NAIA
Night Hawks Looking Forward to Challenging #11 Knights
THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball team will travel to Cochran, Ga. Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference game against #11 Middle Georgia State for a chance to take a game against the Knights.
TU (17-19, 6-9 TSC) is fresh off a productive weekend, winning two out of three games against The Sun Conference rival USC-Beaufort. Freshman Luis Torres finished this past weekend 5-for-8 at the plate with four RBIs, as fellow Freshman Andy Valdes came in clutch with another momentum-changing home run. Redshirt Sophomore Bradley Fleenor also had a great weekend, hitting .444 in the USCB series that featured two doubles and five RBIs.
From the mound, Redshirt Senior Patrick Haley (2-5) comes off his best pitching performance of the season, limiting the Sand Sharks to just one earned run in three hits while recording seven strikeouts in a 5-4 win in Game One of the series. Redshirt Senior Jorge Meran (1-0) picked up his third save Friday, now holding the fifth-most saves in The Sun Conference this season.
The Night Hawks were swept in the season series opener by #11 Middle Georgia State (23-10, 6-3 SSAC), but that was a TU team trying to find its way in 2021. Since its 15-inning loss to NCAA DII Wayne State, Thomas has won 13 of its last 17 contests that included a pair of wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
MGA's Michael Garner and Ryan Wilson were the driving leaders from the plate, combining for 10 of the Knights' 27 RBIs in the previous three contests held at Varnedoe Stadium, but overall J.T. Rice and Justin Brooks lead MGA's hitting unit, as both batters average over .350 on the season. RBI Leader Joel Ellis (35) currently bats .321.
On the mound, the Hunter Green & White could face Jackson Braden (2-3). Braden is a primary pitcher that has caused difficulties with opposing batters, posting a 2.29 ERA while allowing a batting average of .176 (12th-best in NAIA) and 5.86 hits per nine innings (ranked 15th in NAIA). Garrett Martin (5-2) also holds a 2.29 ERA, allowing 14 earned runs in 42 hits while registering 81 strikeouts in 2021.
First pitch at Stuckey Field is slated for 3 p.m. Links to live coverage can be found below:
Live Stats Live Video
For up-to-date information on this series 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.