MONTGOMERY, Ala. - In the final game of a tumultuous 2023 regular season at the end of a week that saw the Eagles go from 22-20 to 11-31 and staring down the barrel of potentially being swept at home in conference play, Faulkner rose to the challenge with a 15-5 run rule win over No. 9 Mobile Saturday at Harrison Field to take one of the three games on the final weekend of the regular season against the in-state foe. Mobile took both games of the SSAC action Friday night 14-8 and 5-4. The win locked up the league's six seed and Eagles and will face the three-seeded Rams in the first round of the SSAC Baseball Championship Wednesday at 1 p.m.

MOBILE 14, FAULKNER 8

The Rams bats exploded in game one of the series, lacing 20 hits, the most given up by the Eagles since the 2018 SSAC championship game against Middle Georgia when the Knights got 23. Five extra base hits fueled the scoring for the Rams as they countered every Faulkner comeback effort. 

The Rams got three runs in the first and a second inning solo homer from Jorge Lucero brought it to 3-1. Jack Brinkley's sacrifice fly in the fourth cut the deficit to one around some tough pitching battling back from J.C. Toro keeping the Rams at bay, but Mobile answered with five runs in the fifth to open the game back up. 

Faulkner stormed right back in the bottom half with a couple of runs being balked home ahead of Jose Vargas's two-RBI double to cut it back to 8-6. The Rams got one back in the sixth before another five-run inning in the seventh to ice the game away. 

Francisco Soriano went 3-4 and Evan Gilliam and Lucero had a pair of hits each. 

MOBILE 5, FAULKNER 4

A three run fourth inning gave the Rams all the cushion they needed in Friday's nightcap despite a late rally from the Eagles as four Faulkner errors led to two unearned runs in the first two innings. 

In the third, Soriano launched a solo shot to center to cut the deficit to 2-1, but similar to game one the Rams countered right back with three in the fourth. Cristian Martin's single in the fifth brought home Gilliam to bring it within three, but Faulkner left the bases loaded later in the inning to let Mobile off the ropes. 

Jack Brinkley's two run homer in the eighth brought it to a one run game as Nicholas Graham bounced back brilliantly after two mistakes led to the three runs on two homers in the fourth with nine strikeouts over 94 pitches in relief covering five innings putting zeros in the last four frames of work. However, the Eagles could not get anything going in the ninth as Mobile claimed the series.

Martin and Brinkley each had two hits in the loss.

FAULKNER 15, MOBILE 5 (8 Inn.)

A seven run fourth saw the Eagles fly past the Rams in the series finale and claim a run rule win to wrap up home events at Faulkner for the academic year. 

Faulkner found a couple of runs off four first inning walks to chase the Mobile starting pitcher just five batters into the game. In the third the teams traded runs as Lucero found his second RBI of the game to bring it to 3-1 before the fourth inning onslaught began. 

Josh Smith started the rally with a one out double for his first extra base hit of his career ahead of a Gilliam single to bring him home. Soriano drew a walk and Martin singled home Gilliam to take a four run lead. Drew Mackie's double plated two more before Vargas brought him home to make it 8-1. Brinkley's ground ball led to the Rams' lone error of the game to score courtesy runner Kendall Reese. Trevor Torppa's double scored Brinkley to end the scoring in the inning with a 10-1 lead. 

Mobile inched back with one run in the fifth, but Faulkner hung four in the bottom half to ice the last game of the regular season highlighted by a three run shot from Vargas. Brinkley singled in Lucero who followed the backstop with a double to make it 14-2. Mobile got one back in the sixth and two more in the seventh to extend the game but a Soriano double walked off the game via run rule as Gilliam touched home. 

Alexis Saldana was great in his last start of the season, falling just one out shy of qualifying for the win with six strikeouts and just two runs over 4.2 innings. Stephen Spurgeon picked up the win with 1.1 effective innings of relief work and stranding a bases loaded situation he inherited in the fifth against the nine-hole hitter with the top third of the Ram lineup that had 14 hits over the weekend. 

Kelton Pilkington allowed just one hit in his inning of relief. Ford Hilyer struck out three of the four batters he faced in the top of the eighth. 

Martin, Mackie and Lucero each had three hits while Gilliam and Vargas had two a piece. Vargas had five RBIs as Martin and Gilliam scored thrice each.  Read Full Article