Three Fulton pitchers combined on a three-hitter as the Hornets regrouped for a 5-1 North Central Missouri Conference triumph over Marshall on Thursday night at the high school athletic complex.
Fulton - ranked No. 4 in Class 4 - raised its season record to 3-1 and evened its NCMC mark at 1-1. The Hornets had stumbled in an 11-1 loss at No. 3 Boonville in their conference opener Tuesday night.
"This was a great bounce-back win," Fulton head coach John Brinkmann said Thursday night. "It's always nice to get that first conference victory."
Senior starter Luke Gray picked up the win for the Hornets, tossing three perfect innings while striking out four. Senior Taylor Nelson went the next three innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits, also striking out four.
Senior Jared Peery - moving over from first base - worked the seventh, allowing a hit and striking out two. None of the three pitchers issued a walk.
"All three guys pitched exceptionally well," Brinkmann said. "They were down in the zone, they threw strikes and they made (Marshall) hit the ball."
Fulton got off to a promising start, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Gray drew a two-out walk and was replaced by sophomore courtesy runner Brock Fisher, who promptly stole second and went to third on Peery's single to center.
Senior catcher Isaiah Pani followed with a single to right, scoring Fisher and sending Peery to second. Senior designated hitter Cameron Vititoe then singled to left, advancing Peery and junior courtesy runner Solomon Huff. Peery eventually scored from third on an error to make it 2-0.
The Hornets tacked on their other three runs in the fourth. Vititoe led off the inning with a double to left and moved to third when senior left fielder Devon Keltner reached on an error.
Vititoe and Keltner both scored on passed balls and then senior second baseman Josh Quick was safe on another Marshall error with two outs. Senior shortstop Devin Masek extended Fulton's lead to 5-0 when his single to right scored Quick.
The Owls avoided the shutout when they scored their only run in the top of the sixth.
Vititoe and Peery were both 2-for-3 as the Hornets ended up with seven hits. Pani finished 1-for-2, while Masek and Keltner were both 1-for-3.
"We kept our weight back (at the plate) and were driving the ball," Brinkmann said. "We did a better job in our mental approach with at-bats."
Fulton travels to Kirksville for an NCMC game against the Tigers at 10 a.m. Saturday, then squares off against Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame at noon.
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