HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Ninth-ranked William Carey (19-5, 5-1 SSAC) inched by No. 23 Faulkner (25-6, 8-4 SSAC) 2-1 here in Game 1 of this afternoon's Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader, but the visitors earned the split with the 6-3 upset in the nightcap.

The Crusaders' two-run second inning in the opener ultimately proved enough to secure the win, though the Lady Eagles did cut the lead in half thanks to Kayla Gravatt's infield single in the top of the third.

The second event proved much more lively for Faulkner.

The visitors took a 1-0 lead on a wild pitch in the second inning before extending the advantage to four runs in the third.

The first two scores were again tallied on errors while the third resulted form a Shelby Brown single.

The home team gained a run back in the bottom of the third inning, but Faulkner was back at it in the sixth.

A Brown double and Caity Jo Lee RBI rounded out the Lady Eagle scoring leaving Faulkner with a 6-1 advantage and three outs to tally.

The Crusaders went to work in the do-or-die at-bat and did manage to reel in two more runs, but it wasn't enough to offset the sizable deficit.

Brown finished the contest 2-for-3 and dove in a third of the runs.

Caitlin Perry (12-3) allowed two earned runs on eight hits while striking out as many batters in the loss.

Emma Cornell (11-2) tallied the Game 2 victory posting similar numbers to Perry's. The lefty gave up two earned runs on eight hits and struck out two at the plate.

Faulkner will next travel to Pulaski, Tennessee, for an SSAC doubleheader against Martin Methodist. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Tuesday.