Trevecca Baseball | Dymond in the Rough; Trojan Backstop's Clutch Double Lifts TNU to Sweep of No. 1 NGU

TIGERVILLE, S.C. – When opportunities present themselves, it's important to take advantage of them, and when possible, to make a statement. As statements go, What the Trevecca Nazarene University baseball team has done in the last six days has been a resounding one.

Trevecca (17-6) got a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning on Wednesday from Luke Dymond, and that lifted the Trojans to a mid-week sweep of No. 1 North Greenville University (19-4) with a 9-7 win. The Trojans have now won four straight games against teams who were ranked in the top-5 at the time of the game, and they did not trail in the series at North Greenville.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES
The game marked the 10th meeting between the two teams since 2000. Each of the four spring break series has been a sweep, with Trevecca sweeping 3-game sets from NGU in 2005 and 2006 as well as the two-game series this season. NGU took the two games in Nashville a year ago. The Trojans are now 8-2 all-time against the Trailblazers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second day in a row, the Trojans jumped out early. Jaxson Christ led off the second inning of the game with a walk, and free bases became a theme in the frame. Luke Dymond, Elijah Cross, and Christ a second time also walked, Rylan Moses was hit by a pitch, and two wild pitches allowed Trojan runners to advance in the frame. When the dust settled, Trevecca had plated five runs on just three singles to take a 5-0 lead.

NGU got on the board in the bottom of the frame, but the Trojans immediately answered when Moses doubled home Landon Rogers to restore the 5-run margin. Christ added an RBI-single in the fourth that plated Cade Moore, and Trevecca loaded the bases with two away, but they were unable to add to the lead further. Heading to the bottom of the fourth, the Trevecca lead was 7-1.

The explosive NGU offense began to awaken in the bottom of the fourth, when a wind-aided triple fell in fair territory down the right field line, and a double followed to trim the Trojans' lead to 7-3. In the fifth, NGU worked four walks of their own that led to four runs, and suddenly the game was all even at 7-7. Trevecca, though, kept NGU from taking the lead, and the score remained deadlocked into the eighth inning.

Noah Boughton was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning for the Trojans, and he was lifted for pinch-runner Wyatt Bowling. Martin followed with a walk, and Moore sacrificed the runners to second and third with only one away. After NGU got Christ for the second out, the Trailblazers went to the bullpen to try and preserve the tie, but Dymond greeted the new hurler by ripping his first pitch of the game into the left field corner for a two-RBI double that put Trevecca up 9-7. Parker Davis worked a clean eighth - his third scoreless inning of relief in the contest, and for the second day in a row, Ryan Sweeney came in and slammed the door with a 10-pitch ninth inning for his sixth save.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
* Rylan Moses - 1-for-5, 2B, R, RBI
* Caleb Webster - 2-for-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI
* Noah Boughton - 1-for-4, RBI
* Cade Martin - 1-for-4, BB , R, RBI
* Cade Moore - 3-for-4, R, 2 SB
* Jaxson Christ - 1-for-3, 2 BB, SB, R, RBI
* Luke Dymond - 1-for-4, 2B, BB, R, 2 RBIs
* Elijah Cross - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R

WP: Parker Davis (1-0) - 3.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 SO
LP: Connor Brinson (1-1) - 1.2 IP, 2 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 SO
SV: Ryan Sweeney (6) - 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 SO

NEXT ON THE DIAMOND
Trevecca is back in GSC action this weekend against long-time rival Union University (10-12, 4-8 GSC) for a three game set in Jackson, Tennessee. The teams will play a single game on Friday evening at 5 p.m., with their double-header slated for Saturday at Noon.