MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner got off the deck to win the opener then cruised in the nightcap, sweeping Mobile here Saturday at Harrison Field in a Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader to secure no worse than a tie for the regular-season league championship.

The third-ranked Eagles (41-11 overall, 21-3 SSAC) won a wild 7-6 extra-inning fair in Game 1, then turned the ball over to the hard-throwing Phillip Anderson in Game 2. Pitching in his final regular-season game on Senior Day, the Thomson, Ga., native scattered five hits and walked only one in en route to a 7-0 victory. He was relieved by fellow senior Victor Arche with one out in the seventh, and the lefty retired the final two Rams to end it.

In Game 1, Alexis Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk in extra innings to score Nick Cain with the winning run as the Eagles battled back from a 6-3 deficit in its final at-bat. With two outs and nobody on in the seventh, David Palenzuela singled and T.J. Condon doubled him in to cut the deficit to two. Mario Amaral then pounded a changeup from Mobile reliever Troy Andrews off of the scoreboard to send the game to the eighth. 

Miguel Castellanos (4-1) earned the victory, pitching a scoreless top of the eighth to set the stage for the victory in the bottom half. Chris Hopballe took the loss for the Rams, hitting a pair of batters and walking two more in the decisive frame.

Mobile (29-20 overall, 14-10 SSAC) sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the first inning of the opener, knocking out Faulkner starter Christian Torres after six hits and five runs. The Rams' Chandler Durham had the biggest hit in the frame, driving in a pair of runs with a double to the right-center field wall. Kurt Lipscomb replaced Torres with two outs, and retired the side.

Faulkner answered back in its half of the first, with a dropped third strike, a base hit and two walks resulting in a run. With the bases loaded and one out, Dario Polanco's infield grounder scored another run to make it 5-2. Mobile starter Josh Shelley then hit Dennis Morton and walked Nick Cain to forced in another run. The Eagles three first-inning runs came with only one hit.

The Rams added an unearned run in the fourth. Logan Palmer got aboard on an error by Faulkner shortstop Onix Martinez and later scored on Chris Hopballe's RBI single, resulting in a 6-3 Mobile lead. It stayed that way until the Eagles were down to their final out.

Palenzuela had three of Faulkner's six hits, while Amaral added a pair. Lipscomb was excellent in relief, tossing 6.1 innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out five and allowed just four hits, keeping the Eagles in the game and setting the stage for the comeback.

In the nightcap, Faulkner took the lead with a two-run third. Palenzuela's triple scored Darrius Jennings, who had singled, and Amaral's sacrifice fly put the Eagles on top 2-0. Amaral drove in his second run of the game with an RBI single to left in the bottom of the fifth inning, increasing the lead to 3-0. 

The Eagles broke it open in the sixth. Cain's solo homer pushed it to 4-0. Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Deivy Palmeiro to score, and Alexis Cruz followed with a sacrifice fly that staked Faulkner to a 6-0 advantage. Condon's run-scoring single extended the lead to seven.

Mobile went through four pitchers, with starter Dane Howard (4-5) taking the loss. Anderson (6-3) needed just 84 pitches to hold the Rams at bay before giving way to Arche. Palenzuela added three more hits in Game 2, as did senior T.J. Condon. Deivy Palmeiro added a pair to Faulkner's 11-hit attack.

Prior to the doubleheader Saturday afternoon, the Faulkner staff honored the 12 seniors and their families. Honored were Jennings, Arche, Amaral, Cain, Torres, Anderson, Lipscomb, Dennis Morton, Dario Polanco, Matt Martin, Mark Vasquez and Austin Burgett.

Faulkner travels cross-town to face Auburn Montgomery next week in the final SSAC series for both teams. The Eagles lead the Warhawks by three games in the standings and need just one win to win the SSAC regular season title outright. Thursday's single game begins at 6 p.m., with Friday's doubleheader set for a 3 p.m. start.