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Box Score 2 MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner pushed its winning streak to eight with a 6-0 victory over Judson here Saturday afternoon at Harrison Field, but then fell to Lindsey Wilson 4-0 behind a dominating pitching performance from Ryan Hartman.
Patrick McCarthy's fifth-ranked Eagles are now 17-2, and will conclude the weekend with a Sunday afternoon rematch with Lindsey Wilson, which moved to 7-5 with a pair of victories Saturday, the other coming earlier in the day over Lindenwood-Belleville. Sunday's game is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch.
Hartman struck out 15 Faulkner batters in the seven-inning game, striking out the side in the third, fourth and fifth innings. At one point 10 straight Eagle outs came by way of Hartman strikeouts. The hard-throwing left hander moved to 3-0 with the victory, and lowered his ERA to 0.50.
Hartman's performance overshadowed an excellent outing by Faulkner starter Christian Torres who, after surrendering solo homers in the first and second innings to Alex Bautista and Kory Weeks, was equally as dominant. The Blue Raiders managed two unearned runs in the fourth on a throw away by Faulkner first baseman Mario Amaral, but never had another baserunner the rest of the game. Torres went 6.1 innings, allowing just three hits while retiring the last 12 batters he faced.
Faulkner had a chance in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, only to see leadoff batter Chris Madera bounce into a fielder's choice to end the game. The Eagles' Edgar Figueroa was the only player in the game with multiple hits, going 3-for-3 against Hartman. Faulkner actually doubled Lindsey Wilson's hit total, collecting six to the three for the Blue Raiders.
In the whitewash of Judson, Faulkner scored six times in the first two innings on only two hits. Four Judson pitchers issued a whopping 10 walks in the two frames, with starter Ahren Ludwig allowing four of the free passes before being relieved only one out in the first as the Eagles grabbed a 2-0 lead. Alexis Torres' drove in one of the runs on a fielder's choice grounder, with the other scoring on a wild pitch.
In the second inning Dennis Morton singled in a pair of runs and Randy Joung and Nick Cain both drew RBI walks as the lead jumped to 6-0. Faulkner's final run came in the sixth inning. Morton doubled for his second hit of the game, and pinch runner Junior Santos later scoring on Cain's sacrifice fly.
Torres and Cain each had a pair of hits for the Eagles, who got two runs scored from Chris Madera. Arche scattered five hits and walked only one, striking out six en route to improving his record to 3-1 on the year.