THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball team continued to build on its momentum from the RussMatt Invitational, taking a pair of wins over Florida National Saturday at Varnedoe Stadium.
Game One Recap (TU 9, FNU 5)
TU (8-15, 0-6 TSC) tallied 10 hits in the contests and scored the final five runs. Redshirt Junior
Dillon Rutland (1-0) came in to the game in the fifth inning with the score tied 4-4 and allowed one earned in three hits to earn his first win as a Night Hawk.
After the Conquistadors (4-11) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Hunter Green & White broke the game open in the bottom of the second with a 3RBI triple by Redshirt Junior
Rodwell Munoz to take a 3-1 lead. Freshman
Jayson Zmejkoski would bring home another run in the next at-bat to extend the Night Hawk lead to three runs.
Florida National cut the deficit to run (4-3) in the top of the third after taking advantage of a TU outfielder error. A Daniel Rodriguez RBI the following hit would tie the contest 4-4.
Rutland got into an early jam in the fifth inning, but a rebounding double play by the Night Hawks infield limited the Conquistadors to one run scored (5-4).
Just as FNU took a second lead in the contest, Thomas was quick to vanquish it, building a hitting spree to take two runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead 6-5. The Night Hawks threatened to add more runs, but the Conquistadors were able to escape a jam.
However, FNU could not escape another jam in the bottom of the sixth, as TU tacked on three more runs to extend its hold (9-5).
Despite allowing a hit in the seventh, Rutland finished off the Conquistadors in four batters to secure a 9-5 win for Thomas.
Game Two Recap (TU 10, FNU 3)
The Night Hawks' win was fueled by an eight-run scoring spree in the third inning. Redshirt Freshman
John Steward (1-1) came out firing from the start, throwing strikes in nine of his first 11 pitches, en route to a two run-seven hits allowed performance in six innings that featured nine strikeouts for a memorable, first collegiate win.
FNU jumped out to a 2-0 lead from RBIs in the first and third innings by Jasiel Perez.
Thomas went through the batting lineup nearly one and a half times in the bottom of the third. Munoz began the scoring marathon, reaching home plate on a passed ball to bring the contest to within one run. An RBI single from Redshirt Junior
Brad Toxen tied the game at two runs apiece.
A Florida National pitching change following Toxen's RBI did not bode well for the Conquistadors, as the next three at-bats resulted in four RBIs, highlighted by a 2RBI double from Freshman
Luis Torres, to give the Night Hawks a firm 6-2 lead. Munoz's second-time up in the third produced an RBI as well as a run scored for the Apopka, Fla. native to extend the TU lead to six.
Torres would add on a RBI double to push the lead out to seven runs the following inning, as Redshirt Junior
Tyler Keaton a RBI of his own in the fifth to make the score 10-2 in favor of TU.
Redshirt Freshman
Dalton Hathcox entered the seventh inning to close out the win, allowing one run off two hits to secure the 10-3 win and the doubleheader sweep over Florida National.
TU by the Numbers
2: Double Plays Made on the day
11: Total Strikeouts on the day by the Pitching Staff
13: Months since the last time the Night Hawks won both games by double digits
17: Total RBIs on the day
19: Combined Runs between both games
22: Total Hits on the day
Thomas finishes its series against the Conquistadors Sunday with a single, nine-inning contest. First pitch is slated for Noon.
For up-to-date information on these games and other TU Athletics, visit
www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU baseball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksBaseba.
