National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk baseball head coach Rich Thompson collected his 100th career win with NPC Sunday as the Nighthawks completed a successful four-game weekend road trip at USA Stadium.
Sophomore pitcher Bryan Raitz (Dallas, Texas) went the distance in the Nighthawks’ 10-5 win over Mississippi Valley State University Saturday, picking up his second win of the season. The righthanded pitcher allowed six hits and five runs while striking out seven over seven innings. With 65 career strikeouts, Raitz moves into a tie for 8th place all time at National Park College. Trailing, 1-0, in the bottom of the first inning, NPC sophomore second baseman Que Walton (Atlanta, Georgia) tied the game on a first pitch solo home run. In the bottom of the second inning, freshman right fielder Ian McCracken (Carrollton, Texas) blew the game open for the Nighthawks with a grand slam over the left field wall. McCracken drove in six runs for the game, including a fifth inning RBI double, as the Nighthawks cruised to victory.
NPC rallied for six unanswered runs late to take down Moberly Area Community College, 7-5, Saturday evening. NPC grabbed the lead, 1-0, in the top of the first inning on a McCracken RBI single, but found itself trailing, 5-1, by the end of the third inning. Walton smacked an RBI single in the top of the fifth inning to cut into the deficit, but a five run fifth inning turned the tide in NPC’s favor. After four consecutive Nighthawks walked to start the inning, scoring sophomore first baseman Josh Wacaser (Bentonville), sophomore center fielder Ryan McClure (Double Oak, Texas) singled in another run on a hard hit ground ball to third base. Next, Walton put an exclamation point on the inning, driving a three-run triple into the right field corner as NPC overcame the deficit to take the lead for good. Walton’s eighth career triple moves him one away from tying former Nighthawk Demias Jimerson (Malvern) for NPC’s all-time mark.
Sophomore hurler Landon Hennen (Choudrant, Louisiana) gave up five runs on two hits over two and one-third innings while striking out two in the start for NPC. Sophomore pitcher Ian Holm (Lafayette, Louisiana) earned the win in relief, striking out nine batters and allowing just two hits over four and two-thirds innings. NPC racked up nine walks in the ballgame, with Wacaser and McClure earning two apiece. Walton led the Nighthawks at the plate, driving in four runs on three hits.
The Nighthawks’ lone blemish on the weekend came Sunday morning, where NPC dropped a 12-10 heartbreaker in a rematch with Moberly Area Community College. After the Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, NPC rallied with four second inning runs. Freshman third baseman Braeson Scarborough (Idabel, Oklahoma) scored on a passed ball, followed by a two-run double from Walton. Walton later came in to score on a wild pitch to give NPC a 4-1 advantage. Following another Greyhound run in the bottom of the second inning, NPC added to its lead in the third inning where a defensive error led to Scarborough, freshman shortstop Cam Landy (Perth, Australia) and sophomore catcher Jace Denton (Flowermound, Texas) crossing home plate. A 7-2 lead was not safe enough for NPC, however, as Moberly Area Community College rallied for 10 runs over the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead for good. The Nighthawks chipped away at the deficit with a fifth inning RBI double from McCracken and two runs walked in during the sixth inning, but it was not enough to turn the tide in defeat.
Freshman Joey Staiger (Tuscon, Arizona) gave up six runs on six hits while striking out four over three and two-thirds innings in the start for NPC. Sophomore hurler Wesley Campbell (Fountain Lake) took the loss in relief. Denton and Walton led NPC at the plate, finishing with two hits apiece in the loss.
In Sunday’s finale, which marked Thompson’s 100th career victory at NPC, the Nighthawks exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to complete an 11-1 run-ruled win over Rend Lake College. National Park College opened up the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, with Wacaser driving in Walton and McClure on a hard hit ground ball to center field. After the Warriors cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth inning, the Nighthawks responded with a nine-run frame to seal the deal. Sophomore left fielder Justin Mitchem (Benton) extended NPC’s lead with a two-run single to right field, followed by a three-run triple from McClure. Walton drove in McClure on a base hit to center field, followed by an RBI double from McCracken, scoring Walton. Sophomore first baseman Amari Collins (Fayetteville, Georgia) delivered NPC’s second triple of the inning, scoring McCracken, followed by a Scarborough two-run home run to end the game.
Freshman southpaw Brent Davis (Hot Springs) earned the complete game win for NPC, allowing one run on five hits over six innings while striking out seven. McClure finished two-for-four at the plate with three runs batted in, while Collins, Wacaser and Walton added two hits apiece in the win.
“This is a special achievement, but it is shared with every single person who has come through our program, helped our program or coached our program over the last five years,” Thompson said. “I want to thank my family for always being supportive and understanding how many long, hard hours it takes to run a college baseball program like this.”
NPC plays host to University of Arkansas Rich Mountain in a double header Friday, February 14, beginning at 1 p.m. at Majestic Park in Hot Springs. The games will be streamed live on the Nighthawk Network.
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