Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner centerfielder Chris Madera had two hits, scored a run, drove in another and threw out two baserunners at the plate and the 10th-ranked Eagles rode an impressive performance by starting pitcher Christian Torres to a 3-1 victory here Wednesday over Campbellsville at Harrison Field on Day 2 of the Montgomery Bracket of the NAIA Baseball National Championships.
With the victory, Faulkner (47-13) moves into the championship round of the five-team tournament, which sends its winner to Lewiston, Idaho, and the Avista-NAIA World Series May 22-29. The Eagles, who need just one more win to advance to the World Series for the third-straight season, will play at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon against the survivor of the elimination bracket. Lyon beat Northwood 10-7 in 11 innings in Wednesday's late game, and will face Campbellsville Thursday morning at 11. The winner of that game faces Faulkner at 3. The Lyon-Campbellsville winner would have to beat the Eagles twice, with the IF game scheduled for Friday.
"This is an emotional time for me, because our guys battled so hard today against a really fine baseball team," Faulkner head coach Patrick McCarthy said. "That was a great game with great plays on both sides. Torres was incredible, and Madera, well, we're spoiled with him. We've grown to expect that kind of game from him, and that's probably not fair to be honest. We still have more work to do, but I'm really proud of our team for the way they refused to give in today."
Torres (6-1) and Campbellsville starter Jake Pannunzio (3-1) were both excellent, with the game scoreless through three innings. The Tigers actually had the first chance to break the ice. With Chris Allen on and one out in the bottom of the first, Faulkner leftfielder Junior Santos made a diving catch headed back toward the wall then wheeled and threw a one-hopper back to first baseman Cody Sos to double up Allen.
Faulkner broke in front in the fourth. Madera led off with a single and was at third with two outs when Randy Joung singled to left to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Junior Santos singled with two outs and after advancing to second on a Pannunzio balk, scored on Madera's single to center to push the Faulkner advantage to 2-0.
Madera kept the Eagles' lead at two in the bottom of the fifth when he gunned out Garrett Everhart at the plate trying to score from second on a base hit by Chris Allen. An inning later, the senior proved again why he was the Player of the Year in the Southern States Athletic Conference. After a a dropped third strike allowed the Tigers' sixth inning to be extended, Miguel Solano singled in a run to trim the margin to 2-1. Everhart followed with another single to centerfield, but once again Madera was there to make a play that kept Faulkner in the lead. His throw to catcher Robert Llera was perfect, cutting down Alex Kline at the plate trying to score the tying run.
Torres, who struck out 10 and scattered six hits, walked Carlos Torres with one out in the eighth and was replaced by Phillip Anderson. One out later Kline singled to put runners at first and third, but Anderson struck out Solano to end the threat. Alejandro Castro tossed a perfect ninth for the Eagles to nail down the victory, earning his eighth save of the season. Pannunzio was the tough-luck loser, allowing two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Joung had three hits and two RBIs for the Eagles, while Madera was the only other Faulkner player with multiple hits in the game. Allen and Solano each had a pair of hits for the Tigers (29-12).
In the tournament's first elimination game played Wednesday morning, Northwood lost all of a nine-run lead before scoring an unearned run in the 10th inning on Luis Roman's sacrifice fly for a 10-9 victory over St. Francis. The win, the Seahawks' 40th of the season, set up their battle Wednesday night against Lyon.
Northwood's big lead dwindled over the last four linnings. Leading 9-0 headed to the bottom of the sixth, the Seahawks opted to replace their starting pitcher and position players and St. Francis battled all the way back. The Saints scored three times in the sixth inning, five times in the eighth and once in the bottom of the ninth to send the contest into extra innings.
Keivan Berges homered in the second to give Northwood a 1-0 lead and in the third doubled in two in a three-run outburst for a 4-0 advantage. Andrew Danner's two-run double highlighted the fourth, as the Seahawks scored three more for a seven-run advantage. In the sixth, Carlos Contreras drove in a run with a single and Gabby Mundo's triple plated another as the advantage ballooned to 9-0.
St. Francis began its comeback in its half of the sixth following a number of Seahawk substitutions. Brandon Mendoza's two-run single was part of a three-run inning that trimmed the margin to 9-3. In the eighth, the Saints pounded out six hits to draw close. Mendoza, Zach Barkdull, Kyle Burton all had RBI base hits for St. Francis, which also benefited from a Northwood error in the frame. Seahawks' head coach Jeremy Kennedy then re-entered three starters before the inning ended, which closed with his team on top 9-8.
The Saints tied it in the bottom of the ninth on Mendoza's fourth hit of the game, and RBI single to left. The Seahawks took advantage of a costly error on St. Francis second baseman Kevin Mampe in the top of the 10th which ultimately led to the game-winner. After Mundo made it all the way to second on the misplayed grounder, he was sacrificed to third and scored on Luis Roman's RBI flyout. St. Francis was retired in order in the bottom half to end it.
Saint Francis, the Montgomery Bracket's fifth seed, ended its season at 27-28.
In the final game of the day, Lyon scored five runs in the top of the 11th inning, taking advantage of three Northwood errors to eliminate the second-seeded Seahawks. Griffin Glaude's three-run double highlighted the inning, with another run scoring on Joseph Sitzman's single. Dylan Wooten also scored on the play on an errant throw from the outfield.
Lyon (35-12) advances to face Campbellsville at 11 a.m. Thursday morning, with the winner of that game moving into the championship round against Faulkner. It would take two victories over the top-seeded Eagles to win the Montgomery Bracket championship. Northwood, which scored a pair of unearned run in the bottom of the 11th but could get no closer, finished its season at 40-13.
The game of the day was scoreless until the top of the sixth. Lyon's Kris Kohlstedt drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Joe Campbell scored the second on a wild pitch. The lead lasted until the bottom of the seventh when the Seahawks scored three unearned runs.
With two outs and runners on first and second, the Scots' Dylan Wooten bobbled a ground ball to third that loaded the bases. Joee Reyna then dribbled a grounder between the mound and third base, but Lyon pitcher Tyler Tognarine's throw to first was wild, allowing all three baserunners to score.
The seesaw battle swung the other way in the top of the eighth. Griffin Glaude's RBI single tied it, and he later scored on an error to put Lyon back on top 4-3. Northwood tied it in the bottom of the eighth when Keivan Berges was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, eventually sending the game to extra innings tied at 4 apiece.
Both teams scored runs in the 10th. Lyon's Kraig Kelley gave the Scots a 5-4 lead with an RBI single in the top half, only to see the Seahawks tie it with two outs in the bottom half on a throwing error by Wooten.
