TIFTON, Ga. – In the regular season finale, the Thomas Night Hawks split the doubleheader with the ABAC Stallions on Friday afternoon.
Thomas 8 ABAC 2
Thomas used a balanced offensive attack and strong pitching performances to power past Abraham Baldwin, 8-2, on Friday afternoon.
The Night Hawks collected 13 hits and stole seven bases while riding the arms of AJ Wydra, Sawyer Smith, and Matthew Demetree to keep the Stallions off balance after the first inning.
After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first, Thomas responded quickly. Cameron Tyson got the first run on the board the game in the second with a RBI-single, and an error by the ABAC third baseman brought Hunter Kern home to tie the game in the third. Matthew Williams put the Night Hawks ahead with an RBI double to left-center. Thomas padded the lead with three more runs in the fifth, highlighted by clutch hitting and aggressive baserunning.
Williams led the way offensively, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Lawhon added two hits, two RBIs, a walk and a stolen base, while Seth Waltimyer chipped in two hits, a stolen base, and an RBI. The Night Hawks swiped seven bases as well in the win.
On the mound, Wydra earned the win, tossing four innings and allowing just two earned runs while striking out six. Smith followed with two shutout innings of relief, recording three strikeouts and earning the save. Demetree closed it out with a perfect inning, fanning two.
The Night Hawks' pitching staff combined for 11 strikeouts while limiting the Stallions to six hits.
ABAC 6 Thomas 1
Thomas scratched across a run late, but a slow start proved too much to overcome in a loss to Abraham Baldwin in game two.
The Night Hawks managed just five hits, scoring their lone run in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI double from Trey Larkin. Thomas stranded seven runners on base and was unable to string together enough offense to erase an early deficit.
Dylan Letchworth took the loss on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits over four innings with three strikeouts. Relievers Chase Marsh, Nick Brady, Jaxon Smith, and Ashton O'Quinn combined to limit the Stallions to two runs the rest of the way.
Larkin finished 1-for-4 with the Night Hawks' only RBI, while Hunter Kern, Seth Waltimyer, Tyler Marczak, and Cameron Rosario each collected a hit.
Despite solid defensive play with no errors, Thomas could not recover from Abraham Baldwin's three-run burst across the second and third innings.
The Night Hawks now await to hear who they will face in the SSAC Conference tournament in Jackson, Tennessee on Wednesday, April 30th.
