Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. - William Carey jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and Faulkner could never recover, as the Crusaders cruised to a 9-5 victory here Saturday afternoon in the rubber game of a Southern States Athletic Conference series at Harrison Field.
The SSAC series loss was Faulkner's first since dropping two games at No. 16 Brewton-Parker last season. For William Carey it's the second straight time it has come to Montgomery and taken a conference series from Faulkner at Harrison Field. The Crusaders also took two-of-three games from the Eagles in 2013, the season Faulkner won the Avista-NAIA World Series. Faulkner took two-of-three last season from the Crusaders in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The Eagles dropped to 29-5 on the season and 12-3 in the SSAC, while the Crusaders improved to 16-14 overall and 9-6 in the conference.
It didn't take long for William Carey to take control against Faulkner starter Kurt Lipscomb, who entered the game with a perfect 6-0 record. Tyler James led off the top of the first with a single and Tyler Richardson followed with a double. James scored the game's first run on an infield groundout and Richardson crossed on a throwing error by Eagle shortstop Edgar Figueroa.
In the third William Carey chased Lipscomb, who surrendered four runs on four hits and a walk in the inning. Two relievers - Christian Torres and Patrick McGrady - each allowed an inherited runner to score as the Crusaders built a 6-0 lead.
Faulkner trimmed the deficit to 6-4 in its half of the third inning. Chris Madera and Figueroa both walked, and Robert Llera followed with his sixth home run of the season. Larson Barkurn then entered in relief for the Crusaders, and subsequently loaded the bases with no outs on a pair of walks and a hit batter. Dario Polanco drove in the fourth run with a sacrifice fly to right, but Barkurn retired the next two hitters to end the threat.
The Crusaders added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, with Michael Wells and Richardson providing the RBIs to push the cushion to 8-4. The Eagles' Dennis Morton cut the margin to 8-5 with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but William Carey got the run right back in the top of the eighth on an RBI single from Alex Buechler.
After entering with nobody out in the Faulkner third, Barkurn (3-1) went the rest of the way for the Crusaders, allowing only two runs on two hits. Lipscomb (6-1) took the loss, surrendering five earned runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Faulkner hosts fifth-ranked Georgia Gwinnett Tuesday night at Harrison Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 6.
