THOMASVILLE, Ga.- The Ave Maria University baseball team dropped both ends of their final doubleheader of the season on Friday afternoon, falling twice to the Thomas University Night Hawks by scores of 16-6 and 17-6. 

Thomas scored in six of the first game's eight innings to begin the series with a 16-6 win over the Gyrenes. The opener featured 27 combined hits - 14 for the Night Hawks and 13 for the Gyrenes.

Ave Maria scored first on Friday afternoon, scoring twice in the top of the first inning. Tully Allen led off the game with a single, and Ryan Keegan doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. Rico Soto then singled both runners in, giving the Gyrenes an early 2-0 lead.

A two-out rally gave Thomas the lead in the bottom of the first. With a runner on first and two outs, a single and a walk loaded the bases for the Night Hawks. Each of the next three batters - Wyatt Petrey, Gavin Murphy, and Landon Boyette drove in one run each on a walk, a single, and another walk, respectively. Thomas added another run in the bottom of the second on a Jalbert Melo sacrifice fly.

AMU retook the lead with three runs in the fourth inning, claiming a 5-4 lead. Nick Wydler led off the inning with a double, and moved to third on a passed ball. A Matt Wiles groundout plated Wydler for the third Ave run of the game. An RBI double from Keegan and an RBI single from Soto gave the Gyrenes the lead.

Thomas took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth with two runs, and added four more in the fifth. In the fourth, an RBI double from Logan Place and an error put the Night Hawks back on top. Three RBI singles and a passed ball padded the lead to 10-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Luis Dominguez was responsible for the final run of the opener for the Gyrenes, as the junior drove in Ryan Keegan on an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning. The Night Hawks then ended the game early by scoring three runs each in the seventh and eighth innings. 

Thomas was powered by a 12-run second inning in the nightcap, and rolled to a 17-6 triumph. Ave Maria committed seven errors in the losing effort.

Two RBI singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly propelled Thomas to a 4-0 lead over AMU in the first inning. Melo and Boyette supplied the run-scoring hits against Gyrene starter Sergio Miyares.

In the 12-run second, Murphy drove in four runs, hitting both a two-run double and a two-run homer. Justin Young also added three RBIs on a two-run double and an RBI single. In total, 16 hitters came to the plate for the Night Hawks in the inning, with seven recording a hit.

Ave Maria got on the board with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. A walk to Eduardo Rodriguez and a single by Robby McMahon put runners on second and third, and Wydler drove in both runners with a single to left field. Wydler then scored himself on an RBI single from Keegan. Thomas got a run back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI walk drawn by Keefer Beaty.

The game's scoring concluded with three Gyrene runs in the top of the seventh inning. Runs were driven in by Soto, Rodriguez, and McMahon.

Ave Maria's conference season comes to an end on Saturday with the series finale against the Night Hawks.