MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Michael Cruz's two-run home run handed Faulkner a lead and righthander Julian Esquibel took it from there, completely shutting down Belhaven in a 10-0 Eagles' rout here Saturday and a sweep of the opening Southern States Athletic Conference three-game series at Harrison Field.
Esquibel turned in the third dominating pitching performance of the weekend for the Eagles (12-1 overall, 3-0 SSAC), who won for the ninth straight time, outscoring the Blazers (7-7 overall, 0-3 SSAC) 27-2 in the three games. The junior allowed only five hits, striking out seven and not issuing a walk in his seven innings of work.
"Julian tossed a gem," Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy said. "He really had command today and came out ready to pitch. Our offense was able to see a lot of pitches and we absolutely dominated every facet of the game today."
After the Cruz two-run shot in the second, the Eagles added three more in the third to push the lead to 5-0. David Bishop drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Luis Sanchez followed with an RBI double and Esteban Paula a run-scoring single as Faulkner took control.
Faulkner scored in each of the next three innings as well to end the game by the 10-run rule. Bishop's single drove in two runs in the fourth, Dauris Holguin homered in the fifth, and Ethan Williams' RBI single highlighted a two-run sixth.
Bishop had two hits and three RBI on the day, which also saw Williams add a pair of hits. Eight different Eagles had hits in the game.
Faulkner hosts Cumberland Tuesday afternoon at 1 at Harrison Field.
"We need to be ready for Cumberland," McCarthy said. "They are a very tough ball club."
