Faulkner tries to keep season alive in SSAC Tourney
April 22, 2008
For head coach Brent Barker and his Faulkner baseball team the task at hand is clear but daunting – win this week’s Southern States Athletic Conference tournament or see their season come to a premature close.
The Eagles are hosting the eight-team, double-elimination event that starts today at Faulkner’s Harrison Field, and to earn a bid to the NAIA Region XIII tournament in Cleveland, Tenn., they must be the last team standing.
“We know what we’re facing, and I believe we’re capable of putting a great week together and winning this tournament,’’ Barker said. “There are a lot of really good baseball teams in our league, and it will take us playing the best baseball we’ve played all year to win it. But that is indeed our goal and expectation.’’
Faulkner (33-20, 15-12 SSAC), the fifth seed in the tournament, plays fourth-seed Southern Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Three first-round games will be played earlier in the day, with second-seed Auburn Montgomery facing seventh-seed Reinhardt at 10 a.m., third-seed Southern Poly battling sixth-seed Berry at 1 p.m., and top-seed Lee taking on eighth-seed Brewton-Parker at 4 p.m. The tournament continues with four more games on Thursday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. For tournament updates and pairings, please visit the SSAC website at www.ssacsports.com.
The Eagles’ first-round matchup with Southern Wesleyan provides an opportunity for redemption. In late March, the Warriors swept a three-game home series against Barker’s team. The lost weekend did serve as a reversal of fortunes, however, with Faulkner winning 11 of its last 13 games. Faulkner started the season 15-4 and found its way into the NAIA Top 25, but then lost 14 of its next 21 games before righting the ship.
“We’re playing well right now,’’ Barker said. “We’re starting to hit the ball like we did early in the season, and we feel good about where our pitching is too. I think we’ll have a chance this week.’’
While regular season champion Lee and runner-up Auburn Montgomery having already secured bids to the six-team regional May 6-10, the other SSAC teams competing this week are fighting for their post-season lives. This week’s tournament champion receives a third automatic bid to the regional, which will pit teams from the SSAC and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The GCAC receives two automatic bids, with the sixth and final bid going to an at-large team which could come from either conference.
The winner of the Region XIII tournament will travel to Florida to face the winner of the Region XIV Tournament in a best two-of-three Super Regional May 14-16. The Super Regional winner advances to play in the NAIA World Series, which is scheduled for May 23-30 in Lewiston, Idaho.