Morton, Morris, Vasquez lift No. 4 Faulkner past Redhawks 12-0

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (faulknereagles.com) – Dennis Morton and Chase Morris provided all the offense starting pitcher Mark Vasquez would need as Faulkner blasted Martin Methodist 12-0 here Friday night in the opener of a three-game Southern States Athletic Conference series at Harrison Field.

Morton had three hits and two RBIs, while Morris added two hits and three RBIs, which included a two-run homer. Vasquez (7-0) allowed five hits and struck out nine in six innings of work in the game that was called after seven innings due to the 10-run rule. The fourth-ranked Eagles improved to 32-10 overall and 13-3 in the SSAC, while Martin Methodist dropped to 17-14 overall and 5-7 in the league.

Faulkner jumped on top early, with T.J. Condon’s RBI single and Dario Polanco’s run-scoring double staking the Eagles to a 2-0 lead after one inning. Morris’ two-run home run in the second doubled the advantage to 4-0.

The Eagles broke it open in the fourth. Morris drove in the fifth Faulkner run with a single to left, and Nick Cain followed with a two-run single to push the margin to 7-0. Darrius Jennings drove in another run with the fifth hit of the inning, increasing it to 8-0.

The lead grew to 9-0 in the fifth inning, with Morton’s RBI single chasing Redhawk starter Blake Beavers, who took the loss to drop to 1-5 on the season. Faulkner put it away in the sixth. Condon, Morton and Martinez all drove in runs with base hits as the Eagles took a 12-0 advantage to the seventh inning. Reliever Preston Szuch faced the minimum to end it.

Polanco added three hits for the Eagles, while Condon added a pair. Nick Cain added a pair of RBIs.

The two teams complete their three-game series Saturday afternoon at 1 at Harrison Field.