by Taylor Hodges

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner's No. 2 ranked Eagles (4-0) defeated the Cumberland University Phoenix 5-2, 6-3 respectively on Thursday night, headlined by a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning of game one by Te'kwaan Whyte.

Faulkner's pitching in the first game was hot, as the Eagles saw four pitchers strikeout 14 Cumberland batters, and only giving up three walks.

It was a hot start at the plate for the Eagles, scoring all five of their runs in the first two innings.

Braden Olive got the start on the mound, striking out four batters and only giving up one run.

Whyte scored two runs and had four runs batted in on the grand slam.

Alex DuBord started on the mound in game two, throwing five complete innings without giving up a single hit. DuBord was pulled at the start of the sixth inning and was replaced by Donte' Glover. Four other Eagles saw time on the mound.

Faulkner jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning after an error brought in Luis Duran, Ryan Rosa stole home on a wild pitch and T.J. Riles scored on a Gage West single.

The Eagles were able to grab one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning before the Phoenix attempted a valiant comeback, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Faulkner quickly bounced back in the bottom half of the sixth when Reid Long advanced to home on the Jamal Howard single and Olive reached home on a wild pitch.

The Eagles are expected to play Cumberland in a single-game matchup tomorrow at noon, weather pending.