BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – GAME 1 – Five home runs were hit in the opening game of the Blue Mountain/Faulkner SSAC series Friday, with hard wind blowing out to left field for carry.
Faulkner would get the better of the Toppers, winning 14-8 behind a five-RBI day from Evan Gilliam.
With a 1-0 lead heading into the third, Faulkner's bats got hot against Topper starter Josh Smith.
The Eagles would put up five runs in the third, highlighted by a three-run double from catcher Jose Vargas.
The Eagles continued to pound away in the fourth, scoring seven more runs off Smith, highlighted by a grand slam from Gilliam and a three-run blast by Jorge Lucero.
Blue Mountain would score four in the third on an RBI single by Alex Frillman, an RBI double by Hayden Arant and an Easton Rainer two-run bomb to right against Faulkner starter J.C. Toro.
Blue Mountain scratched three more across, including a two-run homer blasted to right by Austin Beech, but couldn't muster a bigger rally.
Faulkner's Trevor Torppa finished off the Toppers in the top of the ninth with a solo homer belted off Topper reliever Jesse Hancock.
Smith (3-2) suffered the loss for Blue Mountain, going four innings, giving up 12 runs on 12 hits with five Ks.  Hancock tossed five innings in relief, giving up two runs on five hits with five Ks.
Despite getting tagged by the Topper offense, Toro grabbed the win, going six innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits with two Ks.
The two teams will decide the series tomorrow in Blue Mountain in a doubleheader with first pitch at 1 p.m. CT.
 
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