by Carter Moles

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner (47-6, 20-4 SSAC) capitalized on a nine-run seventh inning to overwhelm Southern States Athletic Conference foe Martin Methodist (16-25, 10-14 SSAC) today in a 15-3 victory in the decisive game of the three-outing series here at Harrison Field.

The top-ranked Eagles opened the scoring in the third at-bat when T.J. Riles brought Te'kwann Whyte home, who recorded a triple in his trip to the plate.

The RedHawks answered with a four-run fourth inning to take a brief lead, but Ryan Rosa cut into the advantage with a two-RBI double in the fifth.

The Faulkner bats ignited in the seventh inning where Riles added two more RBIs to his total to give the Eagles the lead for good.

The offense onslaught continued, highlighted by an RBI-triple from Gage West and a pinch-hit, three-run long ball from Reid Long. 

West later added 3 more RBIs to his total with a homer in the 8th.

Austin Paschke, Whyte, Rosa, and West all recorded multiple hits on the afternoon.

Tyler Tungate (7-0) picked up the win allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out four batters in a complete game effort.

Faulkner will be the top seed in next week's SSAC tournament at Patterson Field and will open play against eight-seeded Loyola. First pitch is slated for 7 pm on Wednesday.