LEWISTON, Idaho –
J.C. Toro started it and
Brayan Garcia finished it as Faulkner toppled No. 2 seed Tennessee Wesleyan 7-4 in the Avista NAIA World Series Saturday. The win made for the second of the day for the Eagles as they knocked off Webber International 7-2 earlier in the afternoon. Faulkner's two-win day at the NAIA World Series is the first such feat since June 3, 2010 when Cumberland accomplished it. The last time prior to that was May 27, 1992.
Toro carved through the Bulldog batting order until the seventh inning when he surrendered a two-run homer by Zach Hogueisson Faulkner lead to 5-2. Toro struck out the next batter before exiting the ball game with the lead after striking out six over six and a third innings of work. Toro (6-2) limited Tennessee Wesleyan to three hits while issuing no walks.
TWU scratched out another run in the seventh as Carson Ford doubled to plate Jermayne Ward and cut the deficit to 5-3.
The Eagles answered by getting one run back in the eighth as
Alex Arauz drew a bases-loaded walk to push the advantage to 6-3. Livan Reinoso started the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer before Parker Stinnett singled up the middle.
With the score tightened to 6-4, Faulkner summoned
Brayan Garcia from the bullpen. He worked around a walk and struck out a pair of batters to end the eighth.
Jordan Funk gave his team an insurance run with a solo homer in the ninth, allowing Garcia to return to the hill with breathing room.
A pair of singles brought the tying run to the plate but Garcia recorded his fourth strike out to end the game and pick up his ninth save.
The bottom of the Faulkner batting order powered much of the offensive effort for the Eagles as the lower third accounted for six of the team's 10 hits as well as five RBIs and three runs.
Justice Lucas doubled in the second and scored on a throwing error to get Faulkner on the board. Funk followed with a sacrifice fly to plate
Evan Gilliam, leaving it at 2-0.
Designated hitter
Kevin Saenz delivered the biggest swing of the game in the sixth when he launched a three-run homer to stretch Faulkner's advantage to 5-0. Funk followed with a double to chase starting pitcher Kobe Foster. The offensive output by Faulkner matched the most runs surrendered by Foster, who entered the game 26-1 in his career. The loss marked the first for Foster since Feb. 19, 2020 and snapped a string of 25 straight wins in games in which he factored in the decision.
Toro's performance combined with that of
July Sosa earlier in the day left Faulkner starting pitchers with 15 innings of work that included 18 strikeouts against just one walk, 10 hits, and four runs allowed.
TWU drops to 54-7 on the season with two of those losses coming against Faulkner. The Eagles won the only previous meeting between the teams this season, a 5-1 victory on March 19.
Faulkner (39-15) gets Sunday off and returns to play Monday against No. 3 seed Lewis-Clark State College at 8:30 p.m. CST.
