THOMASVILLE, Ga. – Thomas University's baseball team provided an afternoon delight for the Night Hawk faithful today at Varendoe Stadium sweeping Montreat College (0-2) in the Friday twin bill.  The Night Hawks (4-2) blanked the Cavaliers in a one hit, 3-0 shutout in game one and completed the season sweep with a 7-4 victory in the night cap.
 
One word simply described game one starting pitcher Monte Reese's performance – dominant.  The 6-foot-2 Atlanta, Ga., native took a no hitter into the top of the seventh, but an infield chopper with two outs left in the game halted the pursuit of perfection.  Reese (1-0) pitched 6.2 innings of work, striking out 10 of the 24 batters he faced. 
 
Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the game set at a stalemate with five and half innings of scoreless play.  The Night Hawks, backed by Reese's performance on the mound, came alive to plate all three of its runs for the game.  Left fielder Jeremy Crosby started the inning off with a walk and then moved up 90 feet when center fielder Brandon Singer reached on an eight pitch walk.  Crosby would be forced out at third on a drag bunt by pitch hitter Matthew Brady. On a 2-2 pitch, designated hitter Corey Conway doubled down the left field line to score Singer from second to take the 1-0 lead.
 
Two pitches later, shortstop Jake Desuyo beat out an infield chopper to score Brady from third.  Conway would then score when an erred throw by Montreat's Chris Keys sailed past the third baseman towards TU's dugout.  These three runs would be the difference in the game.  Codey Conway would come on in relief for Reese in the seventh inning to pick up his first save of the 2015 season in the 3-0 victory.
 
In the night cap, the Cavaliers would jump out to the early 1-0 lead in the first inning.  Right fielder Chandler Musselwhite reached on a walk and then moved to third on a wild pitch by TU's starter Justin Hicks.  Two pitches later, Triston Glover would launch a single up the middle to score the first run of game two.  The Night Hawks responded in the bottom frame of the inning to regain the 2-1 lead.  Both Desuyo and second baseman Jalbert Melo singled to begin the inning.  The duo would then advance on a passed ball before Desuyo scored on a grounder by right fielder Casey Mannion to the Cavaliers' second baseman.  Catcher Kaleb Holbrook would later single to left to plate the go ahead run.
 
The Night Hawks tacked on two additional runs, one in the second and the other in the third, to increase their lead to 4-2.  First baseman Josh Bruijn picked up the fourth run of the game on his third homerun of the season.  Bruijn's blast sailed down the left field line on a 1-0 fastball on the inside corner.
 
Montreat powered back in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 4-4. While the comeback temporarily swung the momentum in the Cavaliers' favor, the Night Hawks would overcome Montreat's rally to score the go-ahead and two insurance runs in the bottom portion of the fifth.
 
Cavaliers' relief pitcher, Will Feimer, would enter the game and eventually hand Thomas the victory throwing three wild pitches during the inning.  Both Melo and Mannion reached on singles to start the frame.  Next, Bruijn would plate Melo from second on a one out single up the middle.  Feimer then threw three consecutive wild pitches, one that scored Mannion from second and two more that moved Bruijn to third.  Bruijn would come around to score on a two out double to the left field corner by pitch hitter Alan Baker sending the Night Hawks to the 7-4 victory.
 
Reliever Ben Overman (1-0) picked up the win while Feimer (0-1) suffered the loss.
 
"The guys did a great job with overcoming mistakes from yesterday, putting them behind them, and moving ahead," stated head coach Mike Lee. "We didn't have as many miscues today compared to games past and that's a positive.  We will take the day off tomorrow and prepare for Bluefield."
 
The Night Hawks return to action on Sunday, Feb. 8 when they host Bluefield College (Va.) in double-header action.  First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.  The second game will take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest.
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com.  Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU men's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawkBaseba.