HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No. 7 William Carey completed the sweep over Thomas University, taking both games of the Saturday doubleheader 6-2 and 8-6 at Milton Wheeler Field.
"We picked up two big wins with a lot of guys contributing," said Head Coach
Bobby Halford. "Magee and
Mason Smith were really good out of the pen and Shirah put together a solid performance. Rigoberto and
Josh Alexander continue to provide big homerun hitting to overcome deficits. I was proud of our pitching staff that was shorthanded due to injuries all weekend."
Carey got off to a hot start, as they jumped out to a five-run advantage in the first inning. With one out and the bases loaded,
Eli Collins drove in the first two runs on a double down the right field line with
Jayden Mark following with a single to left to make 4-0 WCU.
Ty Little capped the scoring in the inning, scoring Mark on a single up the middle.
The Nighthawks got a run back in the third and cut the deficit to three with another in the fourth. However, they would get no closer, as relief pitcher
Bobby Magee got a line out and a strike out to shut down the threat in the fourth.
Carey added the final run of the game in the sixth inning on a
Preston Ratliff RBI single to center. Magee did the rest, as he allowed only two hits over the final three innings to earn the win.
Game two saw Thomas take an early 2-0 lead with a run in the first and second inning. However, similar to the first inning of the first game, Carey took the lead with five runs in the third inning.
Little started the inning off reaching base on a hit pitch and
Rigoberto Hernandez followed with a two-run shot down the left field line. A walk by
DeeJay Booth followed with
Josh Alexander copying Hernandez with homerun to right to make 4-2 WCU.
Tyler Ducksworth scored the final run of the frame on a sac fly to center field.
The lead was short lived, as the Nighthawks strung together three straight hits with two outs in the fourth to tie the game at five all. Carey retook the lead in the fifth on a sac fly by Mark only to see Thomas tie the game once again with a run in the sixth.
However, the Crusaders took the lead for good in the bottom half of the sixth. After a passed ball moved Little to second. Booth put Carey ahead, scoring Little on a single to right with a bases loaded walk by Mark scoring Booth.
The duo of
Josh MacCord and
Mason Smith did the rest as they limited the Nighthawks to just two hits over the final 3.1 innings. MacCord earned the win going 1.2 innings in relief with Smith picking up the save.
WCU is back in action on Friday, April 11, as they head to Montgomery, Ala. to take on Faulkner University in conference action. Play is set to begin at 6:00 pm at Harrison Field.
