MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Indiana Wesleyan University baseball was afforded the opportunity to play one of the top teams in the NAIA on Tuesday in No. 9-ranked Faulkner (Ala.) University in Montgomery, Alabama. Indiana Wesleyan remained close until the sixth inning when Faulkner pulled away for a 14-6 victory.

Indiana Wesleyan (4-3) was originally scheduled to play Point (Ga.) University in Atlanta, Georgia but that game was canceled. The game with Faulkner was then added as a replacement.

The Wildcats scored first with a run in the top of the first inning. Jacob Murphy crossed the plate for the 1-0 lead when Javier Aponte grounded out. The Eagles gained the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run home run for the 2-1 advantage.

In the second, Faulkner scored three runs to stretch their lead to 5-1. But in the next half inning Indiana Wesleyan scored three runs to cut the deficit to one at 5-4. Brice Davis had an RBI single in the third while Preston Fugita had a two-run single with the bases loaded.

After Faulkner (19-2) added a run in the fifth, Indiana Wesleyan got it right back in the sixth. AJ Harris singled to lead off the inning and would score when the Faulkner centerfielder muffed the ball off the bat of Murphy. The unearned run closed the gap to 6-5.

The Eagles scored in the home half of the sixth for a 7-5 lead and then rain brought a stop to the game for over two hours. After the lengthy rain delay, the Eagles dominated play. The Eagles scored three in the seventh and plated four more in the eighth for a 14-5 lead. Fugita earned his third RBI of the night in the ninth with a single that scored courtesy runner Trey Shigley for the final run of the game.

Indiana Wesleyan returns to Tennessee tomorrow for a 9-inning game at Bryan (Tenn.) College in Dayton, Tennessee. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.