NEW ORLEANS - Red-hot Faulkner got great pitching performances from Victor Arche and Kurt Lipscomb and blasted six home runs on the day en route to a dominating sweep of its Southern States Athletic Conference  doubleheader here Saturday afternoon against Loyola. The second-ranked Eagles won the first game 4-0 and took the second 8-3, running their winning streak to nine. It's the second time this season that Faulkner has won nine in a row.

With the three-game sweep of the Wolf Pack, the Eagles improved to 27-3 overall and 11-2 in the SSAC. In its chase for a fourth consecutive SSAC regular season title, Faulkner trails in the standings only Auburn Montgomery, which is 9-0 in the conference as it prepares for three league games against Martin Methodist over the next two days.

"We're playing really good baseball right now, but the key to having a special season is staying consistent in all areas," Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy said. "I believe we have a mature ball club - one that realizes that this is a marathon and not a sprint. As I've said before, our goal each conference weekend is to win the series. We did that this weekend. Now it's time to move on to the next, and stay focused each step of the way."

Arche was phenomenal in the opener, facing the minimum in the seven-inning shutout. He did allow two hits, but both base runners were retired on double plays. While striking out nine, the junior left hander did not walk a batter and the Wolf Pack left nobody on base the entire game.

All the support Arche would need came in the top of the second inning when Alexis Torres led off with a solo home run. Chris Madera added an RBI single later in the frame to the put the Eagles on top 2-0. 

Randy Joung homered for Faulkner in the third to make it 3-0, and added another insurance run in the top of the seventh. Greg Howard, pinch-hitting for Junior Santos, doubled and after Santos re-entered the game to run he advanced to third on Madera's sacrifice. Joung then drove in the final tally of the game with an infield single.

Joung finished with three hits and two RBIs, while Nick Cain added a pair of hits and a run scored. Seven other Eagles had base hits in the 12-hit attack. Kevin Lindsey (3-4) took the loss for Loyola.

In the nightcap, after Loyola (14-16 overall, 3-12 SSAC) scored an unearned run off of Lipscomb in the bottom of the first, Faulkner took the lead in the top of the second. Dario Polanco led off with a walk and stole second and third, and scored on Daniel Pappas' wild throw. Cody Sos followed with a solo home run, and the Eagles were on top 2-1.

In the third, Madera singled, stole second and advanced to third on another throwing error by Pappas. Torres then made it 3-1 with a sacrifice fly. Faulkner stayed hot in the fourth, with Sos drawing a one-out walk which was followed by a Mario Amaral single. Santos drove in a run with a double to left, and Madera plated another with a sacrifice fly to push the advantage to 5-1.

In the fifth Faulkner busted it wide open when Robert Llera, Dennis Morton and Polanco went deep with back-to-back-to-back home runs, building the lead to 8-1. Jack Charleston replaced Lipscomb in the sixth and allowed a pair of hits in the inning, the last a run-scoring double by Luis Angiuzola to trim the margin to 8-2. Charleston allowed only one more hit the rest of the way as the Eagles cruised to the six-run victory.

Lipscomb improved to 6-0 on the season, allowing just two hits and no earned runs. He struck out six and walked only two walks. Llera had three hits in the game for Faulkner while Cain added two. Sos and Polanco scored two runs apiece.

On the day, Faulkner collected 24 hits to just seven for Loyola.

Faulkner travels to West Point, Ga., Tuesday afternoon to take on Point. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 central time. The Eagles host William Carey next weekend in a three-game SSAC series at Harrison Field. The first game is Friday night at 6 p.m.