THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University baseball may not have come away with the whole chocolate bar, but the team settled for a Hershey's kiss Saturday night, splitting the day with #7 Faulkner at Varnedoe Stadium.
 
Game One Recap (#7 FLK 11, TU 5)
The Night Hawks (3-8, 0-3 TSC) may have had a rough start to the contest, as #7 Faulkner (7-1) jumped out to an 8-0 lead through the top of the second inning, but the overall day would prove to be about perseverance for the Hunter Green & White.
 
Redshirt Junior Brad Toxen would upstart TU in the start the bottom of the second with a leadoff double, following with a stolen base at third and then an RBI from Freshman Jayson Zmejkoski to give the Night Hawks its first run of the contest (8-1).
 
While Faulkner found three more runs to put its lead into double digits (11-1), Thomas found its stride again in the sixth inning, scoring three runs highlighted by an RBI triple from Zmejkoski to bring the deficit down to seven runs.
 
In the ninth inning, the Night Hawks would give it one more go, as Redshirt Junior Victor Terrero hit his third home run of the season to make the score 11-5.  The moon blast from the Santo Domingo, D.R. product set up two more base hits and a walk to load the bases and give TU a serious shot of a comeback, but a flyout to right field on the next at-bat would end all hopes and secure another series win for Faulkner.
 
TU finished the contest with nine hits, the second-highest total of the season thus far.
 
The pitching staff began with Redshirt Junior Caleb Rogers (0-1) and saw four others make an appearance on the mound, as the unit allowed 12 total hits with 11 earned runs and six strikeouts.
 
Game Two Recap (TU 4, #7 FLK 3)
Thomas' perseverance continued into the second game of the doubleheader, determined to come away with a win.  Terrero set the tone of the contest, advancing bases through a steal and a wild pitch.  The extra push to round the bases paid off, as a RBI single from Redshirt Senior Jake Bryan gave the Night Hawks a 1-0 lead.  Bryan would find his own way to round the bases, as the Wakulla, Fla. native belted a solo home run to left center to extend the Hunther Green & White's lead (2-0).
 
The Eagles pushed back in the top of the fourth, tying the contest 2-2 and threatened to take the lead with a man on third before FLK's Alex Villa was picked off at first base.
 
Faulkner would get another chance to take the lead in the sixth, this time capitalizing off a RBI double from Justin Lara to make the score 3-2.
 
In the sixth inning, Thomas' pinch runners proved to be effective, as Freshman Bradley Peacock would score the tying run after rounding the bases with a Toxen double and a grounder hit from Redshirt Sophomore Bradley Fleenor.
 
Perseverance came in key in the seventh inning, as Sophomore Andy Allison (1-0) was called upon to prevent FLK from taking the lead again.  After two quick outs, the Eagles' Alex Arauz threatened to be the go-ahead runner after being walked and advancing two bases via wild pitches, but Allison recorded a crucial strikeout off FLK's Justice Lucas.
 
The bottom of the seventh set the stage for the Night Hawks' first big triumph of the 2021 season, as a hit from Freshman Colby Tabb, coupled with the base-running talents from Terrero, brought home the walk-off game-winning RBI to give #7 Faulkner its first loss of the season.
 
With the game tied at three runs apiece in the seventh inning, Allison was declared the winning pitcher of the game, with the loss credited to FLK's Mike Battle.
 
TU by the Numbers
2:     Total Home Runs on the day
3:     Wins in the 2021 Season
4:     Stolen Bases on the day (Half the season total)
5:     Wins over Nationally-ranked teams in the past 12 months
9:     Total Runs on the day
11:   Total Strikeouts on the day
13:   Total Hits on the day  
 
The Night Hawks remain home this weekend, hosting (RV) Webber International for a The Sun Conference three-game series.  First pitch is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit www.TUNightHawks.com.  Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU baseball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawkBaseba.