THOMASVILLE, Ga. – In a rollercoaster Spring 2021, the Thomas University baseball team ended its season on top, as an eighth-inning game-winning 2BI single from Freshman Turner Maddox spoiled #14 Keiser's hopes for a sweep, defeating the Seahawks 7-6 Saturday afternoon at Varnedoe Stadium.
 
The Night Hawks (19-29, 8-16 TSC) tallied 11 hits on the day.  In his final game as a member of the Hunter Green & White, starting pitcher Redshirt Senior Jorge Meran was red-hot on the mound.  The Bronx, N.Y. native shut down Keiser (32-14, 14-10 TSC) bats through the first five innings, allowing just two hits.  Meran would go on to pitch a total of six innings in the contest.
 
After both TU and KU were deadlocked the first two innings, the Night Hawks found a breakthrough in the third.  Freshman Jayson Zmejkoski got on base to begin the inning getting on base with the team's first hit of the day.  A stolen base and a flyout later, Zmejkoski was at third, ready to score the contest's first run.  Redshirt Junior Brad Toxen would join the North Port, Fla. native on the bags from a walk, as the infielder also stole a base to now put runners in scoring position.
 
With runners on second and third, Maddox delivered his first 2RBI on the day to give Thomas a 2-0 lead.  Freshman Luis Torres would follow up with a base hit, but the inning ended with a strikeout from Redshirt Junior Rodwell Munoz.
 
TU would extend its lead in the fourth inning, as Freshman catcher Andy Valdes hit a sacrifice fly to center with the bases loaded, bringing home Redshirt Senior Jake Bryan for a 3-0 score line.
 
The Hunter Green & White appeared to have once again contained the Seahawks in the sixth after Meran picked up back-to-back strikeouts with runners on first and second, but a big double from Tim Bouchard on the next at-bat turned Keiser's runners into a relay race team, scoring two runs to cut the Night Hawks' lead to one run (3-2).
 
It did not take long for KU to tie the game, 3-3, as Mathew Catalfo belted a single that allowed Bouchard to book it from second to home.
 
Thomas retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning, as a triple from Freshman Tyler Keaton set up Zmejkoski for the go-ahead RBI.  The Hunter Green & White extended its lead to 5-3 when a Toxen single gave the Keiser outfield difficulty, as Zmejkoski rounded third to score.
 
Keiser took advantage of a pitching change in the seventh, responding with three runs in three hits to give the Seahawks its first lead of the day (6-5).
 
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Maddox delivered a second 2RBI single to take the lead back, 7-6.
 
In the ninth inning, Redshirt Senior Logan Hollyman (2-0) finished his career forcing a 1-2-3 on the Seahawks that included two strikeouts, preserving the 7-6 win and Thomas' 19th win of the season.
 
TU by the Numbers
2:        Stolen Bases
3:        Errorless games against nationally ranked opponenets
7:        Runs Scored
8:        Current streak of consecutive games with a Turner Maddox hit
11:      Hits
12:      Strikeouts by the pitching staff
19:      Games with 10+ hits on the season
 
The Night Hawks finish the 2021 season at 19-29 overall and 8-16 in The Sun Conference.  With the future young and bright, Thomas baseball will return in February focused and ready to compete in The Sun Conference.
 
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.