JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Thomas University baseball team did not hold back from showing its might on the diamond Tuesday night, sweeping the doubleheader against Trinity Baptist with 4-2 and 12-1 wins at Trinity Baseball Field.
Game One (TU 4, TBC 2 – 9 inn.)
While most of the Night Hawks' (7-2) wins this season were fueled by the bats, the Green & White would have to rely on the pitching staff and the outfielders to pull off yet another, extra-innings win. Thomas would roll through five pitchers in its first win of the night, as Freshman Right-Hander
Anthony Menendez got the start on the mound. Freshman Right-Hander
Brandon Steele (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win after allowing no earned runs and no hits with two strikeouts in two full innings pitched.
Despite its struggle to post runs, TU's batting productivity remained consistent, posting 10 hits compared to the eight by the Eagles (4-7). Redshirt Freshman
Cameron Rosario, Freshman
Matthew Delay Jr., and Redshirt Junior
Anthony Dorak each recorded three hits, while Delay added two RBIs.
Sophomore
Turner Maddox's alert base running led the native of Thomaston, Ga. into scoring position after a walk and a stolen base, setting up sacrifice flies from Redshirt
Brad Toxen and Sophomore
Luis Torres to bring home Maddox for the early Night Hawks' 1-0 lead. The lead would not last long, as a Will VanSickle RBI double in the inning's bottom half would tie the score (1-1).
The Green & White had threatened to break open the scoring line in the fourth and sixth innings with the bases loaded, but strikeouts from Freshman
Khadin Bastian and Maddox, respectively, kept the contest in a deadlock.
Steele entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, as the Ocoee, Fla. native made an immediate impact, going 1-2-3 against the TBC lineup. Other than Thomas' lone error in the eighth, Steele stumped the Eagles' batters once more.
Steele's "steel" pitching set up a ninth-inning burst of runs, as Delay provided TU's biggest hit of the game with a 2RBI single before the Altamonte Springs, Fla. native found his way home as well to put Thomas up 4-1.
Freshman Right-Hander
Justin Montanez entered the bottom of the ninth for TU's first save of the season, allowing one earned run in two hits with one strikeout to preserve the Night Hawks' victory.
Game Two (TU 12, TBC 1)
After various appearances on the mound this season, Freshman Right-Hander
Dustin Letchworth (1-0) got the start for the twin bill's second game, giving up just four hits with no runs and three strikeouts in a full, five innings pitched.
At the batter's box, Thomas outhit the Blue & White 13-5, highlighted by successful performances at the plate from Delay (3-for-4) and Maddox (2-for-3).
The first three innings of the game showed shades of the preceding contest: deadlocked and defensive. The Green & White saw its first run come in the fourth inning when another Baby Hawk (
Jose Class Jr.) blasted a RBI double to left field to give TU a 1-0 lead. The game momentum began to shift to Thomas in the bottom of the fifth, as Toxen took a fielder's choice and threw it home to Class to make the putout and deny Trinity Baptist the equalizing run.
The flood gates opened in the sixth, as the Night Hawks added six runs in five hits while Trinity Baptist committed two errors to extend its lead to 7-0. After TBC added its lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, the Green & White scored another barrage of runs, tallying five more scores through a string of four hits and a fielder's choice with the bases loaded. Redshirt Junior Right-Hander
Andy Allison finished out the contest in the bottom of the seventh, finishing off the Eagles in four batters with two strikeouts and no hits allowed.
TU by the Numbers
6: "Baby Hawk" pitching wins this season
8: Total pitchers on the mound
14: Runs batted in
16: Total runs scored on the night
20: Overall wins against TBC
23: Total hits on the night
Next time out, another championship-defining test awaits the Night Hawks in West Palm Beach, Fla. in #8 Keiser to kick off SUN Conference play. First pitch is set for Friday at 11 a.m.
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.
