MONTGOMERY, Ala. - No. 2 Faulkner dropped a 3-2 decision to William Carey in the opener of a Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader here Friday afternoon, then took out its frustrations in a 12-0 walloping in the nightcap at Harrison Field.

The split left the Eagles, who saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end in Game 1, with a 29-4 overall record and a 12-2 mark in the conference. William Carey is now 15-14 overall and 8-6 in the league.

"I continue to like how we respond to adversity," said Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy, who had 17 different players gain at-bats in the second-game blowout. "I think it's a sign of a mature team."

In the rebound performance in Game 2, Robert Llera ripped a two-run homer in the third inning to get the Eagles going. Edgar Figueroa, who had singled, also scored on the blast over the left-field wall. Faulkner broke it open in the fourth, scoring seven times against four William Carey pitchers to push the advantage to 9-0. 

Joung singled and later scored when Kevin Torres drew a bases-loaded walk, which was followed by an RBI single by Chris Madera and a sacrifice fly from Figueroa. Llera then knocked in his third run of the game on a looper to right, and Dennis Morton made it 7-0 on an infield groundout. Joung, in his second at-bat of the inning, doubled in two more for a 9-0 Faulkner lead.

Greg Howard's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth made it 12-0, and when Faulkner starter and winner Victor Arche retired the Crusaders in the seventh, the game was called due to the mercy rule. Arche (6-1) allowed only four hits and struck out eight to earn the victory, while Brandt Bourgeois took the loss for William Carey.

In the first game, Faulkner starter Phillip Anderson struggled from the outset, allowing a pair of walks, a single and a two-run homer in the opening inning. After Tyler James walked, Tyler Richardson smashed an Anderson offering well over the left-center field wall for a 2-0 Crusader lead.

Chris Madera blasted a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first to trim the lead to 2-1. Anderson again ran into trouble in the second, but this time survived unscathed. With the bases loaded and one out, Wes Brown was picked off third by a perfect throw from Llera from behind the plate. After issuing a walk to reload the bases, Anderson struck out Alex Buechler to end the threat.

Faulkner tied it in the third. Madera walked with one out, stole second and third, and scored when Crusader starting pitcher Gavin Culpepper was called for a balk. The Crusaders jumped back ahead in the top of the sixth when pinch hitter Mason Woodrow drove in a run with a bloop single to center field off of Faulkner reliever Jack Charleston, and the Eagles never threatened again.

Culpepper (4-1) did not issue a walk, struck out six and 20 of the 21 outs he recorded were either by flyout, strikeout or pickoff. Kevin Torres got Faulkner's last hit in the fifth, but Culpepper picked pinch runner Alexis Torres off first. The Eagles' only ground ball out came in the fifth, when Figueroa bounced out to third. Charleston, who entered the game in the top of the fifth, allowed just the one run but suffered the loss to drop to 3-1 on the season.

All four of Faulkner's losses this season have been in seven-inning games, and all four have been avenged in the very next game. Lindsey Wilson, Mobile, Talladega and now William Carey have beaten the Eagles, with all having lost the subsequent outing.

The two teams complete their three-game series Saturday afternoon with a nine-inning game starting at 1.