LEESBURG, Fla. – Thomas baseball battled to split a doubleheader against UMass Dartmouth, dropping the first game 3-5, and winning the second 5-4.
 

Game One: Thomas 3, UMass Dartmouth 5

Game one was heavily influenced by defense and pitching, with hits coming at a rarity. UMass Dartmouth scored a solo home run in the first, and both teams traded three runs a piece in the second. Good base running from Thomas led to three runs in the second inning, with Nick Hutson (Queens, N.Y.)and Ryan Kappelmann (Auburn, Maine) both scoring off ground outs, and Devin Grindle (Surry, Maine) scoring off of a wild pitch. UMass Dartmouth responed by scoring three of their own in the bottom of the second, and going on to score one more in the fourth. Neither team would score in the final three innings, ending the game three to five in favor of UMass Dartmouth.

Grindle was the only Thomas player to record two hits, while Tony Meza (Los Angeles, Calif.), Hutson, and Austin Stebbins (Farmingdale, Maine) recorded one hit each.

Dylan Copeland (Salisbury, Mass.) started the game for Thomas on the mound, allowing nine hits and four earned runs with two strikeouts and zero walks. Zach Nickerson (Fairfield, Maine) came in after the fifth inning, recording one walk against a total of three at bats.

Game Two: Thomas 5, UMass Dartmouth 4

Game two was another nail-biter, with the two teams evenly matched across the board. Early in the second inning UMass Dartmouth were able to put together a few hits and score four runs. Thomas found themselves still down four going into the bottom of the fourth inning, when Grindle sent a ball over the left field fence to score Hutson and Meza. Kyle Gleason (Danville, N.H.) quickly followed up to bring in Tommy Smith (Cumming, Ga.) for another run to make the score four to four. In the bottom of the sixth inning Jason Bartlett (Belfast, Maine) doubled, scoring Smith again to give Thomas the lead. UMass Dartmouth wasn't able to capitalize in the top of the seventh inning thanks to some good fielding from Thomas, and the game ended five to four in favor of Thomas.

Only three Thomas players recorded hits in the win, Bartlett with a game-high three hits, Smith with two, and Grindle with two. Grindle had three runs batted in in the second game, and finished the day going four for six in two games.

Garrison Paillet (Coconut Creek, Fla.) was the starting pitcher for game two, allowing four hits and four earned runs in 19 batters faced. Paillet struck out five batters, with only one walk. Andrew Pruell (Warren, Maine) and Meza also made appearance on the mound for Thomas, with only two hits between the two. Pruell was awarded the win in the second game.

UP NEXT: Thomas will continue their season against New York University in a double header on Sunday, March 13, with games at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m