For the second year in a row, rain cut short the Fayette softball tournament. The Lady Falcons were hoping to claim their seventh straight title when last year’s title game ended early in a deluge. That game was never completed. This year, Mother Nature cut in during the third game of pool play, with Fayette leading Harrisburg 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning.

The one-run margin was enough for Fayette to claim victory since three innings were in the books.

Games were played at the high school field and the Fayette City Park ball field. Fayette opened the tournament with a 5-1 victory over Slater. Harrisburg escaped with a win over Slater, 9-8, in the second game on the high school field.

In park field action, Battle High School won a narrow victory over Jamestown, 1-0, in Game 1, and defeated Glasgow 8-0 in Game 3. Jamestown picked up a win over Glasgow, 10-1, in Game 2.

One highlight of the shortened tournament was a milestone for Fayette ace Skylar Sunderland. The senior delivered her 500th career strikeout as the Falcons rolled over Slater 5-1 in the opener.

Sunderland struck out an astounding 13 of 23 batters faced to open the tournament. She allowed just one earned run on three singles with three walks in six complete innings.

Backing her up was a lineup in which eight players recorded a hit, scoring five runs on nine total hits. 

The hit of the game came off the bat of Rylee Finley to leadoff the bottom of the third inning. The senior blasted the first pitch to the left field fence for a stand-up triple.

Finley finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Paige Vroman, Whitley Sunderland, Brooklynn Wies, Cayle John, Leah Thies, Hailey Kuster, and Kennady Vroman all singled.

Paige Vroman stole two bases. Whitley Sunderland, Wies, John, Finley, and Kennady Vroman each scored.

Fayette scored a crucial early run in the top of the first inning against Harrisburg in the second round of pool play. That one run made the difference when the game was called off due to rain in the top of the fourth. While the dusty field remained in playable condition, the wet weather was causing both the ball and the bases to become slick.

The Lady Falcons were fresh off a 14-4 loss at Harrisburg in Central State 8 Conference play on Thursday. Saturday’s abbreviated game still counts as a win—albeit not in conference standings—because three innings had been completed.

The lone run came on an error midway through the bottom of the first. Paige Vroman and Wies had both walked, giving Fayette runners at first and second with one out. Vroman advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on an error by the Harrisburg catcher to go up 1-0.

Skylar Sunderland cruised through three innings, striking out seven of 10 batters. She allowed zero hits or runs but gave up one baserunner on a walk.

Harrisburg sophomore pitcher Brette Ackman allowed one run on two hits, struck out two batters, and issued two walks. She hit two batters in the top of the fourth that can be credited to issues gripping the ball in the rain. That led to the umpires calling the game and, therefore, the remainder of the tournament.

Fayette had hoped that its event would cure its tournament woes. The Lady Falcons finished 1-2 in both the Boonville and New Franklin tournaments this season. They will not face another tournament situation until districts at the end of October.

Fayette was set to return to CS8 action on Monday at Eugene, but the game was canceled due to more rainy weather. The Falcons travel to Russellville on Thursday for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Fayette returns home to face a dominant Northeast-Cairo team on Monday. Already the Lady Bearcats have secured double-digit wins this season with victories over such teams as Moberly and Westran.

The Falcons are now 9-6 on the season. Their only hope of finishing with 20 or more wins for the fourth straight season will be to win the remaining games on their schedule and go deep into the district tournament.