The Fayette Lady Falcons were all smiles on Thursday after scoring a 10-0 shutout win over Glasgow on Senior Night.

For Fayette, the win showed what the Falcons could overcome mistakes and hitting gaps. For Glasgow, a series of missed opportunities kept the Lady Jackets off the scoreboard.

Glasgow had a chance to score in the top of the first inning. A leadoff single by Sarah Graves, followed by a Fayette error, gave the Lady Yellowjackets two baserunners with no outs. Later in the inning, another single by Hailey Monnig loaded the bases with two outs. But a strikeout by Fayette ace Skylar Sunderland stranded three Glasgow runners.

Fayette didn’t waste any time at the plate. Sophomore  Paige Vroman reached on an error to leadoff the bottom of the first, then was driven home on a line drive single by senior Cayle John to put the Falcons on the board.

Next up, a single by Skylar Sunderland and a walk to junior catcher Leah Thies loaded the bases. The Fayette batters remained patient at the plate as Glasgow pitcher Aynslie Locke struggled to find the strike zone. With three bases occupied, Locke allowed back-to-back walks before giving way to a pitching change. Junior southpaw Brooklynn Morris found a way out of the inning with a strikeout of Fayette’s ninth batter.

Once again, the Lady Jackets gave themselves the opportunity to score in the top of the second. With two outs, a walk to Riley Olendorff, followed by consecutive singles by Graves and Halle Fuemmeler, loaded the bases. And once again, all three runners would be left on base when the thrid out was delivered.

With the top of the lineup at the plate again in the bottom of the second, the Falcons rattled off three more runs to take a comfortable 6-0 lead. A single by Paige Vroman and a Glasgow error allowed two quick baserunners with no outs.

After Morris struck out her second batter of the day, Skylar Sunderland delivered a line drive to the center field fence to score both runners and land herself on second base. Another double by sophomore Brooklynn Wies on a shot to deep left-center plated courtesy runner Hailey Kuster to make the score 6-0 in favor of the Falcons.

Both offenses sputtered for the next few innings. Fayette and Glasgow would put only a single runner on base in their next two at-bats. Morris put together a fantastic bottom of the fifth, striking out the side.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth that the Fayette bats would come back to life to finish off the game. A single by senior Whitley Sunderland was bookended by walks to Paige Vroman and John to load the bases with no outs. Vroman then scored from third after almost getting caught in a rundown. She eventually crossed the plate when the ball was misplayed at the plate. Whitley Sunderland advanced to third on the play, then came home on a long sacrifice fly to center by Skyland Sunderland to make the score 8-0.

Next up, Thies delivered Fayette’s third extra-bases hit of the day with an RBI-double to send home Cayle John.

Up by nine runs, Fayette only needed one more to end the game via the 10-run rule. The terminal run was scored when Wies sent a hard-hit ground ball to center field to score Thies from second base.

Fayette drove in nine of its 10 runs on 10 hits. Skylar Sunderland, Wies, and senior first baseman Bailey Simpson each finished with two hits. Skylar Sunderland finished the day with three RBI. Wies drove in two, including the game-ending run. John, Thies, sophomore Emma Hilgedick, and senior Rylee Finley each recorded one RBI.

Wies, Skylar Sunderland, and Thies each doubled. John and Paige Vroman both swiped a base.

Skylar Sunderland delivered another strong performance from the pitching circle. She struck out five and issued just one walk without surrendering a run on seven hits.

Fayette coach Bri Moore said pitching a shutout on senior night was another big moment for her starting pitcher.

“I think it was pretty surreal for her. It’s one of our last home games. She left her mark here, big time.”

Morris led all pitchers in strikeouts with eight in five innings of work for Glasgow. The lefty gave up seven runs (5 earned) on eight hits and walked three batters.

At the plate, Glasgow recorded seven hits, all singles, but couldn’t plate a run. Graves and Monnig each finished with multi-hit games. Graves went 3-for-3, followed by a 2-for-3 performance by Monnig. Fuemmeler and Locke rounded out the hitting for Glasgow with one single apiece.

The loss dropped Glasgow’s record to 13-7 overall, with one game left in the regular season. The Lady Jackets were slated to host Westran on Tuesday after the Advertiser went to press.

Glasgow was seeded fourth in the Class 1 District 3 Tournament that starts today (Wednesday) in Glasgow. The Lady Jackets will take on fifth-seeded Slater at 5 p.m. The winner will advance to the semifinals on Friday against top-seeded New Franklin, which earned a first-round bye.

Fayette closed out Central State 8 action on Friday at Eugene, falling 8-4. Fayette trailed early but cut the deficit to one run with a run in the fifth and three in the sixth to make the score 5-4. But Eugene added three runs in the bottom of the sixth and shutout the Falcons in the top of the seventh to claim the conference victory.

Fayette finishes its first year in the new CS8 with a record of two wins against four losses.

Fayette concluded the regular season at home against familiar opponent Westran on Monday with a lopsided 18-3 win. The game was the second of three this season between the two former longtime Lewis & Clark Conference rivals.

Westran won the first bout with a stellar defensive performance in the New Franklin Tournament on September 14.

The two teams are scheduled to meet again today (Wednesday) for the opening round of the Class 2 District 8 Tournament in Harrisburg. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Fayette earned the fifth seed behind Westran’s fourth seed.

“It’s not really what we wanted. I think it’s going to be tough,” Moore said about the district tournament. The winner will move on to face Carrollton (23-1) on Thursday, which earned a first-round bye as the top seed in the tournament.

Fayette’s bats were primed in the home closer against Westran on Monday. The Falcons scored six runs in the first inning and two more in the second before exploding for nine runs in the third and one in the fourth to end the game after four innings.

Once again, Leah Thies and Skylar Sunderland hit for extra bases, each finishing with a double. The big hit of the night for Fayette came from senior Whitley Sunderland with an RBI-triple in her final game on her home field.

Fayette outhit Westran 10-5 and walked 11 times.

Junior Payton Kindle got the start against the Hornets on Monday. She allowed three unearned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk.