless.

Fayette’s next chance to score came in the bottom of the third with two outs after sophomore Thad Quint and Oeth were both hit by pitches. But once again, the Falcons failed to drive home the runners.

On the mound, Oeth’s determination rose significantly after he took a pitch to the body. He responded with a one-two-three top of the fourth, ending the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.

“He definitely found another gear after he was hit by a pitch,” Coach Oeth said. “I don’t think it felt very good. And he kind of accelerated his velocity his next time out.”

Harrisburg scored its fifth run of the game in the top of the fifth after consecutive singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly by Caldwell allowed senior Keagan Morris to score.

Fayette finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Oeth led off and quickly faced an 0-3 count. Ackman then ordered the intentional walk, which may have backfired as Oeth rounded the bases on a wild pitch and a passed ball. He was driven home on a sacrifice fly by Elliott to cut the lead back to four runs.

“That one run by Fayette is on me,” Ackman said. “We were getting close on pitch count, and I didn’t want to waste nibbling around on the zone with Payton. So, we just put him on.”

Any chance for Fayette to attempt a come-from-behind win was cut short in the top of the seventh. Harrisburg scored two more runs on a double by senior Ike DeMuth and a single by Morris, aided by two more Falcon errors.

A final hit in the bottom of the seventh by Fayette sophomore Ledgyr Conrow would be all Fayette would muster. An eight-pitch at-bat by senior Kaleb Friebe ended with a sharp lineout to Caldwell at third base to end the game.

Caldwell earned the win for Harrisburg after allowing one unearned run in 5.2 innings on the mound. He issued one walk and struck out seven batters.

“Hunter does a really good job for us. He works efficiently and quick. I thought he pitched really well tonight other than a few situations. But he got himself out of his jams,” said Atkins.

Caldwell got the start while the Bulldogs saved their ace for a matchup scheduled for the following night against Tipton.

Atkins pitched the final 1.1 innings in his first varsity pitching experience. The freshman right-hander gave up one hit and struck out three of five batters faced.

“I thought he pitched really well in those moments,” Ackman said about his freshman’s varsity debut.

At the plate, DeMuth led the Bulldogs with three hits, including a double, in four at-bats with one RBI, two runs scored, and one stolen base.

“He’s locked in. When he hits, typically it’s going to be loud contact,” Ackman said. “He does a really good job hitting the ball the other way. With his speed, any single can be a possible double. If not, he’s going to steal. He had a fantastic night for us, just kept pushing the lineup around.”

Morris also finished with a multi-hit night, going 2-for-3 with one RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. Atkins delivered one hit for the Bulldogs, batting in the No. 2 spot.

Oeth was credited with the loss in his fourth start of the season. The powerful righty allowed one earned run (6 unearned) on six hits with one walk and a game-high eight strikeouts.

“He struggled early with some command issues,” Coach Oeth said. “He definitely found a groove, but a lot of the balls they put in play we made errors on. You can’t do that against a team like this.”

Fayette’s offense struggled to make contact, finishing with three hits and 10 strikeouts. Oeth finished with a double, followed by freshman right fielder Morgan Campbell and Conrow with one single apiece.

Fayette is now 1-3 overall, having lost their third game in a row.

“We’ve had a couple of chances against opponents now at our home park where we had a chance to put the game away, and we didn’t. We have to learn how to win,” Coach Oeth said. “I have confidence in these guys. Last year taught me a lot about not giving up on the season. By the end of last year, we had found a great groove and were beating teams we hadn’t beaten in a long time. Now I think we’ve added some pieces to the squad that I think can help us even more.”

Fayette had another chance to get back in the win column Tuesday night with a conference game at Linn (3-3) after the Advertiser had gone to press. Fayette then travels to Sturgeon (2-2) on Thursday and Cairo (1-1) on Monday. The Falcons return home on April 8 to host CS8 opponent New Bloomfield (2-3) at 5 p.m.

Harrisburg, now 3-2 with a two-game winning streak, returned to Coach Brian Simpson Memorial Field for a conference test against Tipton (4-2) Tuesday after the Advertiser went to press. The Cardinals have also won back-to-back games, and the winner could emerge with a shot at the conference title.

“We haven’t seen Tipton since 2009. I know it’s going to be tough,” Ackman said. “We have full respect for Tipton, and we look forward to playing them tomorrow.”

The Bulldogs then play four straight road games before returning home against Salisbury on April 10.