MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Top-ranked Faulkner battled from behind with three unanswered runs and pitchers Patrick McGrady and Kurt Lipscomb were near perfect in relief as the Eagles edged Belhaven 4-3 here Saturday afternoon to sweep their Southern States Athletic Conference three-game series at Harrison Field.

Faulkner (25-5 overall, 10-2 SSAC) increased its lead to two games atop the conference standings, thanks to Brewton-Parker's loss at Martin Methodist. Belhaven, which came into the weekend tied with the Eagles for first place, fell to 22-7 overall and 7-5 in the league.

The Eagles outhit the Blazers 11-3, but the visitors took advantage of the wildness from Faulkner starter Jay Gause, who walked seven batters and hit another in 3 2/3 innings of work. Gause allowed all three Belhaven runs, with each run scorer having reached base by way of a free pass.

Faulkner scored first, with Esteban Paula crossing the plate in the second inning on a wild pitch by Blazer starter Chris Good. Belhaven tied it in the third when Emilio DeSilva singled in Josiah Richard, who had walked and moved to third on back-to-back balks by Gause. The Blazers took the lead in the fourth when DeSilva singled in a pair of runs for a 3-1 advantage. Before being replaced with two outs in the inning, Gause issued three walks and hit a batter. With the bases loaded, McGrady struck out Tyler Akins to prevent further damage.

Edgar Figueroa singled in Elvis Rodriguez in the bottom of the fourth to bring Faulkner to within 3-2, and Chris Madera scored on a wild pitch by Blazer reliever Ben Allison in the fifth to the game at 3. The Eagles scored the eventual winning run in the seventh when Paula, after being hit by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on a balk and scored on an infield groundout by Dauris Holguin.

The sparkling performances from McGrady and Lipscomb were the keys to the Faulkner victory. McGrady didn't allow a hit in 2 1/3 innings, while Lipscomb allowed only one in the final three innings to earn his second victory of the year. Figueroa was the only Eagle with multiple hits, collecting two singles.

"Sometimes you just have to grind it out to get a win, and today was one of those days," Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy said. "Baseball is a crazy game and today was a perfect example. It was such an up and down game, but McGrady and Lipscomb both got it done. We talk about consistency being the key to success, and we'll get back at it next week and hope to get better."

Faulkner hosts Southern Poly Tuesday afternoon at 4 in a non-league matchup at Harrison Field.