NAIA
Night Hawks Set to Begin TSC Slate
THOMASVILLE, Ga. – After a full week of rest and recuperation, the Thomas University baseball team will open its road slate with an every-other-season trip to Lakeland, Fla. Thursday to take on the #1-ranked team in NAIA, Southeastern.
The Night Hawks (0-3) had a golden opportunity to claim at least one game in the team's season-opening series against #22 Middle Georgia State, but a seventh-inning comeback by the Knights in the first game ultimately led to a series sweep. One big silver lining in the series was Redshirt Junior Victor Terrero at the plate. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native tallied a grand total of two home runs, one triple, and four RBIs in four hits while also recording a stolen base. Redshirt Senior Pitcher Patrick Haley was also a bright spot for TU, as the West Palm Beach, Fla. product allowed just four hits and recorded two strikeouts in Thomas' first five innings of the season.
Similar to the Hunter Green & White, #1 Southeastern (7-0) also saw a series cancelled and had a weekend without any games. Nevertheless, the Fire have been off to a hot start, most recently sweeping Indiana Wesleyan by sizable scores three of the four games. The Fire has a deep batting core, with four primary players hitting .391 or better. Pedro Castellano leads SEU in Runs Batted In (11), a mark that is 23rd-best in NAIA. Sam Faith is another lethal batter for the Fire, as last week's The Sun Conference Player of the Week currently bats .533 and has 10 RBIs on the season.
The pitching staff for #1 Southeastern is equally lethal: Drew Gillespie, in just over seven innings pitched, has allowed two hits, no runs, and struck out 12 batters. Additionally, batters facing Gillespie this season have only hit the ball just more than a mind-blowing 8% of the time. Bryce Mulcahy (1-0) will most likely be one of SEU's starting pitchers in this weekend's series, as the St. Helens, Ore. native has allowed just three hits in just 10 innings of pitching. Mulcahy has also struck out two-thirds of batters faced (14 Ks in 21 Abs).
First pitch at Ted A. Broer Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. Fans can follow along all the live action throughout the series by accessing the links below:
Live Stats Live Video
For up-to-date information on this games 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 @NightHawkBaseba.