MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Lady Eagles (33-12, 17-7 SSAC) celebrated Senior Day in style with a sweep of Abraham Baldwin (20-24, 10-14 SSAC) to clinch regular season SSAC runner-up status, tying for the best placement in the conference standings in program history, thanks to Mobile dropping one to regular season champion William Carey. The series marked the final homestand at Wynn Field for a decorated class of seniors: Madelyn Becker, Chloe Davidson, Abby Terrell, Kelbi Johnson, Kensley Wesley, Campbell Hecklinski, Lana Atkins, Mandi Hart and AnnaLee Crimm. After being recognized with a pregame ceremony, the nine seniors participated in a new tradition by meeting their fathers in left field for a final game of catch.
Faulkner took the first game more comfortably before ABAC tied Game Two in the sixth to threaten to end the Lady Eagles' 10-game win streak dating back to their most recent loss, also coming to ABAC on the road with another sixth-inning comeback. However, an Abbie Davis sacrifice squeeze bunt got Addyson Jarman home to preserve a sweep for the seniors. The result gave Faulkner its 15th win in its last 16 games following a five-game midseason skid that included sweeps at the hands of Mobile and Carey, the top two teams going into the day.
FAULKNER 4, ABAC 1
The early defensive performance assured that Game One of the Fillies' return trip to Montgomery wouldn't include the same high-scoring performances these teams had in Tifton earlier this month. The first two innings were scoreless as each team stranded a runner in each frame. Reece Patterson and the defense turned in the first three-up-three-down inning in the top of the third with a strikeout, a flyout to Hecklinski in left field and a groundout to Davidson at second base to kickstart the offense.
Davidson led off with a single in a 3-4 game before advancing on an Anna Catherine Segrest sac bunt. Sarah Williams then singled through the right side to bring in Davidson and open the scoring, beginning a 3-4 day for the junior catcher. Terrell began the top of the fourth by catching a flyout in right field, and after an error got one on, Becker and Segrest secured groundouts to strand the runner.
Johnson walked in the bottom half, and after advancing on a Hecklinski groundout, the senior first baseman scampered and slid home on a Bailea Boone single. Johnson then secured a pair of unassisted groundouts at first before a Patterson strikeout to send it to the bottom of the fifth. Segrest then led off with a single ahead of Jarman lofting a 3-1 offering over the left field fence for a 4-0 lead.
Patterson began the sixth with two more strikeouts before a Kinley Snider double and an Alli Eidson RBI single got ABAC on the board. Davidson then got another groundout at first to end the threat, and each defense would strand a runner once more in their final frames. The Lady Eagles tallied seven hits, four earned runs and two walks on the Filly starter Tess Rollins. Patterson earned the 10th win of her junior season with five hits, no walks and six strikeouts.
FAULKNER 5, ABAC 4
The scoring came much more readily in Game Two with the Fillies getting two singles and each batter stealing a base in the first inning. Earning one last start in the circle at Wynn Field, Atkins would settle in and strike out three of the next four batters, with the third reaching via error to score the first run.
Segrest reached as the second baseman mishandled the ball and never got the throw off. She stole second before Jarman hit a single to right to get Segrest to third and also stole second. Sarah Williams then tallied a sacrifice fly to right to plate Segrest, and the right fielder's throw to catch Jarman at third went into the dugout, bringing the star centerfielder home for a 2-1 lead. Terrell pushed for more as she laced a triple down the right field line, but a lineout left her on.
ABAC tied the game in the third with an Eidson double and a Shelby Smith RBI single, but around the hits, Johnson caught a popup and Atkins struck one out looking and one swinging. Jarman would begin to get the run back in the bottom half on a leadoff single up the middle. She moved up a base on a Williams sac bunt, and as she was stealing third, the catcher threw high for the third baseman, allowing her to easily come home.
The Lady Eagles would strand two base hits again in the fifth with a flyout to Davis right after she subbed into right field for Terrell, a catch for Becker in the Faulkner dugout and a lineout to Segrest. In the bottom half, with two gone after a Williams single, Becker reached on an error to put runners on second and third. Johnson then hit a single to right field to bring the lead to 4-2 and bring her to 2-3 for the game.
Atkins tallied her eighth and ninth strikeouts of the game in the sixth inning around an Ava Roland double. She would go on to narrowly walk Carter Gore, which would come back to bite Faulkner as Ansleigh Darby singled to score Roland. Then, in trying to catch Darby at second, Becker missed the mark on her throw and Gore came home to tie the game. Davis would secure a flyout to keep the Fillies from taking the lead. The defense would do so again in the seventh with a groundout and a popup to Davidson and a flyout to Jarman to pick up Atkins after she issued a walk.
On this Senior Day, it was a sophomore and a junior who would save the day. Needing just one run to win, Jarman led off the bottom of the seventh, and as she has so often in her young Faulkner career, she stepped up to the moment. She placed a single up the middle to cap off a 3-4 game. Williams got her to second with a sac bunt, and Jarman then took advantage of a wild pitch to get 60 feet away from the win. From there, Davis showed patience, taking it to a 2-1 count before dropping the bunt to reliever Chloe Stone, who made the throw home as Jarman slid under the catcher's tag for the walkoff.
"I kind of just knew," Davis said of her game-winning play. "Coach Mark, as soon as Addy got to third, I knew he was going to call the safety squeeze, so I was kind of prepared for it. I just told myself to just get it down and just get the job done regardless of if I got out at first or not. And it happened! I'm feeling good, I'm just glad we pulled the win through."
Abbie Davis readies for game-winning RBI Addyson Jarman gets in position to slide home on the play
ABAC starter Lindsey Paul didn't factor into the result as her offense tied it up after her five innings of work. She scattered eight hits, a walk and a strikeout, and all four runs scored on her were unearned after errors, as the Fillies committed five. Stone pitched the final 1.1 innings, striking out one but allowing a costly run and wild pitch and the first Faulkner earned run of the day. Atkins came up big with nine strikeouts, a personal best in conference play while allowing just four hits and two earned runs.
With the best program record and finish in the conference standings since the Lady Eagles' 2018 World Series season now secured, Faulkner now readies for the SSAC Championship in Decatur, Ala., where it will begin its stay in Game Two of the tournament on Thursday, April 30, against 7-seed Brewton-Parker.
