Box Score MOBILE, Ala. – A day after dropping a lopsided affair to Middle Georgia State in the semifinal, Faulkner found the offense to beat the Knights 14-8 and earn a spot in the SSAC Baseball Championship game. The Eagles fell behind 3-0 early before scratching out a run on a double play ball in the third to cut it to 3-1. 

John Michael Mathews hit a solo homer in the home half of the fourth to help spark the bats before they caught fire in the fifth. Jonathan Villa tripled in Justice Lucas and Sam Anthony to put Faulkner on top in the fifth. Shawn Ross then doubled in Isaiah Brooks. Isaac Phillips drove in Ross and Alex Arauz with a single to put the Eagles up 7-3. Faulkner added to it in the sixth when Justin Lara scored on a while pitch before Ross singled in Anthony to make it 9-3. 

Undaunted, Middle Georgia refused to go away. The Knights rallied for five runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 9-8. The final sequence of the inning saw a wild pitch allow Rafael Gomez Jr. to slide in safely before an overthrow of the pitcher allowed J.T. Rice to round third and head home. Mathews, the second baseman astutely, fielded the ball and fed it to Tyler Paulsen covering at home to apply the tag and preserve the lead. 

The Eagles then rallied for five more runs in the bottom of the eighth as Ross blasted a three-run homer. Phillips then singled in Arauz. Mathews drove in Phillips with a single to cap the scoring. 

J.C. Toro (6-2) struck out three over six for the win. Stafford Quinnelly worked an inning and two thirds of shutout ball for his fifth save.

Faulkner (35-8) moves on to the SSAC Baseball Championship game against William Carey for a 2:15 p.m. first pitch.