MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner picked up a pair of big wins Friday in a doubleheader sweep of receiving votes Indiana University Southeast.
FAULKNER 6, INDIANA SOUTHEAST 2
After first pitch was delayed nearly three hours, the Eagles started the day off right with a 6-2 victory in the weekend opener. Dariel Colon singled to short in the first inning and proceeded to cause havoc on the basepaths. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before capitalizing on a second error to score the game's first run.
The Grenadiers leveled things in the top of the second as three straight singles from Kevin Moore, Konnor Scheidt and Bryson Arnette pulled the game to 1-1. Faulkner took the lead right back with a two-out rally in the second.
Anthony Bassett Torres doubled down the rightfield line and scored on an
Orlando Arellano single to center.
Jeyson Polanco changed the game with one swing in the third as he blasted a homer to right, driving in
Tevin Landrum in the process. Faulkner moved the advantage to 5-1 in the fourth on an Edrien Martinez single that plated Landrum.
The Eagles kept the pressure on in the sixth.
Nathan Huie reached on an error and gave way to pinch runner
Shaun Bridges. He promptly stole second and made it home on a Torres single to right for the 6-1 lead.
Samir Rojas was dazzling on the hill for the Eagles. He allowed a double in the first and the consecutive singles in the third but surrendered nothing else. He used 79 pitches to cover five innings while allowing four hits and a walk to go along with seven strikeouts. He gave way to
Winston Person, who worked a scoreless sixth inning with a strikeout before allowing a run in the seventh.
FAULKNER 7, INDIANA SOUTHEAST 5
Game two of the series came down to the final at-bat as Faulkner built a lead with a big fifth inning and held on for a 7-5 victory. The Grenadiers entered the ninth down 7-4 and got a leadoff walk from Moore. He later scored on a Matt Santana single to right to narrow it to 7-5. A single from Scheidt put the tying runs on the corners before
Austin Lippolis locked it down with a strikeout.
IUSE opened the scoring with a run in the second off a Kemper Whisman double and added another in the third on an Arnette sacrifice fly.
Jordan Carter got the Eagles on the board with a solo homer in the fourth.
The Eagles flipped the game on its ear in the fifth inning. Martinez drew a leadoff walk ahead of a
Marlon Oviedo single. A sacrifice bunt from Torres moved both runners into scoring position. Martinez scored on an error to tie the game before Bridget legged out a bunt single to drive in Oviedo for the 3-2 lead. Polanco put some distance between his team and the Grenadiers with a three-run homer, hit fourth of the week and fifth of the season.
Scheidt got two back for the Grenadiers with a homer in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 6-4. Torres doubled in Landrum in the home half of the frame for Faulkner's seventh run.
Colin Rittenberry (0--) proved efficient and effective as his 76 pitches covered five innings. He scattered four hits and issued just one walk while striking out six.
Seth Creasy and Brackin Rice combined for 2.1 innings of shutout relief work before Lippolis earned his third save of the season.
Faulkner (9-2) is set to continue the series Saturday with two more games against IUSE. Start times are slated for noon and 3 p.m. with potential weather changes pending.
