Cain, Torres lift Faulkner into Opening Round championship game

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (faulknereagles.com) – Christian Torres tossed perhaps his best game of the season and Nick Cain provided more than enough support as Faulkner stayed unbeaten in the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round with a 10-0 victory here Wednesday over Vanguard (Calif.) at Harrison Field.

The third-ranked Eagles (48-12) are now in control of the Faulkner Bracket as the only team left without a loss. Vanguard (38-16-1) will play at 3 Thursday afternoon against the winner of Wednesday’s late game between Central Methodist (Mo.) and Texas A&M Texarkana, which eliminated Texas Wesleyan earlier in the day.

Cain had two doubles and a solo home run, driving in four runs for the Eagles, who had 11 hits in the victory. Torres (10-2) was masterful, scattering seven hits and striking out seven in 7 1/3 innings of work. He walked the leadoff batter of the game,  picked him off first, and didn’t surrender another free pass in the game. Reliever Austin Moreland closed out a scoreless eighth inning and Miguel Castellanos didn’t allow a run in the ninth to end it.

After a quiet first inning, the Eagles jumped out front in the top of the second. Vanguard starter Tyler Steele walked both T.J. Condon and Mario Amaral to open the inning, and Dario Polanco’s sacrifice moved each up a base. Dennis Morton’s RBI groundout put the Eagles on top, and Cain’s run-scoring double pushed the early lead to 2-0.

Faulkner threatened in the third, loading the bases on a trio of walks. With one out, however, Amaral bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Cain’s solo homer in the fourth padded the advantage to 3-0, and an error on Vanguard third baseman later in the inning allowed Onix Martinez to cross for the fourth Faulkner run.

Faulkner broke it open with a five-run sixth. Cain got things started again, ripping his second double of the day to drive in Morton, who had singled. Two walks loaded the bases and when David Palenzuela’s grounder to second was booted by Sam Neufeld, two more runs scored to make it 7-0. Condon’s triple off the wall in right added the final two runs of the frame, handing Torres a nine-run cushion.

Cain knocked in his fourth run of the day with a sacrifice fly in the seventh to provide Faulkner its final margin. In addition to Cain’s three hits, Condon and Polanco added a pair apiece. Trai Patrick and Jose Rojas each had two hits off of Torres for Vanguard, but the left-hander was never in serious danger. Tyler Steele (9-2) took the loss for the Lions.