JACKSON, Tenn. – Faulkner left everything on the field Friday afternoon, battling until the final out, but the Eagles' late push fell just short in an 8-7 loss to No. 1 seed Abraham Baldwin at the SSAC Baseball Championship.
ABAC struck first in the opening inning, using two-out production to take an early 2-0 lead. Faulkner answered immediately in the bottom half as Jordan Carter reached and CJ Robertson doubled to put two in scoring position. Edrien Martínez lifted a sacrifice fly to score Carter before Jeyson Polanco followed with another to tie the game at two.
After the first inning, Brandon Napier settled in and began to find his rhythm on the mound. The right-hander worked efficiently through the second and third innings, allowing Faulkner to take its first lead in the third. The Eagles manufactured a run without a hit as Tevin Landrum came around to score on a hit by pitch, a sacrifice bunt, and a wild pitch to make it 3-2.
Napier continued to compete into the middle innings, but ABAC capitalized in the fourth, using a pair of Faulkner errors to plate three unearned runs and take back a 5-3 advantage. Despite the swing in momentum, Napier limited further damage and battled through six innings to keep the Eagles within reach.
Faulkner chipped away in the sixth as Polanco doubled and later scored on a sacrifice bunt from Jimmy Perez to make it a one-run game at 5-4.
Avery Shelton took over in the seventh and was met with early pressure as ABAC pushed across three runs to extend its lead to 8-4. Shelton regrouped and was able to finish the inning, preventing further damage and keeping the deficit manageable.
The Eagles responded once again in the bottom half of the seventh. Carter doubled and came around to score before Polanco delivered his second double of the game to bring home Martínez, cutting the deficit to 8-6.
Seth Creasy followed out of the bullpen and delivered a key inning in the eighth, holding ABAC scoreless and stopping the momentum to give Faulkner a chance to continue its comeback.
In the bottom of the eighth, Perez reached and worked his way into scoring position before coming home on a sacrifice fly from Orlando Arellano to make it a one-run game.
With the game on the line, left-hander Marshall Robinson took over in the ninth and delivered in the biggest moment. Robinson worked a scoreless inning, shutting down ABAC and sending Faulkner to the bottom of the ninth with a chance to walk it off.
The Eagles gave themselves that opportunity. Carter led off with a single and Martínez followed with a base hit to put the tying run in scoring position. With momentum building and the dugout on its feet, Faulkner threatened one final time—but ABAC was able to escape the jam, ending the Eagles' rally just short.
Jordan Carter led Faulkner offensively, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, while Jeyson Polanco added two doubles and two RBIs. The Eagles totaled 10 hits on the day.
The Eagles (2-1 Pool A) will now await their postseason fate as they look to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship. The field will be announced Thursday at 4:00 p.m.
