MONTGOMERY, Ala. – No.7 William Carey pulled away late against No. 13 Faulkner University in game one of Saturday's double header to win 6-2 but dropped the final game of the series 6-5 in 10 innings.
"I am really proud of how our guys battled all day," said Head Coach
Bobby Halford. "To come back and tie it and get beat by a walk off will make us tougher going forward.
Preston Ratliff did a yeoman's job pitching in relief to keep us in the game. We are still first in the league, and we control what happens moving forward the last two weekends."
In game one, Carey got things going in the first inning on a
Preston Ratliff RBI double, but the Eagles answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. For the next four innings things remained unchanged until
Josh Alexander put the Crusaders back in front, scoring
DeeJay Booth on a single to right.
However, just like in the first inning, Faulkner answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game. In the top of the seventh, Carey again took the lead, this time on a
Jerod Williams single to right. The Crusaders were not done though, as
Rigoberto Hernandez scored Willaims and
Hays Carley on a single to center field.
Later in the inning, Ratliff picked up his second RBI of the game on a double to left to make it a four-run advantage. Relief pitcher
Bobby Magee worked around two free passes in the seventh to seal the victory. For the game, Magee worked four innings allowing one run on two hits with six strikeouts to earn the win.
Game two saw Faulkner take the early lead with two runs in the first with Carey answering in the second with three runs on three hits.
Eli Collins and
Tyler Ducksworth started the inning off with back-to-back hits with Carley following with a triple to center field to tie the game.
Braydon Coffey put WCU ahead, scoring Carley on an RBI groundout to second.
The lead was short lived though, as the Eagles tied the game with a run in the third and then added to their lead with a run in the fourth and fifth inning. Alexander put the Crusaders within one run on an RBI single to right in the seventh inning.
After a lead off double by Hernandez followed by a groundout from Booth moved Hernandez to third base. Alexander came through for Carey, delivering a deep fly ball to left center, allowing Hernandez to score and tie the game.
Faulkner threatened in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with two outs but relief pitcher Ratliff struck out the next batter to end the threat and send the game into extra innings. Only one extra inning was needed, as Orlando Lorduy led off the bottom of the tenth inning with a solo home run to give the Eagles the win.
Carey is back in action on Friday, April 18, as they head to Blue Mountain, Miss. to take on Blue Mountain Christian. Play is set to begin at 6:00 pm.
