Barons Sweep Night Hawks
The Brewton-Parker Christian University (BPCU) Barons baseball team hosted the Night Hawks of Thomas University in a conference series opener on April 23 and 24. The Barons dominated the first game on Thursday, taking the game 16-6 with a seveninning run rule to claim the series opener. The Barons completed the series sweep to clinch the eighth seed for the conference playoffs. Game 2 saw the Barons walk it off with an RBI single, taking the game 2-1 and winning the second game of the doubleheader 10-9.
Thursday
The decisive burst turned a scoreless game into a runaway. After Thomas scratched across one run in the top of the third, the Barons answered with 13 in the bottom half to take control. The Barons started the bottom of the third scoring off three straight RBI singles, before capitalizing on defensive miscues from the Night Hawks. Michael Son would hit an RBI single before Jeremi Lara delivered a two-run homer during the rally. Fred Diaz capped the inning with a grand slam as Brewton-Parker seized a 13-1 lead.
Thomas tried to answer in the fourth with a three-run homer to trim the deficit to 13-4. The Barons responded again in the fifth, adding three more runs, including another two-run homer this time from Son to push the margin back to 16-4. Thomas picked up their final two runs in the top of the sixth but was unable to overcome the offensive explosion from the Barons earlier in the game.
Friday Game 1 Game one saw the Night Hawks take an early lead off an RBI single in the top of the third. The Barons answered in the bottom of the fourth, when Fred Diaz doubled to left and drove in the tying run. The Barons walked it off at the bottom of the seventh when Zach Carlton came off the bench and lined a single to center to score the winning run.
Game 2
Game two saw Thomas grab control early, scoring two runs in the first and adding four more in the top of the second for a 6-2 lead. The Barons answered immediately in the bottom of the second, trimming the margin with a three-run inning highlighted by Jeremi Lara’s two-run double. The Barons then pulled even at 6-6 in the third when Anthony Savarese homered.
The game stayed tight into the middle innings before Thomas moved back in front, 7-6, with a run in the sixth. Brewton-Parker responded again in the bottom half. Diaz, who finished with three hits and three RBI, launched a solo home run as part of a two-run inning that put the Barons ahead 8-7. Brewton-Parker added needed insurance in the seventh when Strott came off the bench and drove a two-run homer to push the lead to 10-7.
The Night Hawks get two across at the top of the eighth to put the pressure back on, but the Barons’ bullpen rallied to close out the game and take the series.
The Barons will now prepare for the postseason, which starts on April 29, when they play the #1 seed Stallions of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. April 30, will see the Barons play the Rams of Mobile University, and May 1, will see the Barons play the Eagles of Faulkner University in the pool play postseason tournament.
