COCHRAN, Ga. — The Thomas University softball team leveled the season series against Middle Georgia Tuesday afternoon, as the Night Hawks won both contests in the non-conference doubleheader in the weekday matchup putting the season series at 2-2.
Game one of the double header was an entertaining one, as the Night Hawks (13-6, 0-0 SUN) won the game 4-3 in extra innings after neither team could truly hold a lead in the contest.
In the first, the Night Hawks momentarily jumped ahead of the Knights (14-4, 0-0 SSAC), after an Adreanna Killingsworth sacrifice fly brought Averie Sheppard in to score, 1-0.
Next up, Dara Moore would send a deep ball into centerfield bringing home Holly Campbell, giving Thomas the short-lived 2-0 lead.
The Knights would rally together taking no time to get on the scoreboard, when MGA's RBI leader Emma Raulerson advanced Karlee Back in to score, 1-0.
Sophomore Alexis Cosgrove then followed with a double of her own, bringing Raulerson home, leveling the contest 2-2.
Superb pitching by both teams then took over, as both starting pitchers (Larran Carter and Beth Eddins) put on a clinic, allowing just one hit combined over the next three innings.
The Night Hawks would end the drought in the fifth, when senior Hunter Williams found a single in left field registering TU's third hit of the contest. Sophomore Averie Sheppard followed with an RBI double, giving Thomas its second lead of the contest, 3-2.
Much like the earlier lead in the first, Middle Georgia instantly narrowed the gap, as the Knights found three hits in the inning, putting two runners on base with sophomore Summer Lawrence up to bat.
With a runner on first and third, Lawrence hit a single into right field bringing home the base runner on third tying the ballgame at three apiece. A questionable attempt to come home from the trailing baserunner was attempted by the ensuing MGA player, but a perfectly placed pick-off throw from TU's Hailie Stewart helped Taylor Lanphere complete the tag at home plate, register the out, and maintain the 3-3 tie.
After that, the Night Hawks found themselves in another sticky situation in the sixth, when a stolen base and wild pitch advanced a single MGA hit into a triple with no outs in the inning.
Thomas' Larran Carter would then take over, forcing a popup, strikeout, and groundout, to escape the inning unscathed with the 3-3 tie still preserved. TU's SUN Conference Player of the Week then put herself in another situation in the bottom of the seventh, when the senior star hit MGA's leadoff batter, putting a player on base.
Though in another predicament, Carter would once again strikeout the following batter, before the Thomasville native registered an additional groundout and flyout to send the game to extra innings.
In the eighth, neither team found a hit, but the ninth would be a different story, as a sacrifice bunt from TU's Holly Campbell would advance Makana Pember into third. (Pember initially placed on second)
Killingsworth then hit a deep ball into right field for a sacrifice fly, advancing Pember home, 4-3.
Carter then earned her final three outs of the inning with a pair of popups and a groundout, completing the game one victory 4-3 in nine innings.
Game two of the day started shortly after the scheduled 3:00 p.m. first pitch schedule time, with first pitch not beginning until around 3:45 p.m.
The delay in gameplay seemed not to slow down either team though, as both teams came out with hot bats, combining for five runs in the first.
TU again would start the game batting in the top of the inning, with Averie Sheppard beginning the contest with a single. Impressive base running from the sophomore saw her go to second on a wild pitch, followed by an infield advancement by DeeAurah Bradshaw that put Sheppard on third with Bradshaw getting out at first.
Senior Holly Cambell then followed with her lone RBI of the day, as a sacrifice fly brought Sheppard home, 1-0.
A solo home run by junior Adreanna Killingsworth was next, extending TU's lead to 2-0 in the top of the first.
Following the pattern of Tuesday's game one of the doubleheader, Middle Georgia would provide an answer in the bottom half of the first, when Raulerson earned another pair of RBIs tying the ballgame at 2-2 with one out.
MGA senior Logan Blizzard then singled to center field, giving Middle Georgia its first lead of the day, when Raulerson came home, 3-2.
In the second, Sheppard earned an RBI of her own tying the ballgame 3-3, when her single brought Hailie Stewart home.
The third inning saw TU begin to mount its lead over the Knights, when Dara Moore and Tiana Villagomez both registered multi-RBI hits, bringing in four runs.
Moore's single to center field saw two runners advance home before Villagomez's two-run homer solidified TU's lead, 7-3.
The Knights went on to score an additional three runs over the next two innings, but the damage was done, and the Night Hawks ran away with an 8-6 win.
TU's Larran Carter (9-2) and Leanne Lain (1-1) picked up the wins as starting pitchers on Tuesday, as the Night Hawks unbeaten streak now stretches to seven games.
Up next, the Night Hawks will gear up to open SUN Conference play next week, as the Ladies make a trip to Babson Park, Fla. to compete against the RV Warriors from Webber International University.
For up-to-date information on Thomas University Softball and other TU Athletics, visit www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU Softball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksSoftb.
