The Lady Falcons reclaimed the first-place trophy from their own tournament with a three-game sweep on Saturday. Fayette opened the day with an 8-6 win over Class 3 Fulton to open pool play. The Falcons shut out Glasgow 4-0, then won the championship over Class 5 Battle High School with a 6-0 decision.

“It’s a really great feeling,” said Fayette coach Bri Busker moments after her players hoisted the first-place trophy. “It was a good overall team win.”

Busker said coming in the tournament, her team knew they needed a change to their mindset. “More talking, more energy. We can’t let the little things get to us and affect our game. That’s the way we felt on Friday, and it made a difference today.”

Game 1

Fayette 8

Fulton 6

Fayette opened pool play with an 8-6 victory over Class 3 Fulton thanks to a five-run third inning.

The Falcons took a two-run lead in the top of the first, scoring the first run of the game with a bases-loaded walk to senior Kennady Vroman. Later, a fielder's choice on a ground ball by sophomore Camry Ballew scored freshman Hallie Ball to give Fayette a quick 2-0 lead.

Fulton answered with a run off an RBI double in the bottom of the second, closing the gap by one.

The Falcons broke the game open with five runs in the top of the third. After back-to-back walks were issued to Vroman and freshman Brylee Eubanks to start the inning, Ballew drove in a run on another fielder’s choice to score Vroman. Senior Greycen Syferd then drove in Eubanks on a ground ball to short.

Sophomore Blakley Baylor then reached on passed ball on strike three, scoring freshman courtesy runner Genavieve Kennedy from third.

Up 5-1 with one out, sophomore Jordan Barnhill drove in Syferd on a sacrifice groundout. Another run would score when senior Emma Hilgedick drove in Baylor on a pop fly single to center.

Fulton added a run in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back singles but still trailed by five runs.

The Falcons added what would turn out to be a crucial insurance run in the top of the fourth. Senior Brooklyn Wies was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. She would score on a passed ball two batters later to make the score 8-2 in favor of the Falcons.

Fulton nearly erased the margin with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Hornets put two runners on the base after an error and a single. Two batters later, a one-out triple, followed by a single and a sacrifice fly, drove in four runs to cut Fayette’s lead to just two runs.

“We had a couple of mental errors that affected us on the field. But at the end, it was a win,” Busker said. “When we needed it the most, they worked hard.”

Starting Fayette pitcher, sophomore Kennady Chew, struck out her final batter of the game to get out of the inning.

Fayette had another chance to score in the top of the fifth when Baylor sent a fly ball to left for a double. But she was stranded on base.

Freshman ace Brylee Eubanks pitched the final inning in relief, retiring the Fulton batters in order with two strikeouts bookending a popout.

Chew earned the win in the circle in her first start of the season. She allowed six runs (3 earned) on nine hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

Fayette drove in five of its eight runs on four hits and four walks while striking out twice. Hilgedick went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the only multihit game for the Falcons. Syferd had one hit in three at-bats with an RBI and scored a run. Baylor had the team’s only extra bases hit with a double in three at-bats and scored a run.

Game 2

Fayette 4

Glasgow 0

Fayette advanced to the championship game after defeating area rival Glasgow 4-0 in the second game of pool play.

“We got a run in four consecutive innings, and that’s what we needed,” Busker said.

The Yellowjackets escaped a high-scoring Game 1 against Fulton, 11-7. Their Game 2 loss sent them to the third-place game, which they won 16-1 in three innings.

Glasgow couldn’t drive a run home against Fayette despite having six base runners all game.

Fayette pitcher Brylee Eubanks recorded nine strikeouts in a complete-game shutout. She allowed just four hits and issued one walk to earn her eighth win in 12 starts.

At the plate, the Falcons drove in three of their four runs on 11 hits. Sophomore Camryn Ballew led the team with three hits in four at-bats with a run scored. Senior Greycen Syferd also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3. Eubanks recorded the team’s only extra-bases hit, an RBI double in the top of the fifth to score senior Kennady Vroman to give Fayette a 2-0 lead.

Leadoff hitter, senior Emma Hilgedick, went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Freshman Hallie Ball went 1-for-3 with a walk. Senior third baseman Brooklyn Wies drove in a run on one hit in four at-bats. Sophomores Blakley Baylor and Jordan Barnhill each singled. Baylor was hit by a pitch. Vroman, who walked once, scored two runs and stole one base without recording a hit.

Despite recording 11 hits, the Falcons left 10 runners on base.

Glasgow sophomore Kenley Strodtman took the loss in the circle after surrendering four runs (3 earned) on 11 hits with two walks and a strikeout.

Freshman Jaynie Foster recorded two of the Jackets’ four hits in three at-bats. Senior Aynslie Locke and freshman Emma Westhues each singled.

Game 3

Fayette 6

Battle 0

The Falcons left it on the field in the tournament championship, shutting out Columbia’s Battle High School 6-0. This was the second game between the two schools this season. The Spartans spoiled Fayette’s home opener with an 8-7 decision on August 30.

Busker said defeating Class 5 competition was big heading into Monday night’s game at Eugene and Thursday’s game at Russellville, both Central State 8 Conference contests.

The Falcons scored two runs in the top of the first with two outs on the board. Wies reached on an error, then rounded the bases and scored on consecutive singles by Vroman and Eubanks. Vroman also scored on Eubanks’s hit to take a quick two-run lead.

Fayette went up by three after Eubanks led off the top of the fourth with a triple to center field. Ballew drove her home on a pop-fly single.

But it was in the top of the fifth that Fayette broke the game wide open. Hilgedick led off with a single and came home on a one-out single by Wies. An error on a ground ball by Vroman and a single by Eubanks loaded the bases for Ballew. And the sophomore catcher didn’t disappoint. She blasted a line drive to center field, scoring Wies and Vroman to make it a six-run game.

The Fayette defense only allowed two Battle runners for the rest of the game. The Spartans would strand five runners on base all game, compared to six for the Falcons.

Eubanks earned her ninth win in 13 starts with the championship shutout. She struck out seven of 26 batters faced, surrendering just four hits and a walk.

“Brylee was great. She’s working hard,” Busker said.

Fayette drives in all six runs on 10 hits against two Battle pitchers. Eubanks tripled, hitting 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Vroman doubled, scoring twice with two hits in four at-bats.

Ballew led the offense with a game-high three RBI, hitting 2-for-4. Wies went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Fayette returned to Central State 8 action on Monday night, falling 3-1 at Eugene (8-4). The Falcons are now 10-6 overall with a 1-3 mark in the conference. Monday’s loss was the second to Eugene this season after losing 7-0 in the Boonville Tournament on August 29.

Fayette travels to Russellville (5-7) for another CS8 road game on Thursday night at 5 p.m. The Falcons return home on Monday to host Cairo (5-8) in non-conference action.