MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Eagles shrunk the magic number to clinch the regular season conference title outright to three after a pair of thrilling wins Friday afternoon at Harrison Field against a talented Talladega squad 8-7 in extras before a 3-2 nightcap win to sweep the series. Faulkner came from behind to win both games and has done so in its last five wins.
FAULKNER 8, TALLADEGA 7 (9 Inn.)
The ninth inning brought every bit of drama and excitement of a postseason game in a regular season matchup as Faulkner won on a walk-off walk as the frame saw the two teams combine for six different pitchers and five runs in the scheduled seven inning contest.
Talladega struck twice in the ninth and had bases loaded with two outs when
Chance Denson entered the game and fired a pitch that skipped to the backstop. The runners took off and
Alex Arauz recovered the ball and got it to Denson, beating the charging runner to the plate for the third out. Denson (2-0) picked up the win throwing the least amount of pitches of any of the 10 different pitchers in the game.
Faulkner found a way yet again in the bottom half of the ninth, capitalizing on six free passes to score three runs despite not recording a hit.
Juan Trinidad and
Alex Arauz walks sandwiched
Shawn Ross being hit by a pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Trinidad during
Justice Lucas's at bat before he was intentionally walked to load the bases again and put the force play back on.
Evan Gilliam brought in the tying run with a sacrifice fly to right on the only ball the Eagles had to put into play in the inning.
Jordan Funk intentionally walked the next at bat to load the board again. With the pitcher spot due up in the eighth after some defensive changes burned the designated hitter position,
Patrick McCarthy turned to
Tyberius Correa who drew a four pitch walk in just his second plate appearance of the season to win the game.
A wild pitch started the scoring for Talladega in the first, but a Gilliam sac fly tied the game 1-1 in the second ahead of a wild pitch returning the run to the Eagles for a 2-1 lead. Faulkner's lead would be short-lived as a fielder's choice scored a run for the Tornadoes in the third.
Shawn Ross took the lead with a monstrous two-run home run to left that easily cleared the scoreboard and likely embedded in someone's yard across Wares Ferry Road in the bottom half of the same frame. The top half of the fourth had more power as Jose Santiago launched a solo shot deep in the Montgomery air in left to bring it to a 4-3 game.
Miguel Oropeza, one of the best bats in the country, proved it yet again this weekend, hitting a double down the left field line to tie the game in the fifth. Oropeza accounted for five of the team's 16 hits on the weekend in 10 at bats, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Eagles. A groundout brought in the go-ahead run for the Tornadoes in the fifth. Lucas tied the game up for the fourth of the five times in the contest with a fifth-inning single to score Arauz. The game would hold at 5-5 each until the hectic ninth.
The Eagles drew 14 walks in the contest while surrendering just four, affording the home team the runners it struggled to find against a gutsy outing out of the bullpen from Olivier Cruz who threw 99 pitches in the no-decision.
Arauz went 2-3 with three runs scored while Ross and Gilliam had two RBIs each.
FAULKNER 3, TALLADEGA 2
While the team is relatively young, it was the seniors leading the way the Eagles swept a conference series for the fourth time this season.
July Sosa turned in another brilliant start, striking out 11 and allowing just two runs and three hits with one walk in the complete game win while
Shawn Ross drove in all three runs including another two-run homer in the fifth to take the lead that Sosa hold true in the seven inning contest.
The Tornadoes did something just two teams prior had done, score two on the Faulkner ace. The guests did all their damage in the second inning following an Oropeza leadoff single.
Ross halved the lead in the third with a sacrifice fly to score
Kam Wells who replaced
Alex Arauz on the basepaths after a leadoff double by the backstop and a sacrifice bunt from Sammy de la Cruz.
After Trinidad was hit by a pitch, Ross hit his second homer of the day and seventh in SSAC play to take the lead. Sosa collected three strikeouts in the final two innings to close the game out and earn his seventh win.
Lucas drew two walks against Norberto Hernandez who held the Eagles to just three runs and six hits over 144 pitches in the loss.
Faulkner holds a three game lead in the SSAC over new second-place Loyola with six games left for each team. Mathematically, just four teams can still claim the top seed in the SSAC tournament in a couple weeks, but William Carey and Brewton-Parker would need Faulkner to lose out and themselves to win out to climb level.
The Eagles turn their attention towards a midweek contest at No. 24 Reinhardt Wednesday afternoon.
