Ave Maira, FL -- The Ave Maria University baseball team dropped the home finale on Saturday afternoon to the Thomas University Night Hawks, falling victim to stretches of 11 and 10 unanswered runs in a 26-8 decision. Before the game, the Gyrenes honored the class of 2017.
 
The game got off to a promising start for the Gyrenes, as Ave Maria held a 3-2 lead after one inning. In the top half, Levi Hollingsworth belted a two-run home run with two outs. Hollingsworth also drove in Tanner Elsbernd, who had reached on a 14-pitch walk. Ave Maria responded with a three-spot, starting with an error and a Steven Valentine single. Rico Soto then drove in Tully Allen with a single, and Ryan Keegan followed with a sacrifice fly to score Valentine. Andy Hernandez gave AMU the lead with a single that scored Soto.
 
Thomas immediately retook the lead, this time for good, in the top of the second. The three-run frame came entirely with two outs. A single and a walk led to a two-run double from Jalbert Melo, and a throwing error allowed Melo to score as well, giving the Night Hawks a 5-3 lead.
 
Ave Maria trimmed the Thomas lead to one run in the bottom of the third. Soto clubbed the first pitch of the inning to center field, and was moved to third on a Keegan single. A Mason Dinesen fielder's choice to the shortstop saw Keegan retired, but allowed Soto to score the fourth Gyrene run of the game.
 
In the next four innings, Thomas scored eleven unanswered runs with one in the fourth, five in the fifth, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh. Elsbernd drove in the run in the fourth with a double, and four Night Hawks provided run-scoring hits in the fifth. Gavin Murphy had an RBI single in the sixth, and the run finished with RBIs from Tanner Long, Elsbernd, Reed Melcolm, and Murphy.
 
The Ave Maria bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs to extend the game. Singles by Adam Rosenberg and Tully Allen started the action, and an error allowed Rosenberg to score.
Soto drove in Allen on a sacrifice fly, and Keegan followed with his own sac fly. The inning's fourth run was plated by Hernandez, who belted his eighth home run of the season.
 
A ten-run Thomas eighth inning, capped by an Elsbernd grand slam, completed the day's action.
 
Ave Maria's lone game next week is a midweek contest against Keiser University.