Faulkner bats erupt in wins over Lindenwood, No. 6 Davenport
Third-ranked Faulkner erupted for 22 hits and 19 runs here Friday, flexing its muscles in wins over Lindenwood (Ill.) and Davenport (Mich.) at Harrison Field. Patrick McCarthy’s Eagles blasted Lindenwood 11-2 and then took care of Davenport 8-3, improving to 5-1on the season. Four of the five Faulkner victories have come against nationally-ranked opponents.
In between the two Faulkner games, Davenport beat Lindenwood 4-2.
Faulkner’s bats were explosive in the opener against the Lynx (0-2), collecting 14 hits. T.J. Condon, who had three RBIs in the game, started it off with a solo home run over the 400-foot wall off of Lindenwood’s starting pitcher Michael Sabatina.
The bats in the fourth built on the one-run lead with the Eagles scoring seven runs off of seven hits. Deivy Palmeiro, who went 2-for-2 in the game, started the inning off with a walk. Nick Cain followed with a two-run homer to push the lead to 3-0. Alexis Cruz drove in a run and Mario Amaral knocked in two more make it 6-0 lead. Condon also had a two-run base hit to close out the uprising.
In the bottom of the fifth with two outs and a 3-1 count, David Palenzuela lifted one over the right-center wall for a three-run homer to close out the scoring for the Eagles.
Ivan Pelaez got the win in the six innings he pitched, allowing both Lynx runs while striking out five. Pelaez retired seven in a row starting with a strike out on the last batter of the second inning through the end of the fourth.Matt Martin came in relief for Pelaez, retiring three of the four batters he faced.
Cory Lubinski went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Lynx. Ethan Ruff drove in the other Lindenwood run.
Davenport grabbed an early 2-0 lead against the Eagles, but a five-hit, five-run third turned the tables.
Morton homered to left-center to cut the margin to 2-1. Palenzuela, who went 3-for-4 against the Panthers, tied the game with a run-scoring single, and Palmeiro gave Faulkner the lead for good with a two-run single. Cain knocked in the fifth run of the inning for the Eagles, who padded their lead with an unearned run and an RBI single from Condon.
Mark Vasquez went six innings to earn the win, allowing three runs and striking out seven Panther batters. Austin Moreland came in relief for Vasquez, retiring all three batters he faced.
Matt Priebe, Connor Seymour and Nick Rangos drove in runs for the Davenport (3-2).
Faulkner faces Davenport again at noon Saturday, followed by a rematch with Lindenwood at 5:30. Davenport and Lindenwood will battle at 2:30 p.m.
