LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas Night Hawks began their journey in the opening round of the NAIA Softball Tournament with a win over the fifth seed Johnson Royals and ended the day with a loss against the No. 1 seed Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies on Monday in the Lawrenceville bracket.
#4 Thomas 3 #5 Johnson 1
The Night Hawks found themselves down early, but managed to bring home two clutch runs in the sixth to get by the Johnson Royals to open up the Lawrenceville bracket Monday afternoon.
Johnson got on the board early in the top of the first, by bringing home Audrey Moorhouse on a fielder's choice to go up by one before grounding out to end the half inning. Thomas managed to get a runner on as Grace Hodges drew a walk but got caught stealing to end the first.
Baileigh Herrera took the circle for the Night Hawks and after allowing the run, kept the Royals at bay through the second and third innings. In the bottom of the third, Kristin Steller knocked a single into center then advanced to second on a passed ball. With the tying run in scoring position, Ansley Eason hit one into right to bring Steller to tie the game at one all.
Lindy Webber started for Johnson in a battle of aces as both fought to give their team an opportunity to take the lead. Herrera found herself in a tough situation as the go-ahead run stood 90 feet away with two outs. However, she kept her cool and forced the popup to Eason to get out of the jam. Needing a run to go in front, Eason led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to get into scoring position with no outs. A strikeout from Webber brought up Annalise Buncy who sent one into the gap in right center to drive in the go-ahead run for the Night Hawks. Alexis Adams advanced Buncy to third on a single to put runners on the corners for Sierra Ussery, who slugged a double of her own to score Buncy to give Thomas the two-run advantage.
Needing three outs, Herrera shut the door by retiring the side on back-to-back flyouts and a lineout to Steller to close out the game for the Night Hawks.
Herrera went the distance scattering five hits over seven innings with two strikeouts. On the offensive side, Eason and Ussery paced the Night Hawks with two hits apiece as they along with Buncy all recorded an RBI.
Thomas will play later today against the No.1 seed Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies at 4:30PM.
#1 Georgia Gwinnett 5 #4 Thomas 1
The Night Hawks managed just one run on six hits and left seven runners on base in a loss to No. 1 seed Georgia Gwinnett on Monday evening in the Lawrenceville bracket.
The Night Hawks fell behind early as the Grizzlies struck for single runs in the second and third before opening the game up with a three-run fourth inning. Thomas responded with its lone tally in the top of the sixth, but it wasn't enough to overcome Gwinnett's early surge.
Senior right-hander Sarah Ussery took the loss after allowing five runs (one earned) over 3.2 innings. She was relieved in the fourth by Emylee Mountin and Cameron Clontz, who combined for 2.1 scoreless innings in relief. Clontz was particularly effective, retiring all seven batters she faced with one strikeout.
At the plate, Ansley Eason and Sierra Ussery each recorded two hits, including a double apiece. K. Steller also added a two-bagger and was hit by a pitch. Thomas got on the board in the sixth when courtesy runner Maggie Stubbs scored on a sacrifice fly from Ava Nunez.
Defensively, the Night Hawks committed two errors, which proved costly during Gwinnett's big inning. Thomas also struggled with timely hitting, going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Despite the setback, Thomas showcased a few bright spots in a game that featured solid relief pitching and flashes of offensive potential against a top-tier opponent.
The Night Hawks will now face the winner of Johnson and Evangel tomorrow, May 13th at 5:00pm in an elimination game.
