HATTIESBURG, Miss. - No. 25 Faulkner (18-9, 4-4 SSAC) found no better luck than Friday on Saturday afternoon at No. 21 William Carey (25-8, 9-1 SSAC) at Joseph and Nancy Fail Field.
William Carey 3, Faulkner 1
A first-inning two-out rally looked like it would be enough for the hosts in this defensive battle, as Albanie Fussell doubled to left center and Julia Shaw singled her home. One inning later, the Lady Crusaders loaded the bases with two hits-by-pitch and an error on a sac bunt before Addison Moseley induced a double play to end the frame on a popup to Madelyn Becker at third and Becker's throw back to Anna Catherine Segrest covering third to double up WCU.
In the top halves of the fourth and fifth, Ryanne Hornsby struck out Avery Goff and Addyson Jarman, respectively, to keep Faulkner off the board after it put together two-out rallies with consecutive base hits in each. WCU doubled the score in the bottom of the fourth, as Kinley Hogue doubled and Jayden Sawyer brought her home on a single through the right side. Sawyer then touched home herself in the sixth inning as she doubled and scored on a bases-loaded fielding error.
Goff got Faulkner on the board for the only time for the day as she led off the seventh with a double to left and came home on a Segrest single before the game-ending flyout. Both pitchers went the distance with 119 pitches apiece. It was Moseley's fourth complete game and her second such loss, as she scattered seven hits with two earned runs and two walks with three strikeouts. Hornsby allowed just one run on eight hits as she struck out five in the winning effort.
William Carey 7, Faulkner 0
In contrast to Game One, the offense all came in the second inning, though the first three half-innings were three-up three-down frames. Five singles, two of which batted in runs, a wild pitch and a successful double steal for a third run ended Abrianna Davis's day early. Lana Atkins entered in relief, but all momentum was with the Carey offense. A walk loaded the bases for a bases-clearing triple by Liz Cross to double the score, and a single from Anna Grace Shows scored Cross for the seventh run before an out had been recorded in the inning. Atkins and the defense provided those on the next three batters, but the damage was done. Atkins struck out three but walked four and gave up five hits and two runs over the last five frames.
Sawyer, the decorated transfer hurler from Jones College, registered her tenth complete-game shutout this season and came a third-inning leadoff single from Abbie Davis shy of a third complete-game no-hitter. Two weeks removed from a National Pitcher of the Week honor, she struck out 13 in the gem, with two walks and a hit-by-pitch leading to the only other Lady Eagle baserunners. She leads the SSAC with 14 wins and 160 strikeouts, 91 more than the next closest.
Faulkner returns home for its next series on Friday, April 3, as Point comes to Wynn Field for the first 2026 installment of the Battle of I-85.
