The Hornets allowed eight runs to the state-ranked Comets in the final two innings of a 9-5 non-conference loss on Monday at the high school athletic complex.
Fulton (7-8) had a 2-1 lead through five innings over Fatima, ranked No. 2 in Class 3 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association poll.
Sam Hager smacked a leadoff homer off of Hornets sophomore starter Luke Gray to even the game at 2-all. After the Comets drew back-to-back walks, Gray went to field a bunt by Fatima's Colby Luebbert.
Gray lost his footing on the infield, causing the ensuing throw to sail over the head of his first baseman and into the outfield. Two Comets scored and Luebbert ended up at third base.
Fatima tacked on another run that frame to take a 5-2 lead.
"The bunt and a couple of mistakes opened up the floodgates for us in the sixth inning," Fulton head coach Darren Masek said.
Gray completed 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits. He walked four and struck out three.
"He threw very well for the first five innings," Masek said. "He kept them off balance and had a lot of control."
The Hornets cut into their deficit with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Comets tallied another four-run frame in the top of the seventh.
Fulton - which was out-hit 10-6 - scored its final two runs in the bottom of the final frame.
Gray finished 1-for-2 with an RBI, while junior right fielder Trenton Clines was 1-for-3 with a double. Sophomore reliever Jared Peery was 1-for-3 with an RBI and sophomore catcher Isaiah Pani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run.
"We didn't hit the ball very well at all today," Masek said. "We didn't have too many hard-hit balls and we struggled throughout the game making contact."
The Hornets host another state-ranked foe - the Kirksville Tigers - in a North Central Missouri Conference tilt at 5 p.m. today.
The Tigers - ranked No. 7 in Class 4 - bested Fulton 6-3 on April 2 in Kirksville.