TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (TCC ATHLETICS) — A bye week in the Panhandle Conference schedule means a return to non-conference play for Tallahassee Community College's baseball team, who swept a doubleheader from Thomas (Ga.) University's JV squad on Monday, winning by the scores of 7-1 and 14-4.
Tallahassee improved to 15-24 with the wins.
In the opener, Dilan Lawson (1-7) picked up his first victory over the season, needing just 83 pitches in the complete-game effort. He only walked one batter and struck out four.
The Night Hawks broke up Lawson's shutout bid in the seventh. Nelson Figueroa led off the seventh with a double, moved to third on a defensive error and scored on a double play.
Thomas managed just four hits total for the game.
Tallahassee did all its scoring in the middle three innings.
Josh Gray's two-out single in the third broke a scoreless tie, scoring Andrew Fernandez and Nick Niewulis, both of whom were hit by a pitch to reach base.
Niewulis tied a school record by being hit three times, and the Eagles matched a team record with six hit batters.
Trent Jeffcoat's fourth-inning sac-fly scored Orlando Adams for a 3-0 lead, and the Eagles padded their lead with four more in the fifth.
Jeffcoat was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Gray was 1-for-3 with two RBI.
In game two, the Eagles tallied 12 hits in the 14-4 victory.
After spotting Thomas a 1-0 lead, Tallahassee scored two runs in its first at-bat. A two-out error scored Niewulis, who was hit a fourth time in the doubleheader in his first plate appearance of game two. Bryson Kirksey singled home Jeissy De La Cruz to put the Eagles in front.
Tallahassee scored four runs in the second followed by a seven-run third to blow the game open.
Leading 13-3, the Eagles were three outs away from a victory entering the fifth, but Hunter Kern's double scored Kason Buie to extend the game for Thomas.
Tallahassee got the run back – and the walk-off victory – in its half of the fifth. Kirksey reached base on a fielder's choice, moved into scoring position on a passed ball then scored the game-ending run on Brendan Power's single to center.
Kirksey was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Jeffcoat was 2-for-2, and Trey Bacon was 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Tanner Martin (3-1) picked up the win for Tallahassee.
Tallahassee will stay out of conference for a three-game series against TNXL Academy, beginning with a single game on Wednesday. The new start time is 5 p.m.
The teams will play a doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 3 p.m.
