MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Staring down the barrel of a blown lead and potentially a first-round loss in the national tournament, something
Patrick McCarthy's Eagles have never let happen at Harrison Field,
Alexis Saldana stepped onto the mound in relief with bases loaded in the top of the ninth and two outs to go. He faced the top of the Keiser lineup after
Brayan Garcia, usually an amazing closer, couldn't find his groove, allowing three singles and a walk to just one strikeout to bring the visitors within two.
If this season had taught Faulkner fans anything, it was that this sort of game would come down to this sort of situation for the cardiac kids. Matt Schrick was walked himself, bringing one more home to make it a one-run game before Saldana rung up Mason Dineson swinging. That might have provided a reprieve, if not for the tying run at the plate coming in the form of none other than the Sun Conference Player of the Year, senior third baseman Tim Bouchard. It could not end any other way. The Eagles' faithful were now on pins and needles, hoping and praying the moment wouldn't be too big for the sophomore hurler from Panama.
It was not.
Saldana earned the save on the called third strike, and the No. 2 seed Eagles defeated the 3-seeded Seahawks 7-6 to advance to the second-round winners matchup of the NAIA Opening Round Montgomery Bracket. The score was not indicative of the strong defensive effort by the hosts, holding five Seahawk batters hitless, including a highly impressive 0-5 line on Bouchard.
Despite the four runs allowed in the seventh inning,
July Sosa was dominant once again, striking out eight with just three walks issued on 25 at-bats and 109 total pitches. Keiser was held to six three-up-three-down innings, the last of those coming in the eighth and being issued by reliever
Nicholas Graham, who struck out Bouchard and Priamo Lozada in his one frame in the circle. Sosa had issued a perfect game through five and a no-hitter until the sixth before the visitors got to him in the next one. At the end of the sixth, Faulkner had tallied seven hits while surrendering none, and had benefited from two Keiser errors.
The Seahawk pitching staff only collected five strikeouts, though they only walked four. Starter Danny Galvan took the loss in just four innings pitched and 19 batters faced, allowing five hits, three runs with one earned, two walks and two strikeouts.
All but two Eagle starters claimed hits, and those two also got on base,
Alex Arauz via walks and a fielder's choice and
Jack Brinkley by way of a pinch hitter single before running for
Tommy Reyes-Cruz.
Juan Trinidad registered a 3-5 game with two runs scored.
Justice Lucas, in his first start at home in a month due to missing the start in the Brewton-Parker series with an injury, was 1-3 with two runs. Designated hitter
Kevin Saenz finished 2-4 with one score and three RBIs.
The game was still scoreless midway through the fourth, helped by shortstop
Shawn Ross scooping up a Nate Brodsky grounder and making the throw to first base, where Lucas did his thing by stretching out for the catch and putout to end the top of the third.
As a summer pop-up shower began in the bottom of the fourth,
Evan Gilliam laid a perfect bunt to load the bases following an Arauz walk and a Lucas single. Saenz then hit a fielder's choice to third base, but Bouchard had to slide past the bag to catch the grounder.
Ben Hargis, the pinch runner for Arauz, scored on the play, as did Lucas via error when Bouchard's throw to second sailed over the baseman's head. Gilliam made it all the way to third on the sequence.
Jordan Funk then hit a squeeze bunt that Galvan turned into a fielder's choice in an attempt to get Gilliam out at home, but his scoop and lob badly missed the mark when catcher Zach Mazur came off home plate. More would have reached home in the wacky frame if not for Saenz getting tagged out at home by Mazur at the tail end of
Sammy De La Cruz's groundout.
With Michael Cabeza in to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, Trinidad greeted him with a leadoff single. After striking out Ross, Cabeza balked consecutively to put Trinidad 90 feet away from run No. 4, and the latter beat the throw home on an Arauz fielder's choice.
Sosa ran into his first trouble of the game in the sixth, surrendering two walks and a wild pitch. With two outs and a man on third, he coaxed a grounder to third from Dinesen, and Trinidad squeezed in another throw to a stretching Lucas to end the threat. Saenz promptly cranked a leadoff homer to left to go up 5-0.
The wheels started to fall off when the first two hits off Sosa were doubles, one off the center field wall and the second over Funk's head in left field, scoring Lozada to put his team on the board. Mazur followed with a single to bring home Anthony Catalano. With crooked numbers already up for the inning, the Seahawks didn't stop there as Kieron Crowder hit one off the scoreboard to make it a one-score game. After a walk, Sosa fought to stay in and stave off the comeback, which he did when Schrick popped up to the netting and Arauz made the grab.
In the bottom of the seventh, Trinidad responded with a leadoff double. After Cabeza plunked Lucas, his wild pitch on the fourth ball to Gilliam added an insurance run from Trinidad, and Saenz's single dropped to score Lucas and Faulkner's final run of the day. New pitchers Graham and Jonathan Amonica kept the offenses off the board in the eighth to set up the dramatic ending.
Faulkner now faces top-seeded Ottawa tomorrow at 6 p.m., who came back to defeat Reinhardt 5-4 with three runs in the eighth in the nightcap.
