MOBILE, Ala. – Faulkner starting pitcher Corey Black cruised into the ninth inning with a four-run lead over Mobile, but needed a strikeout with the bases loaded to survive as the Eagles held off the Rams 5-4 here Friday in the first of a three-game Southern States Athletic Conference series.
Having allowed only two hits and an unearned run through an impressive eight innings, Black entered the ninth against the top of the batting order. Five hits and a walk later, the advantage had dwindled to a run and the hard-throwing righthander faced Parker Hollinghead with the bases full of Rams. Black (8-1) overpowered Hollinghead on three pitches, sending the sixth-ranked Eagles to their 10th win in a row.
With the victory, Faulkner (34-9 overall, 19-3 SSAC) heads into Saturday's action in no worse than a tie for the top spot in the SSAC standings. Mobile dropped to 19-20 overall and 10-12 in the conference.
"We played really well and fought through some adversity in the ninth," Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy said. "It was a gutsy performance by Corey in the ninth to get the last guy swinging with the bases loaded. I'm proud of our team."
After three errors in the bottom of the second handed Mobile a 1-0 lead, the Eagles' bats came to life. After a Brook Boudreaux single and a Tucker Willard double in the top of the third, Craig Massey's RBI single tied the game at 1. An inning later, John Gunnels, Willard and Massey all had run-scoring hits to life Faulkner to a 4-1 lead.
Faulkner added an unearned run in the sixth to build the lead to 5-1, and Black was masterful until the Rams rallied in the ninth.
Boudreaux and Daniel Cayton led the Faulkner attack with three hits apiece, while Willard and Massey added two hits each.
The Eagles and Rams resume the series Saturday with a doubleheader. Game 1 is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
