HOOVER, AL. --- The Asbury baseball team came into day two of their season looking to bounce back from a tough loss in game one, and they would do just that. Alec Lush took the ball for AU going 4.1 innings striking out 7, and giving the Eagles a great opportunity to win the game. AU poured in 3 runs in the fourth inning to take a 5-2 lead over Thomas and would not look back. A lockdown bullpen effort from Noah Brown and Bryce Barber each going 1.1 innings not giving up a run would lead to a 6-3 AU victory for their first win of the 2022 season.

Game two in the doubleheader in Hoover, AL saw Jackson Cole take the hill for the Eagles. Cole had a dominant 2021 campaign for AU coming out of the bullpen but now finds himself in the starting position and seems to fit nicely. Cole would give the Eagles 5 innings of scoreless work before giving up 2 runs in the sixth to Thomas. Cole went 6 innings overall striking out 3, no walks and only allowing 2 earned runs. 

AU controlled the game in the fifth inning leading 5-0 with Jackson Cole cruising along. The game would change in the top of the seventh as Thomas poured in 4 runs on 2 hits and 2 AU errors to take a 6-5 lead over Asbury. AU responded in the bottom of the seventh getting a run of their own off of a two-out double from freshman Josh Head scoring Kaden Dugle all the way from first. In the top of the ninth Thomas struck again scoring 5 runs on 3 hits, taking the lead for good as they would defeat AU 11-7 to win the series.  

Game 1
* Alec Lush pitched 4.1 innings striking out 7, also adding an RBI sac fly and a walk from the plate

* Noah Brown and Bryce Barber each going 1.1 innings not giving up a run out of the bullpen to finish the game

* Jackson Cole was 1-2 with 2 key RBIs and a run scored

* Parker Burge had a crucial double in the bottom of the fifth to score Kaiden Zacharias

Game 2

* Jackson Cole was dominant going 6 total innings for AU only allowing 2 runs, no walks and 3 strikeouts

* Kaden Dugle put together another 2 hit game with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs

* Josh Head continued to impress at the plate adding 2 more hits, one being off the left field wall for a 2 out RBI

* Nathaniel Frank recorded 2 hits in the game with an RBI and 2 runs scored

Game 1
* Asbury worked 4 walks in this game that were key parts of their offense

* The AU pitching staff only allowed 1 walk to Thomas

* AU held a strong defense only committing 1 error

Game 2

* Thomas University slapped 14 hits in the game totaling in 11 runs 

* Asbury's offense worked 7 walks in the game which contributed to their 7 runs 

* The Thomas bullpen came in to settle the game down after Asbury scored 5 runs in the first 5 innings

"It was great to get our first win of the season under our belts. Even though we weren't able to win both games today it was good to see the boys rally around one another and battle all day long. We'll just take it one game at a time and look to win the next one on Saturday."

     * Senior Outfielder Kaiden Zacharias

Asbury will move on to face Grove City College on Saturday afternoon in Wilmore for their first home series of the season.