MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Free passes sank Faulkner early as a late comeback effort fell short Thursday afternoon at Harrison Field in the series opener against the Point Skyhawks in a 10-7 loss.
Point turned two home runs into six runs as the four other runners reached via walk with a two run shot in the second and a grand slam in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead.
Evan Gilliam singled with two outs in the fifth before swiping second to start a rally.
Orlando Lorduy drove him in with a single before
Juan Trinidad cashed the right fielder in with a double to make it 6-2.
Point answered right back with another two run homer in the sixth and added two more in the seventh off a walk and a wild pitch. Six of the 10 runs drew a walk during their at bat.
Faulkner mounted a little rally that made things interesting, once again started by
Evan Gilliam. After back-to-back walks drawn by Gilliam and Lorduy,
Johnny Lopez delivered a two-run double.
Jose Vargas followed with a home run to center to make it 10-6.
Kelton Pilkinton worked a one-two-three inning in the eighth to get Faulkner back at bat, but the hosts could not get anything going in the eighth around a Lorduy double.
Alexis Saldana fanned a couple of Skyhawks in the ninth to give the Eagles another lifeline. Lopez led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer to make it 10-7, but nobody else could reach.
The Eagles wrap up their regular season Friday afternoon at one with a doubleheader and need both games to have won every series in SSAC play.
