AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Thomas University baseball team found themselves trailing for most of the game(s), but could not complete late comeback attempts Friday afternoon and evening, falling to Ave Maria 6-4 in Game One and 9-6 in Game Two at Bowie's Ballpark.
 
Game One Recap (AMU 6, TU 4)
Thomas (17-27, 6-14 TSC) could not overcome an early 6-0 deficit, as the Hunter Green & White attempted to come back late in the game.  The Gyrenes (0-0, 0-0 TSC) outhit the Night Hawks 11-6.  Redshirt Senior Patrick Haley (2-6) pitched a complete game, allowing six earned runs with four strikeouts.
 
Ave Maria got into a hitting rhythm in the second, as Kolby Blanchard led the bottom half of the inning with a base hit before Brody Rubenstein knocked one out of the park for an AMU 2-0 lead.  Three at-bats later, Aidan Hickey delivered an RBI double to extend the Gyrenes' lead to three runs.  The next two at-bats would also result in RBIs for the Holy Queen's team, taking a 5-0 lead.  AMU would see its largest lead of the day (6-0) in the third inning, as Jeffery Cardazzone picked up an RBI single.
 
The fourth inning provided a glimmer of hope for the Night Hawks, as Freshman Andy Valdes delivered his fourth home run on the season, a two-run homer, to put the Hunter Green & White on the scoreboard (6-2).
 
Thomas would continue to chip away at Ave Maria's lead in the seventh, as two walks and a hit by Freshman Turner Maddox set up a RBI from Freshman Jayson Zmejkoski's RBI, a sacrifice fly to bring in Freshman Luis Torres to make the score 6-3.
 
After forcing a third 1-2-3 from the Gyrenes in the bottom half of the seventh, the Night Hawks would take advantage of walks and wild pitches given up by AMU's Carter Sullivan to get runners on base, setting up Torres' 22nd RBI of the season to cut AMU's lead to two runs (6-4).
 
The comeback attempt would cease to exist in the ninth inning, as the Gyrenes brought in closer Matthew Esquijerosa to force a Night Hawks' three up three down to preserve a 6-4 win for Ave Maria.
 
Game Two Recap (AMU 9, TU 6)
The Night Hawks were held to eight hits in the contest compared to Ave Maria's ten.  Redshirt Junior Thomas Sorrentino (2-1) started on the mound and pitched five innings, allowing five earned runs with four hits and four strikeouts.
 
Following a Gyrenes' double play made in the first, Redshirt Junior Brad Toxen made an early statement with a solo home run blast to left center to give TU the 1-0 lead.
 
The lead did not last long, however, as the Holy Queen's team tied the game in the bottom half of the inning off a Blanchard RBI double.
 
Thomas attempted to retake the lead in the second inning by getting runners on first and second in its first two at-bats, but the Gyrenes responded with three straight outs.
 
After the Gyrenes scored the go-ahead run in the fourth, 2-1, AMU found its scoring stride in Inning Five, adding three more runs, highlighted by a second Blanchard RBI to give the Green & Navy its largest lead in the contest, 5-1.
 
A pitching change by AMU to start the sixth inning backfired, as the Hunter Green & White loaded the bases in the first three at-bats, only to score when Maddox was walked (5-2).  The score was enough for the Gyrenes to change pitchers, as TU used two outs to add two more runs to trim Ave Maria's lead to one run again, 5-4.
 
After AMU added two more runs (7-4) to give their lead cushion room, Redshirt Freshman Jacob Paterson began the seventh with a leadoff homer, giving TU its fifth run scored in the contest. 
 
Redshirt Junior Caleb Rogers entered the game in the bottom half of the seventh and quickly registered two outs in three at-bats, but the Gyrenes added two hits off the Echols County, Ga. native, with one being another RBI from Hickey to put AMU back up by three again (8-5).  Rogers would finish the game at the mound with a total of three hits allowed and no earned runs given up with two strikeouts.
 
After both teams exchanged a run in the eighth, the Night Hawks found themselves down by three in the ninth and once again, facing Esquijerosa.  Unlike Game One, TU was able to get two runners on base off the Gyrenes' primary closer before Ave Maria pulled Esquijerosa for its other closer, Wyatt Sargent.  The Hunter Green & White could only watch as a pop-up and a grounder ended the game and sealed the doubleheader and series win for the Gyrenes.
 
TU by the Numbers
0:        Earned Runs Allowed by Caleb Rogers
4:        Games with multiple RBIs by Andy Valdes
8:        Freshmen played between both games
10:      Total Runs Scored on the day
14:      Total Hits on the day
 
The Night Hawks finish up its three-game series against the Gyrenes Saturday; first pitch at Bowie's Ballpark is set for 3 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on this series 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 @NightHawksBaseba.