COLUMBUS, Ga. - Faulkner caught fire this afternoon on day one of the Southern States Athletic Conference cross-divisional tournament here in Columbus. The Lady Eagles outscored their opponents 28-10 over three events. Faulkner struggled little in the opener, defeating Truett-McConnell 12-0 in just five innings before rallying in the seventh to knock off Brewton-Parker 11-6. The Lady Eagles then traded runs with No. 8 Brenau throughout the nightcap and fended off a seventh inning surge to emerge victorious 5-4.

Faulkner's slugfest was anchored by Heather Smith and Tori Hollis who accounted for 12 hits, 13 RBIs and eight runs on the day. The two mirrored each other at the plate and the results were nothing short impressive. 

Smith offered up a two-run homer in the second inning against Truett-McConnell and Hollis did the same in the bottom of the fourth.

Brewton-Parker decided to load the bases by walking Smith in the top of the third inning in Game 2, but Hollis punished the defense with a grand slam just moments later.

Not to be outdone, Smith reciprocated in the top of the seventh with a four-run blast of her own to cap the Lady Eagles' scoring efforts and solidify the win. It was Smith's second grand slam of the season.

Missy Duke (8-4) logged all three wins this afternoon. The senior scattered 13 hits and allowed only six earned runs in 16 innings of work. She had 12 strikeouts.

Mattie Dotson (1-8) secured two strikeouts in the final at-bat of the opener before starting Game 2. The freshman gave up 10 hits and a pair of earned runs in just under five innings from the circle against Brewton-Parker.

"We've struggled with being consistent at the plate and making sure we produce when runners are in scoring position," head coach Hal Wynn said. "There's no question that leaving runners on second and third is just cutting your own legs out from under you. We did a really good job hitting today and we tightened things up some on defense. I think the girls finally got a taste for what they are capable of and now it's just a matter of doing it every time we take the field."

Tomorrow could prove the toughest of the three-day tournament. The Lady Eagles (9-12/4-5) will kick things off with No. 16 Lee at 1 p.m. before taking on No. 12 Shorter at 3 p.m.