AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Thomas University baseball team battled weather conditions, as the first pitch in Game One was delayed nearly two hours. Nevertheless, Mother Nature could not stop Thomas' mojo, as the Night Hawks completed its perfect run in the RussMatt Invitational with an 11-8 win over Judson University before besting the Titans from Indiana University-South Bend 8-7 in extra innings Wednesday at Lake Myrtle Park Field 6.
Game One (TU 11, JU 8)
The Night Hawks (13-9) posted 10 hits in the contest as Judson (1-10) finished with 11 hits. Freshman Right-Hander
Zachary Buelk (3-1) was credited with the win, giving up one run in three hits with four strikeouts in two innings pitched. Redshirt Senior Left-Hander
Dillon Rutland picked up his second save of 2022 after pitching three innings to allow two hits and one run while fanning two batters.
The second inning proved to be quite the barnburner, as the Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Thomas responded with six runs. Freshman
Khadin Bastian (2-for-3) produced TU's first RBI as Sophomore
Turner Maddox (3-for-3) followed up with a 2RBI single before a Judson wild pitch saw the contest knotted up at four runs apiece. The Green & White would take its first lead with RBI hits from Redshirt Freshman
Cameron Rosario and Freshman
Jean Pool Checo.
Down 7-6 in the sixth inning, Thomas tied the game with another Maddox RBI before retaking the lead on Rosario's second RBI on the day. Checo added an insurance RBI on the next at-bat to push TU's lead to 9-7.
Rutland entered the game in Inning Seven, as the Hahira, Ga. native forced a 1-2-3 on the Eagles' hitting lineup before allowing just one hit in the top of the eighth inning. The Green & White pushed its lead out to four runs (11-7) in the bottom half as a wild pitch, coupled with a sacrifice fly from Freshman
Matthew Delay Jr., brought home two more runs. Rutland would finish off Judson in the ninth inning, but not before allowing a solo blast for the contest's final run (11-8) to preserve a three-run victory for Thomas.
Game Two (TU 8, IUSB 7 – 10 inn.)
Once again, Thomas excelled in the endgame, pulling off yet another comeback on the 2022 season. The Green & White stayed consistent with its runs, scoring in all but the first, third, and fifth innings. Thomas again posted 10 hits in a game while limiting Indiana University-South Bend (6-10) to seven hits. Freshman Right-Hander
Nevan Figueroa started for Thomas at the bump, allowing one run in two hits with four strikeouts in a full two innings.
Down 1-0 in the second inning, the Night Hawks took advantage of IUSB's Payton Carney struggle on the mound, walking TU's runners to load the bases before back-to-back RBI hits from Maddox and Freshman
Michael Sowers gave Thomas its first lead of the game (2-1).
Two innings later, Maddox would tack on another RBI to extend TU's lead to 3-1. Both teams spent the fifth and sixth innings exchanging one run apiece, as the Titans scored on a sacrifice fly before the Night Hawks matched the run with a RBI fielder's choice from Bastian to head into the seventh inning with a 4-2 lead.
In the seventh inning, Sophomore Right-Hander
Justin James entered the contest, but the reserve pitcher struggled against a rejuvenated Titans' hitting lineup that scored four runs (6-4) in three hits before being pulled for Freshman Left-Hander
Hernando Pacheco. The native of Dallas, Ga. quickly posted two strikeouts to retire IUSB's side.
Thomas could only post one run in the bottom of the seventh before the Titans pushed its lead back to two runs in the top of the eighth. With TU needing to keep pace with IUSB, Bastian got on base with a hit and used base-running skills to create a scoring opportunity. The efforts paid off for the Orlando, Fla. native, stealing home to pull the Green & White within one of IUSB 7-6.
Redshirt Junior Right-Hander
Andy Allison (1-0) entered the contest with one out in the top of the eighth to stifle the Titans at the plate, finishing the contest allowing no runs, no hits, and five strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.
With Allison keeping IUSB in check, TU used the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 7-7, as a Maddox sacrifice fly brought home Checo to send the game into extra innings.
Indiana University-South Bend took a chance in the bottom of the tenth by putting in a fresh pitcher in Jackson Krueger, but the decision backfired as the Sophomore allowed a hit and two walks before Rosario delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly, sending in Redshirt Junior
Anthony Dorak for the game-winning run that clinched the 8-7 victory for TU.
TU by the Numbers
3: TU career wins for
Andy Allison
5: Overall wins at RussMatt
12: Consecutive games
Turner Maddox has a hit
13: Pitchers used between both games
19: Runs on the day
20: Hits on the day
27: Combined strikeouts by the pitching staff
The Night Hawks return home to await Indiana Tech for a three-game, non-conference series. First pitch at Varnedoe Stadium is slated for Saturday at 1 p.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.
