THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball team will look to pick up its first wins in SUN Conference play this weekend, as the Night Hawks host a three-game series this weekend against #17 St. Thomas.
 
Despite being swept in its SUN Conference opening series, TU (7-5, 0-3 SUN) had opportunities to take two games from #8 Keiser had not the Green & White lost momentum late in Games Two and Three.  Despite the score lines, Sophomore Turner Maddox came away from the series nearly hitting .500 overall. Thomas was also without Head Coach Tom Fleenor in West Palm Beach, who was unable to make the trip due to surgery recovery. 
 
The Night Hawks head into the weekend with Freshman Matthew Delay Jr. holding SUN's ninth-best batting average (.440) after hitting 5-for-13 in the series against the Seahawks.  Overall, TU's .315 average is a third-best in the conference.  On the mound, Thomas holds a 6.04 ERA as opponents have averaged .291 at the plate.
 
TU's pitching mound will have an opportunity to rebound against a Bobcat (8-3, 1-1 SUN) team that has struggled at the plate this season, batting .265 overall.  While STU steamrolled through the first seven games, including upset wins over #5 Tennessee Wesleyan, #6 Faulkner, and #21 Reinhardt, before dropping three of its last four contests.  STU comes off an 8-1 loss to #8 Keiser in non-conference play earlier in the week, as the Navy & Burgundy were limited to four hits. 
 
St. Thomas' batting is led by Ezequiel Valdez (.415), posting 15 runs, 11 RBIs, nine stolen bases and four home runs on the season.  The Florida National transfer holds one of SUN's top ten slugging percentages (.732) heading into this weekend's series.  Primary pitcher Gio Soto (2-0) has allowed four earned runs in 13 hits with 21 strikeouts in 2022, all while holding opposing batters to .245 on the season.
 
STU holds a commanding 18-6 overall series lead against TU, as the Night Hawks recently broke a 12-game losing skid to the Bobcats in its last contest with a 17-6 win.
 
The series' doubleheader day is slated for Friday, with the first pitch at Varnedoe Stadium set for 1 p.m.  Fans can access each game's live updates by following the links below:
 
Game One (Friday @ 1PM)
Live Stats (XML)
Live Video
 
Game Two (Friday @ 4PM)
Live Stats (XML)
Live Video
 
Game Three (Saturday @Noon)
Live Stats (XML)
Live Video
 
For up-to-date information on this series 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.