The Thunderbirds could only squeeze a single run out of their seven hits in Friday night's 6-1 non-conference loss to the state-ranked Bulldogs.
Sturgeon (12-4) - ranked No. 5 in Class 2 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association - broke on top with a run in the bottom of the second inning, tallied two more in the third and made it 5-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth. North Callaway put up its lone run in the top of the fifth when senior left fielder Cole Branson tripled and then scored when the throw eluded the Bulldogs' third baseman.
Sturgeon added its final run in the sixth. North Callaway (7-11) has lost three straight since edging South Callaway 7-6 in eight innings Monday night in Auxvasse.
Cole Branson finished 2-for-3 on Friday night, while his brother - sophomore catcher Wyatt - was also 2-for-3 with a double for the Thunderbirds. Senior third baseman Trevor Crisp went 1-for-3 with a double.
"We have to learn to get better swings at the plate," North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal said.
Senior starter Brandon Hagedorn lasted just two innings in taking the loss for the Thunderbirds. Hagedorn (1-6) gave up an unearned run on two hits, struck out two and walked none.
North Callaway (9-5) won the junior varsity game 3-0.
The Thunderbirds play Southern Boone at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the 21st-annual Fulton Tournament. The game will be played at Westminster College.
North Callaway will then face either Fatima or Mexico at 4:30 p.m. in the winner's bracket at the high school athletic complex or the consolation bracket at Westminster.