Box Score It took 420 pitches and more than four hours to decide it Tuesday, but Faulkner earned the right to put on the uniform and play one more game together in the 2021 season. The Eagles consistently kept the pressure on the Indiana Southeast pitching staff while turning to its own ace, Antonio Frias, in relief for a 14-10 victory in elimination play of the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. 

The Eagles hung four runs on the board in the top of the first as Sam Anthony's leadoff double set the stage for an offensive showcase that lasted the entirety of the contest. Shawn Ross worked dropped an 0-2 offering in the outfield for the RBI single to put Faulkner on the board. After an Alex Arauz single, Isaac Phillips pushed a base hit past the second baseman to plate Ross and put Faulkner up 2-0. Justice Lucas then doubled in two more runs and staked starter J.C. Toro to a 4-0 lead before he ever took to the mound. 

Toro appeared uncomfortable from the outset as Clay Woeste hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first. A single, a walk and a wild pitch allowed Daunte Decello to score on Marco Romero's grounder to narrow the gap to 4-2. Toro then used seven pitches to strike out Derek Wagner and seven more to fan John Ullom to end the inning. That proved to be the final out Faulkner's starting pitcher would record as he walked the first batter of the second inning and gave way to reliever Mike Battle. 

The Eagle offense looked to keep the run support coming in its half of the second as Jonathan Villa walked ahead of an Anthony homer to make it 6-2. After IU Southeast got both those runs back in the bottom of the second, Faulkner carried the 6-4 lead into the fourth when Villa coaxed another leadoff walk. Two batters later, John Michael Mathews hit a two-run shot to push it to 8-4. A throwing error in the home half of the fourth scored a Grenadier run from second base before IUS pushed in two more in the fifth. Frias entered amid a chaotic sequence in an 8-7 ball game in the fifth that resulted in the ejection of Faulkner pitching coach Phillip Hurst on a technicality related to multiple mound visits during the same at-bat. The sequence saw Ty Correa leave the game and give way to Frias. The umpire later called Correa back to the mound and ejected Hurst during a lengthy explanation. Correa then intentionally walked the batter for IUS and handed the ball back to Frias, who threw one pitch to induce a pop-up and end the inning. 

IU-Southeast got a leadoff double from Wagner in the bottom of the sixth and got him home on a Jacob Scott single up the middle with two outs to tie the game. 

With nine outs to play, the Faulkner offense then got back to work. Justin Lara drew a leadoff walk in the seventh before Villa followed with a single and gave way to courtesy runner Isaiah Brooks. Anthony then hit a 1-0 pitch over the batter's eye in center for his second homer of the contest to put the Eagles up 11-8. Ross later singled in the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch. Arauz got him to third on a grounder before a throwing error allowed Ross to score for the 12-8 advantage. Phillips, who reached on the throwing error, stole second and scored on a Lucas single to make it 13-8. Faulkner added one more run in the eighth on Matthews' second homer of the day. 

IUS scratched out two more runs in the eighth to cut the deficit to four and got the leadoff runner abord in the ninth before Frias induced a liner to short and fanned the next two hitters to end the game. 

Frias (13-0) struck out six batters in 4.1 innings of work, becoming the first pitcher in Faulkner history to reach 300 career strikeouts. He sits at 138 strikeouts on the campaign, improving upon the single season record he set Friday night against Lewis and Clark State. That mark also has him third in the NAIA in strikeouts. Frias is now 2-0 in the 2021 World Series with 19 strikeouts over 12.2 innings pitched. His batting average against mark sits at .159 and his ERA is at 2.22. 

Faulkner (40-11) advances to Wednesday where it will face elimination again. The Eagles' opponent and game time will be set by the tournament committee at the conclusion of play Tuesday night.