The Fayette Lady Falcons won the opening round of their own tournament Saturday morning, 11-0 over Sturgeon, behind the steady hitting of senior Preselee Sunderland and the solid pitching of freshman Payton Kindle.

Preslee finished the day hitting 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored. A hard-hit ground ball double to left in the top of the fifth inning put two runners in scoring position for Fayette. 

The senior shortstop led three Falcons with multiple hits in the game. Leadoff hitter Addison Newell finished the day with two hits and one RBI. Junior Addison Powell delivered two hits and a run scored. 

Fayette power hitters Megan Lewis and Hannah Quint had one hit each on the day but combined for three RBI. Lewis’s single in the top of the first inning drove in the first two runs of the game for Fayette.

In the top of the fourth, Quint homered on a blast over the right-field fence to give Fayette a commanding 8-0 lead with one out. The solo home run with Quint’s fifth in 15 games this season. 

Fayette scored 11 runs on 11 hits and drove in seven runs. Fayette walked six times and struck out once. Freshman Leah Thies finished the game with one hit in two at-bats. She drove in two runs with a run scored and walked twice. Sophomore Skylar Sunderland rounded out the Falcon hitting with one hit in two at-bats and a run scored.

Kindle notched her third win of the season from the pitching circle with the morning shutout. She allowed only three hits all game and issued zero walks.

The Falcons move on to face Slater at 12:30 p.m. in the second round of pool play. A win would send Fayette to the championship game at 4 p.m. at the high school field.