HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Faulkner picked itself up off the deck after a difficult start Saturday to overcome an early 4-0 deficit and beat Mobile 7-6 in dramatic walk-off fashion during the SSAC Baseball Championship Tournament. The Eagles appeared to have won the game when a balk call sent
Kendall Reese home from third base. After a celebratory dousing by his teammates, Reese returned to third base as the umpires came together to overturn the balk call. The next time Reese touched the plate, the run counted as
Josh Smith coaxed a bases-loaded walk to end the contest.
Faulkner found itself in an early hole as one of the top lineups in the SSAC hung four runs on the board in the first inning. The Eagles quickly got to work chipping away at the lead.
Cristian Martin drove in
Evan Gilliam with an RBI grounder in the home half of the first to narrow it to 4-1.
Trevor Torppa singled to right to plate
Jack Brinkley in the second, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
The Eagles' big inning came in the fourth as
Drew Mackie reached on an error that allowed Gilliam to score the first of three runs in the frame. Martin doubled home Mackie to tie the game before giving his team the lead when he scored on a
Jose Vargas single to right-center.
Mobile fought from underneath in the seventh with a two-run inning that put the Rams up 6-5 and left Faulkner on the brink of elimination.
Undaunted, the Eagles continued their season-long fight through adversity in the bottom of the frame. Vargas reached on an error and gave way to Reese as a courtesy runner. Reese moved to second on a walk and to third on a fielder's choice. Brinkley then stroked a sacrifice fly to center to drive in the run and tie the game.
The decisive sequence of the contest started with a
Francisco Soriano single to right in the ninth. After a
Jorge Lucero fielder's choice, Brinkley singled and gave way to Reese as a pinch runner. An intentional walk to Torppa loaded the bases as the Rams chose to face Smith.
The Eagles relied on the bullpen to get the job done on the mound as four pitchers combined in the effort.
Ford Hilyer limited the Rams to two walks, one hit and no runs over four and a third innings of work.
Hunter Dupuy (4-1) got the win, striking out four over two and two-thirds innings of scoreless work.
Faulkner (15-34) looks to keep its season alive at 1 p.m. Sunday when it faces Mobile again for the right to move to the SSAC Baseball Championship game.
