MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner's lineup provided the run support while Marco Ozuna delivered a stellar outing to open SSAC play with a 10-0 victory over Tennessee Southern Friday. The first conference contest of the season saw Ozuna work around a little traffic while keeping the Firehawks off balance. He surrendered a single in the first inning and another in the third before issuing a walk in the fourth. Ozuna then set down five in a row before a single and an error in the sixth put UTS in business for the first time all game. The Eagles' ace responded accordingly with swinging strikeouts to the next two hitters to douse the Firehawk hopes.
Ozuna worked around another error in the seventh as he issued one more forward "K" on his way to the dugout after seven shutout innings. Ozuna (4-0) finished the day with 10 strikeouts and a walk with just three hits allowed as he used 85 pitches to get through seven innings. Ozuna has opened the season with 16 consecutive scoreless innings.
Mat Mayer followed with a perfect inning of relief work that included one strikeout.
The Eagles gave Ozuna run support early as
John-Michael Riley drew a leadoff walk in the first ahead of a
Jeyson Polanco single to right. Edrien Martinez later launched his first homer of the season to put the Eagles up 3-0. Faulkner added to the lead in the third when Riley singled and scored on an
Orlando Lorduy double to make it 4-0.
Martinez got things started in the sixth with a leadoff walk before giving way to pinch runner
Michael Archie II. In his first official act as an Eagle, Archie stole second base and then third. Luis Lizarraga drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right to push the advantage to 5-0. Eduarny Martinez then launched a big fly over the batter's eye in the right-center alley for the 6-0 lead. Polanco's homer in the seventh made it 7-0 before a throwing error in the eighth plated Lizarraga to leave Faulkner up 8-0.
Seth Copeland called game with his first career homer, a two-run shot that invoked the run rule and gave the Eagles the first game of the series.
Faulkner's four homers were part of an 11-hit performance with Eduarny Martinez and Polanco accounting for two base-knocks apiece.
Faulkner (9-2, 1-0 SSAC) will attempt to win the series against Tennessee Southern Saturday with a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m.
