THOMASVILLE, Ga. – On Senior Day. the Thomas University softball team secured the third seed in the Sun Conference Tournament this afternoon sweeping the Lady Gyrenes of Ave Maria University 6-3 and 8-4.
 
Game one started off with a 1-0 Night Hawk lead in the bottom of the third.  With two outs in the inning, first baseman Carmen Nadal hit a bloop single to right field.  AMU's Brandi Griswold misplayed the rolling grounder allowing right fielder Alex VanWagner to score from third.
 
Two innings later, Ave Maria tied the game at 1-1.  With runners on first and second, left fielder Deanna Stirtzinger blasted a single to left, scoring the tying run.  Thomas' bats would come alive in the bottom of the fifth to score four runs.  With the bases loaded, catcher Michael Cooper hit a hanging fly ball in foul territory that the AMU left fielder caught, but threw back towards second allowing VanWagner to tag and score for the 2-1 advantage.  Designated player Kelsey Connolly singled through the middle to reload the bases.  Chelsea Carter came on as a pinch hitter and drove in the third Night Hawk run of the game with a single to centerfield.  During the next at bat, shortstop Lindsey Young was hit by a pitch to bring second baseman Kallie Shirling in for the 4-1 lead.  The fourth and final run of the inning came on a fielding error by AMU's Victoria Thompson allowing Connolly to score from third.
 
Ave Maria would chip away at TU's lead scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the Night Hawk advantage to 5-3.  The Hunter Green and White responded in the bottom frame to plate the sixth and final run of the contest.  Left fielder Chandler Seay led the inning off with a single to left and then came around to score when third baseman Rachel Hoeft ripped a double to the left-center gap.  The 6-3 advantage remained the game's final score as reliever Ashley Sikes closed out the contest setting the Lady Gyrenes down in order in the top of the seventh. 
 
Ashley Chapman (7-1) picked up the win while AMU's Cheyenne Benson was credited with the loss.
 
Right-hander Alex Fair started game two for the Lady Night Hawks.  The Tallahassee, Fla., native pitched four scoreless innings while surrendering her only runs of the game in the fifth and seventh.  In her 6.0 innings of work, Fair struck out five of the 27 batters she faced while only surrendering four runs on six hits.
 
The Lady Night Hawks jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.  Right fielder Sorrel Hale hit a rope down the right field line for a double, scoring Shirling from second.  Previously, Shirling reached on a single to left and stole second base.  With two outs in the inning, Seay lifted a pop fly to deep right field that Ave Maria's fielder dropped allowing Hale to score the second run of the game.
 
AMU temporarily cut Thomas' lead in half in the top of the fifth when pinch hitter Emily Blackmore hit a solo homerun over the left-center field fence.  Thomas would respond with a blast of their own in the bottom frame.  With a runner on second, Hoeft launched a two-run bomb over the left field fence to give TU the 4-1 lead. 
 
Thomas' offensive tear continued in the sixth.  The Lady Night Hawks scored four runs to go up 8-1.  Down but not out, the Lady Gyrenes battled back in their final three outs to cut Thomas' advantage to 8-4.  Designated player Hali Delashmet smashed a three-run homer over the left field fence.  Fair would overcome the temporary snag to set down the final two batters of the game leading to the 8-4 victory in Thomas' favor.
 
Thomas improves to 34-11, 12-4 TSC, on the year while Ave Maria drops to 23-25, 7-9 TSC. 

In between games, Thomas held Senior Day festivities.  Head coach Bill Wilson and his staff honored their nine seniors.  They included  Kaley Clark, Alexa Fair, Aileen Fiallo, Sorrel Hale, Ashley Knight, Carmen Nadal, Chandler Seay, Kallie Shirling, and Lindsey Young. 
 
The Lady Night Hawks return to action on Thursday, April 30, when they travel to Clermont, Fla., to start their run into the 2015 Sun Conference Tournament.  The third-seeded Lady Night Hawks will face sixth-seeded Ave Maria University in the opening round of the tournament.  First pitch starts at 11:00 a.m. from the National Training Center.  Tournament central can be accessed by clicking here.
 
Photo galleries from today's games and festivities can be accessed below:
Facebook

For up-to-date information on these polls and other TU Athletics, visit www.TUNightHawks.com.  Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU softball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksSoftb.