THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball team saw the bats flying once again Tuesday evening, as the Night Hawks handled Brewton-Parker 20-10 in seven innings at Varnedoe Stadium.
"We obviously swung the bats well tonight," said Head Coach
Tom Fleenor. "It was one of those nights when our hitters needed to pick up the slack for other things we weren't doing well and they did just that."
The Green & White (3-1) finished the night with 17 hits and only three committed errors. Redshirt Junior
Paul Haskew (1-0) picked up his second win as a Night Hawk, allowing three earned runs in four hits while recording one strikeout.
Freshman
Matthew Delay Jr. went 4-for-5 from the batter's box, as fellow Freshman
Jean Pool Checo debuted with a 3-for-4 performance. Redshirt Junior
Bradley Fleenor and Redshirt Senior
Brad Toxen played significant roles in the lineup, tallying five RBIs apiece.
After allowing the opening run in the first, Thomas' hitting game went red-hot in the bottom of the second, recording six, unanswered runs, highlighted by five hits. The Barons (1-4) responded in the third with a leadoff homer from Malik Germany, leading to a three-score inning that cut TU's lead to two runs (6-4).
With a 10-4 lead heading into the top of the fifth inning, Thomas' lead cushion was threatened as the Barons recorded four runs, highlighted by a 3RBI double from Jackson Smith, to once again cut the deficit to two (10-8). The bottom half of the inning saw Fleenor produce his first, big hit, a 2RBI double to center to give the Night Hawks a four-run lead (12-8). The Apopka, Fla. native followed up the 2RBI double with a 3HR in the next inning, as Thomas held a commanding 18-8 lead after six innings.
After the Barons scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to extend the game only to the bottom half, as a leadoff hit from Checo would set up four, consecutive walks that would secure the 20-10 win for the Night Hawks.
TU by the Numbers
3: Stolen bases
4: Pitchers on the mound
5: Doubles
18: Runs batted in (sixth-highest in program history)
20: Runs scored (sixth-highest in program history)
37: At-bats
Thomas will hit the road for the first time this season, travelling to Hoover, Ala. for a neutral, non-conference three-games against NCAA DIII-affiliate Asbury (Ky.). First pitch is set for Friday at 3 p.m. CST.
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.
