MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner turned in a pair of balanced performances Saturday to take both ends of a doubleheader and sweep its SSAC series against Middle Georgia State. The Eagles trailed for less than an inning during the afternoon doubleheader while timely hitting and efficient pitching kept the Knight bats subdued.
After playing 11 innings Friday night and using four pitchers to win a game they never led, the Eagles needed only four pitchers to get through Saturday's doubleheader.
FAULKNER 8, MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE 2 (7 innings)
MGA took an early lead in the first game of the day as Tate Abbott launched a two-run homer off the scoreboard just two outs into the contest. The Eagles answered back quickly as Jayson Polanco singled up the middle and
Orlando Lorduy drew a walk ahead of Eduarny Martinez's at-bat. The Faulkner slugger needed just one pitch to lift a ball deep to right-center for a three-run homer.
After an
Anthony Bassett Torres walk in the second,
Juan Trinidad hit a ball over the scoreboard to move the advantage to 5-2. Faulkner manufactured a run in the third as Martinez reached on an error and scored on a
Christian Webb single to right.
The Eagles tacked on two more in the sixth as back-to-back singles by Edrien Martinez and
Marlon Oviedo preceded a sacrifice bunt from Torres to open the frame. Polanco flew out to short left-center, allowing
John-Michael Riley to tag up and score from third. Lorduy then singled to center to drive in Oviedo to set the final margin.
After surrendering the homer in the first inning,
Mose Hayes (5-0) spun it for the next six innings. He scattered six hits and issued one walk while striking out six batters. He got better as the game progressed. He recorded five of the final six outs via the strikeout to notch his first complete game of the season.
FAULKNER 12, MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE 2 (7 innings)
The Eagles took control of game two in the third inning when they plated four runs. Dariel Colon doubled to open the inning and moved to third on an Oviedo sacrifice bunt. Torres singled through the left side to drive in Colon and give the Eagles the lead. Trinidad doubled home Torres before scoring on a Polanco RBI grounder. Lorduy reached on a wild pitch and scored on an error to make it 4-0.
MGA got a run back in the top of the fifth and appeared poised to plate another when Michael Flaherty singled to center to send
Jose Vargas around third. However, Lorduy fielded the ball off the hop and fired home to catcher
Christian Webb, who caught the ball and applied the tag before the runner reached the plate.
The Eagles carried the momentum in the home half of the inning when Polanco hit a two-out single before Lorduy walked. Eduarny Martinez then turned on the only pitch he saw for his 17th homer of the season and third of the series.
MGA scratched out a run in the sixth to chase Faulkner starting pitcher
Alonzo Castellanos from the game.
Mat Mayer entered with runners on the corners and threw just one pitch to get out of the jam. He turned the ball over to
Ty Correa in the seventh. After giving up a leadoff single, Correa induced a foul out and a double play to get through the frame on seven pitches.
The Eagles poured it on in the bottom of the seventh when Trinidad opened the frame with a solo homer. A walk by Polanco and a single by Lorduy preceded an RBI single by Eduarny Martinez. Edrien Martinez singled to left-center to get Lorduy home to make it 10-2. Eduarny scored on a wild pitch for the 11-2 margin. Torres ended the game with a single to left-center to get Edrien home to leave it 12-2.
Castellanos (4-1) worked his longest outing of the season, covering 5.2 innings while striking out four batters and issuing just one walk.
Faulkner (28-8, 16-5 SSAC) has nine games remaining on its regular season schedule. The Eagles host No. 8 William Carey for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
