Fayette couldn’t sustain a fast start against the No. 5 team in the state in Wednesday night’s Class 2 District 7 championship, falling to top-seeded Salisbury 9-1 on Estes Field.

The game marked the Falcons’ first trip to the title game, possibly in program history, although complete records are not available. Regardless, it marks a pinnacle for a team that has finished above .500 only twice since 2008. Fayette ends the season 13-9 overall, its best mark in decades.

“I think it speaks a lot to all of the people who have helped build this program from the time a lot of these guys were in 8U baseball in Boonville,” said Fayette coach Andy Oeth about the team’s improvement. “Me and my dad and several other parents and coaches went to Boonville a long time ago and asked them if we could start having a Fayette team there. I think we’re seeing a lot of the fruit of that. Everybody on that baseball board fought hard to keep that going and put it together every single year. It’s been great. These seniors are the first ones who have gone all the way through. And I think we’re going to see a lot more than that because they’ve been playing together since they were little.”

Fayette was fresh off a win over third-seeded Marceline on Monday after a somewhat contentious disagreement over the seedings. But Fayette proved worthy of the No. 2 seed, defeating the Tigers 4-1 in the district semifinals.

Entering Wednesday’s district final, Fayette faced an uphill battle against Salisbury, the fifth-ranked team in all of Class 2 baseball, with 19 wins already under its belt. The Falcons lost a 6-3 decision at home to the Panthers on April 10, the closest any Class 1 or Class 2 team had come against them all season.

Fayette looked sharp in the opening frame. With one out, senior Payton Oeth walked, then advanced to second on a wild pitch by the Salisbury starting pitcher, sophomore Caleb Sturm. He then took third base on a passed ball before being driven home on a sacrifice groundout by junior third baseman Parker LaValley to take an early 1-0 lead.

The momentum continued through the bottom of the inning as the first three Panther batters were retired in order with Fayette ace Ethan Bean on the mound.

“I’m thrilled about what we were able to do early against them,” said Coach Oeth about that first inning. “Our seniors stayed even-keeled even in times when it got a little emotional. We just didn’t have enough to get the job done tonight.”

Salisbury surged ahead with four runs in the bottom of the second on two walks, a double, and two singles.

Three singles and two walks led to two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as the Panthers built a solid six-run lead. Meanwhile, Fayette struggled against Sturm’s right arm.

“I think we were trying a little too hard to drive that ball,” said Coach Oeth about his lineup’s inability to produce runs. “A lot of our guys were flying open. It’s one of those things we are going to learn from and carry into next season.”

Fayette was unable to score again, even as Salisbury tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Falcons finished with just two hits, one single apiece by Oeth and freshman Sawyer Asbury, and were issued two walks but struck out eight times.

Salisbury, however, hit the ball hard, tallying 11 hits, including doubles by juniors Austin Cravens and Gage Clark.

Bean was uncharacteristically inconsistent on the mound in his final high school outing. He surrendered six earned runs on eight hits with five walks and three strikeouts and threw four wild pitches.

“He’s a guy we’re going to ride with. We could have gone to the bullpen earlier, but he’s a guy I’m going to give the opportunity,” said Coach Oeth. “We pulled him at the end because he was getting close to the pitch count, and I didn’t want to pull him mid-inning.”

Sophomore Easton Fehling pitched the final inning, allowing three runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk, retiring one batter on strikes.

“Easton has really developed some good pitching mechanics,” Coach Oeth said. “We put him in a difficult spot. He threw strikes, but they just hit them into places we weren’t. That team just hits the ball hard.

“These Salisbury kids are absolute dog ballplayers. They are fantastic. This would be so much more difficult if we had lost to anyone else.”

The loss means the end of the careers of four Fayette seniors: Oeth, Bean, first baseman Caleb Craig, and left fielder Austin Kunze, who sat out of Wednesday’s district final after undergoing knee surgery.

“I wouldn’t want to go to battle with anybody else than those four guys,” said Coach Oeth about his seniors. “Austin is a guy who shows up and works hard. He knows he may or may not get into the game, but he comes and works hard for us anyway.

“Caleb Craig has been really solid for us. We asked him to do a difficult thing, which was completely change positions, because we didn’t have a first baseman. He was willing to do it and jumped in.”

Two of Fayette’s seniors have signed on to play baseball at the next level. Bean inked with Central Methodist University as a pitcher. “We call Ethan Bean ‘Easy E’ because he’s even-keeled and keeps his emotions about him,” said Coach Oeth. “He can get frustrated, but he doesn’t let it affect him. I’m really excited to see him develop as a pitcher at the next level. As a player evaluator, I know he’s got it.”

Senior catcher Payton Oeth signed with State Fair Community College with the hopes of eventually playing NCAA Division I baseball. “I can’t say enough about Payton,” Coach Oeth said about his son, who also led the lineup with a .517 batting average. “He’s a coach’s dream. And he’s my son. I trust him so much as a player. He might be the best high school baseball player I’ve ever gotten to see with my own eyes. I’m excited to see him take those talents to the next level.”

Coach Oeth is also departing the program after five years as head coach after serving as assistant coach the four years prior. He made the announcement in early April. And while the reasons are varied, he said one is because he plans to watch his son, Payton, play college ball while hopefully developing into a DI catcher. “I have to be a dad and a husband, too. With Payton graduating, this seems like the best time,” he told the Advertiser last month.“I am absolutely going to miss it dearly. I love what I do, but I love my family more. It’s been a long nine years, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. But it’s time for something different.”

The Falcons will return a strong lineup of four juniors and three sophomores next season, including starters Thad Quint, Parker LaValley, James Hogg, Easton Fehling, and Morgen Campbell. Freshman Sawyer Asbury and Caleb Busker also earned starting innings this season and are expected to produce runs next spring.

“I’m really excited about the future of this program,” said Coach Oeth. “There are some really great juniors who will be seniors. There are really great freshmen who are coming up as well. And I think these juniors are ready to lead them next year, because I’ve had really great senior leadership this year.”

For Salisbury, Wednesday’s win was the Panthers’ 20th of the season and claimed their fourth district title in five seasons. On Monday, they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to District 8 champion Eugene in the Class 2 state sectional at Eugene.