THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball team got back to the basics Tuesday evening, snapping a six-game losing streak once again to take another doubleheader sweep of the Trinity Baptist College Eagles with 9-4 and 7-1 victories at Varnedoe Stadium.
While the Night Hawks got its record back to .500 on the season, the day was extra special for Sophomore
Turner Maddox, as the Thomaston, Ga. native recorded a hit in the doubleheader's second game for a 20th, consecutive contest to overtake Chase Hinson for the longest hitting streak in program history. Maddox went a combined 5-for-7 at the plate.
Game One (TU 9, TBC 4)
The bats were flying for Thomas (15-15, 0-9 SUN), compiling 15 hits in the contest while limiting Trinty Baptist (11-16) to five. Freshman
Matthew Delay Jr. led the way for the Night Hawks, recording a perfect 5-for-5 from the batter's box.
Freshman
Anthony Menendez started the first three innings, allowing three runs in two hits while Redshirt Junior
Owen Simonds (1-0) limited the Eagles to one run in three hits. Both pitchers recorded four strikeouts apiece.
After TBC opened the game with a pair of runs in the top of the first, the Night Hawks responded in the bottom half with three runs. Delay set the tone with a leadoff single before Freshman
Jose Class Jr. recorded his fourth RBI of the season to bring home Delay. Sophomore
Luis Torres would give TU its first lead of the day, blasting a two-run shot over the right field wall for a 3-2 lead.
Thomas would add two more runs one inning later, as Delay would record his own RBI before Class tallied another RBI to extend TU's lead to three runs (5-2).
Trinity Baptist would score one run in the top of the third before the Green & White tallied three runs to push the scoring difference to its largest margin of the contest with a five-run lead (8-3).
The Eagles scored its final run of the contest in the top of the fourth but was unable to overcome Simonds' pitching late, going three-up three-down in the sixth and seventh innings that secured TU's 14th win of the season.
Game Two (TU 7, TBC 1)
While the Green & White continued its dominance on the day, Trinity Baptist improved at the plate with nine, recorded hits but was unable to capitalize for the majority of the contest, leaving two runners on base in five of the seven innings.
Redshirt Junior
Paul Haskew (2-0) took control at the bump, allowing only one run in six hits while fanning one in four, full innings pitched.
It did not take long for Night Hawk nation to witness history, as Maddox's first-inning hit solidified his place in the TU record books with the longest, hitting streak in a game.
After TBC tied the game 1-1 in the top of the second, the bottom half proved to be the biggest hitting spree of the day for TU, registering five runs in five hits to burst out to a 6-1 lead at the end of two. The Green & White would add one more insurance run in the fourth from a sacrifice fly from Sophomore
Luis Torres that brought home Delay for the game's final run.
TU solidified its 7-1 win with a game-ending double play in the top of the seventh.
TU by the Numbers
5: Pitchers used on the day
11: TBC wins at Varnedoe Stadium
15: Season wins
16: Runs scored on the day
20: Consecutive games with a
Turner Maddox hit
26: Team hits on the day
Thomas will have a tall task this weekend, as the Night Hawks travel to Cochran, Ga. to face #12 Middle Georgia State. First pitch is scheduled for Friday at 3 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.
