NAIA
Warner’s Weekend: Night Hawks Swept by RV Royals
LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Thomas University baseball team battled RV Warner in all three contests, but the bats were flying for the Royals, leading to a The Sun Conference sweep over the Night Hawks this weekend at Royal Baseball Field.
Game One Recap (RV Warner 10, TU 6)
The Night Hawks (17-25, 6-12 TSC) had a 4-1 lead before falling victim to a third inning spree by the Royals that gave them the lead for good. Redshirt Junior Dillon Rutland (2-1) took the loss in the first game, allowing seven hits with three runs and three strikeouts. All runs allowed by Rutland were unearned.
Although the Night Hawks were outhit 15-8 by the Royals, Redshirt Sophomore Raines Plant went 3-for-4 at the plate.
With runners on first and second in the top of the first inning, Redshirt Junior Brad Toxen's sac fly brought home the first run (1-0), while Freshman Turner Maddox's RBI off a fielder's choice the next at-bat extended the lead 2-0.
After the Royals scored a run in the bottom of the second, the Night Hawks added another pair of runs in the top of the third. Freshman Andy Valdes recorded his tenth RBI of the season while Maddox picked up his second of the contest to give Thomas its largest lead of the game, 4-1.
Base hits led to Warner responding with five unanswered runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 6-4 lead.
In the sixth, the Hunter Green & White began the inning with back-to-back strikeouts before the Royals would tack on an additional three runs to extend its lead to five runs (9-4).
Thomas cut the deficit to three runs in the top of the eighth (9-6) when a 2RBI triple from Freshman Luis Torres brought home Valdes and Maddox for the scores. The bottom half of the inning saw a leadoff hit-turned run scored (10-6) as Anthony Capri advanced two bases off wild pitches.
In the ninth, the Hunter Green & White tallied two hits to put runners on first and third before a fielder's choice off Toxen's hit sealed the 10-6 win for the Royals.
Game Two Recap (RV Warner 5, TU 4)
TU once again built a lead they saw slip over time, as WU capitalized off a sac fly in the eighth from Capri for what would ultimately be the game-winning RBI. Both Thomas and Warner recorded nine hits with two doubles apiece.
Redshirt Senior Patrick Haley got the start for the first game in the Saturday doubleheader, allowing three earned runs in two hits with six walks and one strikeout in four innings pitched. Redshirt Junior Caleb Rogers (0-3) pitched in the fifth through eighth innings and gave up two earned runs in seven hits while registering a walk and two strikeouts.
The Night Hawks took off right from the start, as Freshman Jayson Zmejkoski began the game with a leadoff double that paved the way for RBIs by Toxen, Maddox, and Redshirt Freshman Ethan Krizen to give Thomas a 3-0 lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the first and a runner on second, TU began to see its lead diminish as Warner took advantage of three, straight walks that brought home one run followed by a hit-by-pitch that cut the Night Hawks' lead 3-2.
Both teams exchanged a run in the fourth inning to maintain Thomas' one-run lead (4-3), as Redshirt Freshman Jacob Paterson picked up his fifth RBI of the season.
With two outs and a runner on first, the game hit a turning point in the fifth when the Royals' Jan Martinez tied the game with a RBI double. Three innings later, Warner would start with back-to-back singles to set up sac fly opportunities that would see one run scored to give WU its first lead in the game (5-4).
The Royals sent in relief pitcher John Pichman to close out the contest in the ninth inning. Thomas attempted to tie the game, but the inning was short-lived, as the Hunter Green & White went 1-2-3 to fall to WU by one run, preserving the victory and a guaranteed series win for Warner.
Game Three Recap (RV Warner 16, TU 6 – 7 inn.)
The bats were flying on both sides, with Warner tallying 15 hits and the Night Hawks 11, but TU was unable to produce enough runs to keep up with the Royals, leaving a total of nine runners on base. Redshirt Freshman John Steward (2-2) began the game on the mound for TU, allowing ten earned runs in seven hits with one strikeout in two and two-third innings pitched.
Through the first three innings, Warner's hitting unit did not hold back, blazing out to a 12-0 lead. Thomas salvaged a scoring spree in the fifth with four runs, capitalizing off a 2RBI double from Toxen and single RBIs from Maddox and Redshirt Sophomore Raines Plant, to trail by eight runs (12-4).
The Royals erased the effort with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to push its lead back to 12. Thomas would add one run in both the sixth and seventh innings to bring the game to 16-6, but could not keep the game alive beyond the seventh inning, as Warner run-ruled the Hunter Green & White 16-6 to complete its sweep of the Night Hawks.
TU remains on the road this weekend to play its final away series against Ave Maria. First pitch against the Gyrenes is scheduled for Friday at Noon.
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.