MARSHALL - Senior starter Ben Bradley scattered three hits and struck out eight over six shutout innings as the Thunderbirds turned back the Hornets at the Marshall Tournament on Friday night.
Bradley walked one in raising his season record to 2-1.
"Ben is definitely our ace and he showed that tonight," North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal said. "He did a good job of challenging hitters and staying around the strike zone, and we played good defense behind him."
The Thunderbirds (4-5) - finishing with six hits - scored two runs in the second, one in the third and two more in the fourth.
Senior shortstop Justin Popp was 3-for-4 for North Callaway, while senior third baseman Chad Maupin went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in the third and scored two runs. Senior designated hitter Tyler Bondurant finished 1-for-3 with two runs batted in and freshman catcher Christian Griffith was 1-for-3 and scored a run.
"We did a much better job of putting the ball in play and giving us a chance to score runs," O'Neal said. "We did some good things in hit-and-run situations."
The Thunderbirds finished up tournament play in the round-robin format with games Saturday afternoon against Clinton and Marshall. Results were not available at press time.
North Callaway hosts an Eastern Missouri Conference matchup against Mark Twain at 5 p.m. Monday.