MILLINGTON, Tenn. - The new kids on the block made strong impressions Sunday at the USA Stadium as the Eagles took a 2-1 win over Bethel before defeating Marian 9-6 to improve to 3-1 after the opening weekend.
FAULKNER 2, BETHEL (TENN.) 1
After showing bunt on the first pitch,
Jose Vargas baited the infield in again but ripped a 1-0 pitch down the right field line to plate
Cristian Martin to walk off the first game Sunday afternoon against former SSAC foe Bethel.
Winning pitcher
Iroel Ruiz followed Martin aboard as both reached on errors in the seventh to answer right back from a pinch hit home run from Jake McDaniel off Ruiz with one out. The home run was limited to a solo home run as
Evan Gilliam's diving grab retired the previous batter. With bases loaded in a tie game with two outs in the seventh, Ruiz coaxed another fly to center as it was much more comfortably caught by Gilliam to escape tied.
Martin got the party started with the first home run of the season with a two out shot to left in the first inning. The one run was plenty of cushion for
Jaxen Forrester who was electric in his first start as an Eagle. The Lipscomb transfer opened the game with back-to-back strikeouts on six pitches and was one strike from an immaculate inning when a lineout ended the inning. Forrester finished with nine strikeouts and just one hit in five innings of shutout work.
Francisco Soriano worked a quick inning on the hill in the sixth to carry the lead into the seventh.
FAULKNER 9, MARIAN 6
The Eagles hung crooked numbers in each of the first four innings and relied on some new arms to hold the lead and the new arms handled business. Faulkner's three pitchers in the contest had never pitched in a varsity contest for the Eagles with two being called up from the junior varsity squad this weekend.
Kelton Pilkinton, who had only appeared in varsity competition in running roles, started his first varsity game Sunday afternoon in the second contest and worked a scoreless first inning with a stanza ending strikeout to prop up two runs in the top half of the frame from the offense. Gilliam and
Drew Mackie both reached to set the Eagles up nicely to start the game with a walk and a single, respectively. After a walk loaded the bases,
Juan Trinidad drove in the opening run with a grounder, and on the next at bat, Mackie scampered home off a passed ball to double the lead.
C.J. Keckler led off the second with a single and received
Josh Smith as a courtesy runner.
Jorge Lucero was hit by a pitch before
Trevor Torppa dropped a sacrifice bunt that was thrown into right field by the pitcher to plate Smith and put runners on second and third. Mackie's sacrifice fly scored Lucero to put Faulkner up 4-0 over the Knights.
Some early trouble in the bottom of the second resulted in three runs for Marian to cut the lead to just one. For the third straight inning, Faulkner's first two batters reached as Vargas found a single to center and Trinidad legged out an infield single.
Zakary Farris advanced the runners over with a groundout before Vargas scored on a passed ball and Keckler drove in Trinidad the next at bat.
Stephen Spurgeon, in his fourth season at Faulkner, took the hill in the third and worked around a leadoff double to just one run allowed while picking up his first of three strikeouts of the afternoon to end the inning. Three straight singles from Torppa, Gilliam and Mackie loaded the bases to deliver a payoff from Martin's drawn walk. Vargas followed with a sacrifice fly before Trinidad drove in his second RBI of the contest.
Spurgeon worked a brilliant fourth inning with a pair of flyouts to Gilliam and a strikeout to work around a walk and would go on to earn the win. The centerfielder would end the game with eight putouts, the most on the team.
Trouble arose in the bottom of the fifth as the bases were loaded with just one out in a 9-4 game when
Patrick McCarthy handed the ball to
Zayn Bates to put out the fire. After a hard hit to short that plated a Marian run, Bates coaxed a flyout to the "No Fly Zone'' in center once more to escape with a four run lead. Bates would follow by getting three fly balls to the outfield to work around a pair of singles in the sixth.
In the seventh with bases loaded and nobody out, a single to center drove in a run to bring the potential winning run to the plate. Bates, who was also seeing his first varsity action stood tall under the pressure and escaped with the save thanks to some timely pitches and great defense, highlighted by a warning track grab by a backpedaling Martin.
Faulkner stranded 12 Knights in the victory.
The Eagles welcome Tennessee Southern Tuesday at 5 p.m. for the home opener.
