CLERMONT, Fla. – The opening contest for the Thomas University softball team lasted two and a half hours, but it was worth every minute, as the Lady Night Hawks strung together a pair of hits to defeat No. 3 seed RV Warner 5-1 Thursday afternoon at PFX Athletics Legend Way.
 
TU (22-17) had a better performance from the plate, tallying ten hits.  Senior Pitcher Rebecca Boesen (8-10) tamed the Royals by allowing one earned run with three hits and two strikeouts in four and a third innings.
 
After a scoreless tie in the first, the Hunter Green & White struck first in the second with a solo homer to left by Freshman Jaelynn Vialpando for the 1-0 lead.
 
With the go-ahead home run, the Lady Night Hawks doubled down on Warner's batters, forcing back-to-back 1-2-3s in the bottom second and third innings.
 
In the top of the fourth, Thomas appeared to be set to break the game open after loading the bases with three, straight walks, but the game was halted temporarily for a lightning delay that lasted 46 minutes.  Nevertheless, even Mother Nature could not prevent TU from coming away with a pair of runs off a 2RBI single from Freshman Hailie Stewart that extended the lead 3-0.
 
Warner would find a way to get on the scoreboard with one out in the bottom of the fifth, as Kelly Dwyer's hit up the middle brought home Ashton Owen to cut the deficit to two runs (3-1).  Junior Larran Carter entered the game following the score, picking up the next two outs to end the inning.
 
The Hunter Green & White would add another insurance run in Inning 6, as a deep single from Sophomore Alexus Johnson set Stewart up for her third RBI of the match, a triple that put the Lady Night Hawks back up by three.
 
After forcing its third three up three down in the bottom of the sixth, TU would pick up one more run to solidify its lead (5-1).  Senior Holly Campbell began the sequence doubling to left field, and following a grounder that allowed the shortstop to advance to third, Sophomore Addyson Mauldin drove in the fifth run with her 37th hit of the season.
 
Carter officially picked up her third save of 2021 with two pop outs and a strikeout that preserved the 5-1 win for the Lady Night Hawks.
 
TU by the Numbers
4:        Hits Allowed to the second-best batting average in the conference
5:        Runs Scored
8:        Wins for Rebecca Boesen
10:      Total Hits
 
With the win, Thomas will now face No. 2 seed RV Coastal Georgia later this evening with a first pitch of 6:30 p.m.

For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit www.TUNightHawks.com.  Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU softball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksSoftb.