A delayed start time of more than three hours and damp conditions in Lewiston, Idaho did nothing to limit Faulkner's opportunities Friday. Still, the Eagles proved unable to cash in while stranding 11 runners in a 6-3 loss to No. 4 ranked Georgia Gwinnett in Game 2 of the Avista NAIA World Series.

After Jacob Freeland (SR/Cape Coral, Fla.) hit his 10th homer of the season to lead off the fourth inning, the Grizzlies finally got to Evan Gillespie (JR/Princeton, N.J.) in the top of the fifth. Georgia Gwinnett left the bases loaded in the first and ditched another in scoring position in the third before cashing in with a Brody Wofford grand slam in the fifth. From there, Faulkner scuffled to play catch-up.

After the Eagles could do nothing with a Te'kwaan Whyte (SR/Stone Mountain, Ga.) double in the fifth, Max Guzman (JR/Miami, Fla.) narrowed the gap with a leadoff shot in the sixth.

The Eagle bullpen was incapable of converting the shutdown inning in the seventh, allowing Onassis Matos to single in a pair of runs to push the advantage to 6-2.

A pair of two-out singles Marcus Ragan (SR/Vicksburg, Miss.) and Whyte in the seventh gave Faulkner a chance to draw closer. Greg Loukinen induced Freeland to pop out on a 3-0 pitch, squelching the rally.

Faulkner's next best chance came in the eight. Guzman doubled to right center on a ball that narrowly missed becoming his second homer of the game. Hagen Holmstead (JR/Salt Lake City, Utah) reachd on an error to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Loukinen then picked off pinch runner DeJhard Kimbrough (JR/Atlanta, Ga.) to throw water on the Faulkner fire. Troy Black (SO/Dayton, Ohio) followed with a grounder to drive in pinch runner Mike Battle (JR/Birmingham, Ala.) from third and set the deficit at 6-3.

The Eagles looked to rally one more time in the ninth. Ragan drew a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Freeland singled to center. Matthew Swain forced a strikeout that preceded a grounder to second to end the game.

Georgia Gwinnett starting pitcher Pedro Garcia carved up the Faulkner lineup to the tune of 11 strikeouts over 6.2 innings of work while scattering seven hits and walking only one.

Faulkner (49-11) now faces elimination with each of its remaining games in the Avista NAIA World Series. Faulkner is set to face Bellevue (Neb.) Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in an elimination game.