BAY MINETTE, ALA. A three-game sweep of Alabama Community College Conference South Division rival Bishop State over the weekend moved Faulkner State above .500 in the division. The Sun Chiefs skinned the Wildcats 17-3 in seven innings in a scheduled nine-inning game Friday afternoon at Mobile’s Texas Street Park, then completed the series sweep by taking a doubleheader that was completed Sunday afternoon after thunderstorms suspended the second game.

In the doubleheader, Faulkner prevailed 15-7 and 9-6. The Sun Chiefs, after a two-day, three-game road trip to New Orleans and back to Summit, Miss., resume SD play Friday when they host Southern Union of Wadley in a nine-inning game on Stanley James Field at 3 p.m.

The Sun Chiefs and Bison will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, FSCC will be in Birmingham for nine-inning games against Jefferson State and Lawson State respectively.

Faulkner will play Jefferson State at 2 p.m. and Lawson State at 1 p.m.

Summaries of Friday’s win and the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader follow. No information was available on the third game of the series.

FRIDAY

FSCC 17, Bishop 3 in 7

A three-run first inning got the Sun Chiefs started, and they kept it up every other inning thereafter. Faulkner scored four times in the third, sent 13 batters to the plate in an eight-run fifth, and closed out their run-scoring with two in the seventh, finishing with 17 hits.

Bishop avoided a shutout by scoring three runs in the sixth.

Chad Watson led the FSCC hit parade with four hits, a single in the first, a lead-off base hit in the third when he also stole second and third,q and doubles in the fourth and fifth. Chris Clements had a two-run single in first, an infield hit in the third and a base knock to right field in the fifth.

Zac Cates stroked an RBI single in the first , a double in the third, a lead-off single in fifth, and had an RBI ground out in fifth. Michael Tedesco doubled in two runs in the third, Taylor Roy had an RBI ground out in third and two RBI singles in the big fifth.

Tailor Holley doubled home a run in fifth, and Tim Daw had an RBI infield single and two-run double in fifth, during which Tanner WIlliams lofted a sacrifice fly and Adam Heisler also had an RBI single.

Clint Brown’s triple in the seventh sent home the last two FSCC runs.

Bishop State lead-off batter Joe Corley had a first-inning single and a one-out double in the sixth Ronald Tarvin followed in the sixth with an RBI double, as did Michael Byrd, then Corey Matthews singled in the last Wildcats run.

Starting pitcher Joe Carter tossed five shutout innings to get the win. He allowed one hit to go with one strikeout and one walk.

SATURDAY

FSCC 15-9, Bishop 7-6, second games suspended, completed Sunday

The Wildcats grabbed the early lead in the first game of the doubleheader, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings while Faulkner counter-punched with two in the second and three in the third, then delivered a five-run blow in the fourth to take the lead for good. FSCC countered Bishop’s final run in the fifth with one in the sixth, then added four insurance runs in the seventh.

Watson belted a pair of two-run home runs, one in the fourth and one in the seventh, and also had a lead-off single in the sixth. Williams’ RBI double preceded Watson’s home run over left field fence

Clements had a lead-off double in second, a one-out single in the third and an RBI double in fourth. Cates stroked an RBI single in the second and a th‘ree-run home run in third. Tedesco had a one-out RBI double in the second and a lead-off single in the seventh,

Roy legged out an infield single in second, belted a lead-off double in the fourth and singled in the eighth. Heisler had a one-out double in third,

Reliever Jarrin Brister notched the win with six innings of one-hit relief.

Corley had two hits for Bishop and Corey Mathews belted a two-run home run.