Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The Belhaven baseball team (22-6, 7-4 SSAC) lost back-to-back games for the first time on Friday evening after suffering 9-2 and 5-2 defeats at the hands of a Southern States Athletic Conference nemesis. The top-ranked Faulkner Eagles improved to 24-5 on the year, including a league-best 9-2 in conference action.

(Box Score-HTML Game 1) (Box Score-HTML Game 2)
"We haven't hit the ball well lately, and you just can't get away with that against a fine club like Faulkner," Head Coach Hill Denson said. "When we start swinging the bats, we can be a good ballclub."

The series opener saw Boomer Scarborough take the mound in the process suffered his third loss of the year after allowing four earned runs on nine hits through five innings. The Eagles capitalized on two Blazer errors in the fourth, adding on five unearned runs that proved to spark the team to victory. David Hill was the lone man out of the Belhaven bullpen, pitching around one base hit in the sixth inning.

Right fielder Michael Cruz went 3-4 at the plate, while driving in three and scoring two more. Robert Llera and Sergio Sanchez each smacked a ball over the wall in right center, while four other Faulkner hitters recorded base hits.

Belhaven scattered four hits throughout the seven-inning contest, as Reagan Rutledge, Tyler Akins, Gabe Wilson and Michael Wurster provided all of the offense. After Eagle starter Thomas Dorminy balked home a run in the fourth, Akins was credited with Belhaven's lone RBI of the game two innings later.

Dorminy picked up his fifth victory of the year in dominant fashion, hurling the entire ballgame for the home nine. The hard-throwing left hander allowed two Blazer runs while walking a pair and fanning six.

The Blazers gave the ball to undefeated right hander Rayko Bellmas for the nightcap, and he pitched into the sixth inning before suffering his first loss of the season. Bellmas allowed three earned runs on nine hits while issuing three walks and striking out one.

Andrew Gunn, Austin McCann, and Josh Rogers each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, but Faulkner starter Jeremy Holcombe already had all of the run support he needed. Holcombe overcame eight Belhaven hits by allowing just two runs through his eight innings of work, and the right hander improved to 5-1 on the mound. Closer Brad Griffis allowed two hits before recording his sixth save of the campaign.

Offensively, Rutledge, Wilson, and Emilio DeSilva each contributed two hits, while four other Blazers added a base hit to the cause. Hunter Sutton recorded the team's only extra base hit of the day, while Dominick Francia picked up the squad's only RBI.

Cruz remained hot at the plate for the Eagles, blasting a home run to straightaway center in the bottom of the fifth. Cruz, Sanchez, Dauris Holguin, and Esteban Paula combined nine of the team's 10 hits, helping Faulkner to a doubleheader sweep.

The Blazers and Eagles will play the series finale on Saturday, when Belhaven will turn to 2013 All-American Chris Good on the mound. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm from Harrison Field in Montgomery.

"I hope Chris can step up for us against a team with really good hitters," Denson said. "He's an off-speed pitcher, and sometimes a guy like that can create problems for the other guys."