CLEVELAND, Ga. – Faulkner opened a weekend series with a doubleheader sweep of Truett McConnell Friday, scoring 20 runs on 26 hits across 14 innings of play to move to 3-0 on the season.
FAULKNER 8, TRUETT MCCONNELL 4
The Eagles plated three runs in the first inning of game one to take a lead that never dissipated.
Juan Trinidad drew a one-out walk ahead of Edrien Martinez's single to right-center.
Orlando Lorduy followed with a single through the left side to drive in Trinidad and put Faulkner up 1-0. Two batters later,
Kenny Di Clemente single to left-center to plate two and move the advantage to 3-0.
The score remained there until the top of the fourth when
John-Michael Riley scored on a
Christian Webb single to left to set the lead at 4-0. The Bears got two home in the fourth to cut the deficit in half. TMU pushed a run across in the home half of the fifth to get to within one.
With the margin newly narrowed, the Faulkner bats got to work in the sixth as singles from Webb and
Jeyson Polanco as well as a Martinez walk loaded the bases. Lorduy then ripped a grand slam to left to send the advantage to 8-3. Truett got one back in the seventh but could draw no closer than four.
Marco Ozuna (2-0) allowed two hits and issued no walks over three scoreless innings of work to get the win.
Roberto Romero (1) got the save after working two innings and allowing one hit.
FAULKNER 12, TRUETT MCCONNELL 3
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of game two when Riley hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Lorduy. Faulkner doubled the advantage in the third when Martinez singled in Polanco. The second baseman from Santiago, D.R. blew the game open in the fourth when he launched a three-run shot that moved the lead 5-0.
Faulkner tacked on in the fifth when Luis Lizarraga doubled in Lorduy to make it 6-0. Di Clemente singled home Lizarraga before scoring on a
Jack Brinkley base hit to make it 8-0.
TMU scratched out a pair of runs in the fifth to cut it to 8-2 before Faulkner poured it on in the sixth.
Jonny Marquez came off the bench to hit a two-run homer. Lorduy scored on an error and Dariel Colon singled home Lizarraga to make it 12-2.
Thomas Wilhite (1-0) got the win for the Eagles as he allowed one hit and no runs over four innings of work while striking out two and facing the minimum.
Faulkner (3-0) returns to action Saturday at noon.
