WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Faulkner looked every bit the part in its first national tournament game since 2018. The Lady Eagles rode the pitching of
Reece Patterson to a 5-0 shutout victory over Evangel Monday to move to the winner's bracket in the NAIA Opening round.
Faulkner got the scoring started in the third inning when
Bailea Boone coaxed a one-out walk and stole second. Two batters later,
Addyson Jarman stroked a single down the first base line to drive her in and put the Lady Eagles up 1-0.
That score held until the fifth when Boone got the fireworks started by sending the first pitch of the inning to left for a leadoff single. After
Chloe Davidson legged out a bunt single,
Anna Catherine Segrest fouled off a series of pitches before depositing one into the outfield to load the bases.
Jarman drove Boone in with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 but
Hal Wynn's team was far from done.
Sarah Williams jumped on the first pitch and hit it to right for a single that got Davidson home to make it 3-0. After
Campbell Hecklinski entered as a pinch runner,
Abby Terrell laced a beautiful bunt between a trio of defenders to get Segrest home for the 4-0 advantage. The bunted ball rolled almost all the way to the outfield grass, allowing Hecklinski to go from first to third on the play. The adept baserunning proved beneficial as it left her in position to score on a throwing error for the fifth run of the ball game.
The offensive output was more than enough for Patterson, who mixed her pitches well and kept the Valor off balance. She faced just one batter above the minimum over the game's first three innings and worked around a walk in the fourth. When Audrey Carlton singled to left in the seventh and later advanced to second on a fielder's choice, it marked the only time all game Evangel got a runner into scoring position. Patterson (13-3) needed only 81 pitches to scatter five hits and a walk while spinning the complete-game shutout.
Faulkner (36-14) advances to the winner's bracket game against the No. 3 team in the country, Southeastern University. That contest is set for Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern/9 a.m. Central at the Diamond Plex, with first pitch moved up an hour from original time due to the possibility of impending weather. The winner of that game will play only once Tuesday while the loser must prevail in the third game of the day to keep its season alive.
