Faulkner defeats AUM 4-2 to take SSAC regular season title

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (faulknereagles.com) – When a weather delay came after five innings, third-ranked Faulkner found itself on the short end of a 4-2 score to cross-town rival and seventh-ranked Auburn Montgomery. The resolve of Patrick McCarthy’s Eagles then kicked in during the break. Relief pitcher Marco Blanchard made sure there was no panic in his teammates, offering words of encouragement before play resumed.

“We knew there was plenty of baseball left, and we were still confident even though we were behind,” said the junior left-hander. “We just wanted to get back out there and play.”

The Eagles scored the last five runs of the game, riding Blanchard’s strong relief appearance to a 7-4 victory here Thursday night at the AUM Baseball Complex, clinching the outright Southern States Athletic Conference regular season championship in the process.

“We play to glorify God, and I prayed a lot before taking the mound tonight,” Blanchard added. “I was calm and just looked at it as just another game. I thought if I could hold them, we’d come back.”

Blanchard, who entered the game in relief of Eagles’ starter Mark Vasquez after the delay, allowed only two hits in 2 1/3 innings and struck out three to improve his record to 3-0. Miguel Castellanos got the last two outs of the eighth and allowed only one hit in the ninth to earn his third save of the season. Brady Eldridge, who gave two runs in Faulkner’s three-run seventh, took the loss for AUM, falling to 4-2.

With the victory, Faulkner improved to 42-11 overall and 22-3 in the SSAC, while AUM fell to 38-14 overall and 18-7 in the conference.

“This was a good win for our team, because they had to fight through some adversity away from home,” McCarthy said. “I’m proud of the way we battled through this conference, which is one of if not the top conference in all of the NAIA. I like playing great teams like AUM late in the season because it gets you ready for bigger things to come.”

The Eagles jumped on top in their first at-bat, with Darrius Jennings lacing the first pitch into the left-field corner for a double. Two outs later T.J. Condon singled him in, and Mario Amaral followed with a double into the gap in right-center for a 2-0 Faulkner lead.

AUM cut the lead in half in the second with an unearned run. After Mac Seibert singled and moved to second on a groundout, Brandon Davis then hit a sharp grounder toward second baseman Dario Polanco, who allowed the ball to skip past him for an error that scored Siebert.

Faulkner began the second and third innings with back-to-back singles, but AUM starter Raymond Moody pitched out of trouble both times to keep the Warhawks close. AUM took the lead in the third. A walk, a hit batter and a pair of singles tied the game at 2 and left the bases loaded with nobody out. A ground ball to short forced the first out at second as the go-ahead run scored, but Polanco’s relay to first was wild allowing the second unearned run of the game to cross for the Warhawks, giving the hosts a 4-2 advantage.

With the score still 4-2 through five innings, lightning and impending rain forced a break in the action. Once play resumed in the sixth AUM reliever Cole Goodwin retired the first two Eagles before running into trouble. A walk, a hit and a hit batter loaded the bases, and Jennings then drew another walk to bring Faulkner to within 4-3. Alexis Cruz popped out to end the threat.

Goodwin’s inability to throw strikes sparked Faulkner’s decisive seventh-inning rally. After walking the first two batters, he was pulled in favor of Eldridge. Amaral bunted in attempt to sacrifice the runners, but Eldridge threw wildly toward third, allowing Palenzuela to score the tying run. Pinch runner Chase Morris, trying to score all the way from second on the play, was gunned down at the plate for the first out. Polanco followed with a run-scoring triple to give the Eagles the lead again, and Dennis Morton then knocked him in with a single to push the lead to 6-4.

Faulkner added a run in the top of the ninth, with Deivy Palmeiro singling in Amaral to provide the final margin. Morton and Nick Cain each had two hits in the Eagles’ 11-hit attack. AUM’s John-Mark Cosby had three hits and Mac Seibert two for the Warhawks.

Faulkner, which locked up the top seed in next week[s conference tournament at Paterson Field, and AUM play a Friday afternoon doubleheader that will conclude the regular season for both teams. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 3 p.m.