The Ave Maria baseball team lost twice Saturday afternoon at Varnedoe Stadium in Thomasville, Georgia, dropping decisions of 5-4 and 13-3 to the Thomas University Night Hawks. The losses were the tenth and eleventh in a row by Ave Maria, and dropped the Gyrenes to 2-15 in conference play. Thomas moved to 4-11 in TSC action.
 
The Gyrenes lost the opening game of the doubleheader in heart-wrenching fashion, as Thomas' Gavin Murphy delivered an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Night Hawks a 5-4 victory over Ave Maria. The game-winning hit came after the Gyrenes had nearly sent the game into extra innings, barely missing out on a double play.
 
Ave Maria scored the first two runs of the game, putting a run up in each of the first two innings. The early scoring was led by Andy Hernandez, who hit his sixth home run of the season to help the Gyrenes to the lead.
 
The middle innings were kinder to the Night Hawks, who scored four unanswered runs to take a 4-2 lead. However, Ave Maria came up with a major answer in the top of the eighth, when Rico Soto hit a clutch two-run homer, his fourth of the season, to tie the game. The game remained tied into the top of the ninth, which led to Murphy's walk off for the Night Hawks.
 
Thomas rolled in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring runs in five of the game's seven innings en route to a 13-3 win over the Gyrenes. Thomas scored three runs in the first inning, and eventually put the game away with a six-run fifth inning. A run in the bottom of the seventh ended the game early due to the NAIA mercy rule.
 
The Gyrenes return to action on Friday, beginning a three game series with St. Thomas University. The opening game of the set from Miami Gardens is set for 6 p.m. Friday night, with a Saturday doubleheader to follow.