Ave Maria, FL.—On Thursday afternoon the Ave Maria Gyrenes baseball team took two conference losses to the Night Hawks of Thomas University. In game one AMU was outdone by Thomas by a score of 4-2 before suffering a 9-3 defeat in game two. With the two losses the Gyrenes are now 17-26 on the season and 5-14 in The Sun Conference

GAME 1 RECAP
In game one, Ave Maria jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning off of an RBI single from senior outfielder Bobby Oliver (Naples, Fla). Thomas would have an answer right away in the top half of the third when Jalbert Melo (Santo Domingo, D.R.) tripled to right center, driving in two runs.

The Night Hawks struck again in the top of the fourth when Austin Corbitt (Eustis, Fla.) sent a two RBI double down the left field line. The fourth inning would be the final frame of work for Gyrene starting pitcher Austin Comesanas (Miami, Fla.), who went 4.0 innings with five strike outs and three earned runs.

Senior lefty Ray Messner (Naples, Fla.) came on in relief of Comesanas in the fifth and kept the ball game close with five innings of shutout pitching. Messner allowed just three hits and struck out two over the final five frames.

Aaron Pigna (Miami, Fla.) added an RBI in the sixth for AMU to make the score 4-2 but that would be the last of the offense for the Gyrenes in game one.

Tate Lambert threw a complete game for Thomas, scattering twelve hits and striking out five on his way to earning the 4-2 victory.

GAME 2 RECAP
Errors hurt AMU early in game one as the blue and green allowed four unearned runs in the top of the first inning.

Kellen Creech (Jacksonville, Fla.) got Ave Maria on the board in the bottom of the first with a sac fly to center field but the Gyrenes would strand two more runners to end the inning.

The error bug bit AMU again in the fourth as another unearned run scored making it a 5-1 margin in favor of the Night Hawks.

The fifth inning brought with it a power surge as Josh Bruijn (Tallahassee, Fla.) crushed a solo home run to center in the top of the inning and Ryan Keegan sent a solo shot over the left field wall in the bottom half.

Ave Maria tried to claw back into the game in the sixth as Tommy Lentine (Chicago, Ill.) added an RBI to bring the score to 6-3 and the Gyrenes within striking distance.

In the seventh inning the Thomas offense came alive again when Alan Baker (Jacksonville, Fla.) sent a long two run home run over the right field wall to put the Night Hawks ahead 8-3. Matthew Brady (Brooksville, Fla.) tacked on another run with an RBI single in the top of the ninth to bring the final score to 9-3.

Monte Reese (Atlanta, Ga.) earned the win for Thomas while Christian Dufresne (Rockledge, Fla.) took the loss. Justin Hicks (McAlpin, Fla.) also threw well for the Night Hawks, going four innings in relief and striking out six.

UP NEXT: Ave Maria and Thomas will be back in action on Saturday for the third and final game of their Sun Conference series after taking tomorrow off to observe Good Friday. First pitch for Saturday at Bowie's Ballpark is set for 12 p.m. and you can follow all the action live at avemariagyrenes.com.

By Sean Buchanan | sean.buchanan@avemaria.edu