MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner (49-10) will make the northwest passage to Lewiston, Idaho for the seventh consecutive year and the eighth time since 2011 after winning the NAIA Baseball Championship Montgomery Bracket Opening Round Wednesday. The Eagles' latest ticket to the Avista-NAIA World Series came by virtue of a 16-2 Faulkner victory over Hope International.

Faulkner amassed 17 hits on the evening, pulling away from the Royals with a four-run sixth inning.

Max Guzman (JR/Miami, Fla.) singled in Te'kwaan Whyte (SR/Stone Mountain, Ga.) in the frame before Hagen Holmstead (JR/Salt Lake City, Utah) ripped a double to drive home Jacob Freeland (SR/Cape Coral, Fla.). After Guzman scored, Troy Black (SO/Dayton, Ohio) hit a sacrifice fly to plate Holmstead for the 9-2 Faulkner advantage.

The Eagles put the game completely out of reach in the eighth with a five-run rally. Holmstead singled home Mike Battle (JR/Birmingham, Ala.). Black singled up the middle to drive in Sam Anthony (JR/Columbus, Ga.) and DeJhard Kimbrough (JR/Atlanta, Ga.). Marcus Ragan (SR/Vicksburg, Miss.) hit a grounder to push across Black before Whyte's flyball plated John Michael Mathews (JR/Birmingham, Ala.). A Jonathan Villa (JR/Ensenada, Mexico) double in the ninth drove in two more in the persons of Guzman and Black to set the final margin.

Faulkner struck first in the third when Myron Mebane (SR/Tallahassee, Fla.) it a sacrifice fly to center to score Whyte. The Eagles added three more in the fourth as Black and Mathews scored on a throwing error. Another error allowed Anthony to score, putting Hope International down 4-0. Sam Cohen got his team back in the game in the fourth with a two-run homer that briefly narrowed the gap to 4-2.

The offensive effort was plenty for Antonio Frias (JR/Panama City, Panama) (9-2) as the southpaw struck out four over six innings of work while scattering three hits and allowing two earned runs. Brandon Suttles (SR/Panama City, Fla.) worked a scoreless inning of relief while Israel Fuentes (JR/Chino Hills, Calif.) allowed one base runner in his two innings of work.