JACKSON, Miss. - Faulkner's early lead in Game 1 was short-lived this afternoon as Southern States Athletic Conference foe Belhaven exploded at the plate, pummeling the Lady Eagles 10-2 and 11-3 in two five-innings games.

Erin Byrd singled to left field in the top of the first inning in the opener and Tori Hollis followed with a two-run blast to give Faulkner an impressive start.

Belhaven's Denee' Crawford went yard in the bottom of the same inning, but another home run from Dominique Corona in the second set a strong tempo for the remainder of the outing.

Belhaven scored in all but the third inning of the opener and extinguished every subsequent effort Faulkner made at the plate. The Lady Eagles managed just three hits.

Mattie Dotson (6-5) took the loss giving up eight hits and as many earned runs in four innings from the circle.

Natalie Walker logged two outs in the fifth, giving up two hits and two earned runs in the abbreviated game.

Byrd was 1-for-2 with a run and Hollis did the same and knocked in both runs.

Game 2 wasn't any better for Faulkner.

Belhaven held a 5-1 lead after three complete innings, but Amanda Seales narrowed the gap with a two-run bomb in the top of the fourth.

Just as Faulkner began to claw its way back, the Blazers opened the flood gates. 

Belhaven tallied six hits and runs in its final two at-bats while the Lady Eagles compounded things with a two errors in the fifth.

Walker (7-5) allowed 12 hits and seven earned runs in just over four innings of work in the loss.

Seales went 1-for-2 with with a pair of RBIs and a run in Game 2.

Faulkner fell to 19-11-1 overall and 5-8-1 in the league. The Lady Eagles will host cross-town and division rival Auburn Montgomery on Tuesday. Faulkner swept the Warhawks last week. The doubleheader is set for 4 p.m.