NAIA

Barons Capitalize on TU Errors, Upset Night Hawks in Both Games

THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball team struggled on the diamond Tuesday evening, as errors and hits from the Barons led to 8-4 defeats in both games for the Night Hawks at Varnedoe Stadium.
 
Game One Recap (BPC 8, TU 4)
Both Brewton-Parker College (18-22, 2-10 SSAC) and Thomas (17-22, 6-9 TSC) tallied eight hits apiece, but the Night Hawks recorded six errors in the contest.  Nevertheless, the Hunter Green & White could not overcome an early deficit, as the team fell short of a late comeback effort.
 
Freshman Bobby Jacobs (1-2) and Redshirt Junior Caleb Rogers pitched three innings apiece, with Jacobs giving up five earned runs in five hits and Rogers allowing one earned run in two hits.
 
BPC went to work early, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning that was fueled by a 2RBI double from Jordan Rahn.
 
As both teams went 1-2-3 in the second inning, the Barons extended its lead to 6-0 in the third with a Zachary Wilson three-run homer towards left field.  The Night Hawks responded in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff hit from Redshirt Sophomore Bradley Fleenor.  A fielder's choice and sacrifice bunt got Fleenor to third base before a wild pitch would bring home the Apopka, Fla. product for TU's first score of the day (6-1).
 
After Brewton-Parker tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth to extend its lead to seven, the Hunter Green & White responded with two more runs of their own (8-3).  Redshirt Junior Rodwell Munoz picked up a RBI while Redshirt Sophomore Raines Plant delivered on a RBI double on the following at-bat.
 
Thomas picked up right where it left off in the next inning.  With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Freshman Tyler Keaton singled, followed by a double from Fleenor to put runners on second and third.  Freshman Jayson Zmejkoski succeeded Fleenor, hitting his first RBI in six games to bring home Keaton and bring the deficit to four runs.
 
Freshman Bradley Peacock took the mound in the seventh inning, allowing just one hit in four batters faced.  The efforts of Thomas fell shy in the bottom of the seventh, seeing Redshirt Junior Brad Toxen's double as its only hit, thus giving BPC the 8-4 win.
 
Game Two Recap (TU, BPC 8, TU 4)
Brewton-Parker College also recorded eight hits in this game, but Thomas managed just six this time.  On the mound, no Night Hawk pitched more than Andy Allison's two and two-third innings, as the Redshirt Sophomore allowed three runs in five hits with four strikeouts in that span.
 
After BPC jumped out to a 1-0 lead, the Hunter Green & White's hitting game produced a momentum boost.  Toxen got the Night Hawks on the board with a 2RBI triple in a batter relay race on the diamond to give TU its first lead of the day, 2-1.  Freshman Andy Valdes followed suit, recording a RBI to bring home Toxen and a 3-1 lead.
 
The Barons wound answer Thomas in the top of the third, as Eduardo Castillo delivered a two-run homer to tie the game at three runs.  One at-bat later, Redshirt Junior Dillon Rutland relieved Allison, pitching a total of one and one-third innings and allowing no runs or hits.
 
Valdes would come up big again in the bottom of the fourth, leading off with a solo blast to retake the lead (4-3).
 
The lead would once again be short-lived, as the Barons again tied the contest (4-4) with a Rahn RBI in the fifth inning.
 
With the game tied 4-4, Redshirt Sophomore Owen Simonds (2-3) entered the sixth inning looking to keep the Barons at bay.  With runners on first and second, BPC's Taz Worrell delivered a base hit that went to the outfield, allowing the runners to take two bases and thus, retake a 5-4 lead.  A passed ball on the following at-bat allowed the Barons to extend its lead to two runs.
 
BPC would go on to score the game's final two runs, sealing another 8-4 win with three, straight strikeouts from Benjamin Harris in the seventh to complete the doubleheader upset.
 
TU by the Numbers:
2:         Double Plays Made in Game One
3:         Games this season featuring three hits from Andy Valdes
4:         Doubles on the day
7:         Total RBIs on the day
8:         Total Runs Scored on the day
8:         Consecutive Games Brad Toxen has registered a hit
14:       Total Hits on the day
 
The Night Hawks move on to Lake Wales, Fla. for it's the Sun Conference series against Warner University.  First pitch is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on this game 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.