TIFTON- A furious rally and a complete game shutout lifted the Thomas Night Hawks over the Abraham Baldwin Fillies in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.

A sixth inning rally for the ages and strong pitching helped Thomas surge past ABAC in game one, 11-10 in extras.

The Night Hawks wasted no time getting on the board as Annalise Buncy hit one into the outfield to bring home one, Alexis Adams added to the scoring as she hit a sacrifice fly into center to go up 2-0.

However, The Fillies answered back with a three-run bottom half of the first go up by one.

Sierra Ussery started in the circle for Thomas, lasting only 3.2 innings while allowing six runs before Cameron Clontz relieved her in the fourth. ABAC kept their foot on the gas with two outs as they hit a two-run shot and added an RBI double on the freshman as she found herself in a jam with a runner on first and third. Emylee Mountin then took over for Clontz and forced a groundout to get out of the inning.

Thomas plated a run in the top of the fifth as Ussery hit a single to cut the deficit to six, Kristin Steller soon got the bases loaded setting up the chance to put more runs up on the board, but a popup to the catcher ended the inning. In the circle, Mountin held the Fillies at bay forcing a quick inning to bring the Night Hawks back up to the plate.

Knowing they needed to manufacture some runs in the top of the sixth, the Night Hawks found a spark when Ava Nunez hit a two-run shot into left to cut it to four, then back-to-back hits from Ansley Eason and Grace Hodges and Buncy getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases for Adams who got one past the defense to bring Eason home. Then a wild pitch scored Hodges to narrow the lead to two. Next, Ussery launched a double into right to drive home Adams and Buncy, tying the game at 9-9. A groundout advanced the runners to scoring position and then Maggie Stubbs scored the go-ahead run off of a fielder’s choice by Lauren Hicks to complete the comeback.

In the bottom half of the inning with two runners on, Baileigh Herrera came in to close out the game for Thomas, but ABAC brought one home to tie the game at 10-10, both teams failed to score in the seventh so the game was forced into extras, the Night Hawks went one-two-three in the top half of the eighth, opening the door for the Fillies to walk it off, with the winning run in scoring position, the defensive kept their composure and forced back-to-back flyouts to get out of the inning. In the top of the ninth, Hicks lead off things with a double and later advanced to third off of a groundout, opening the door for Hodges to hit an infield single to score the go-ahead run. When the Fillies came up to bat, Herrera shut the door, retiring the side for the gritty road win.

Eason paced the offense going 4-5 with three runs and a double, reaching 100 hits in her Night Hawk career. Adams added two hits and two RBIs, and Hodges added three hits and an RBI of her own.

Following her win in relief in game one, Herrera delivered a dominant complete-game shutout, leading Thomas to a 1-0 win over ABAC in game two.The Night Hawks needed just one run of support as Herrera scattered three hits across seven innings, striking out three without issuing a walk. Herrera induced nine groundouts and nine flyouts, keeping the Fillies off balance all game to earn the victory.

Thomas scratched across the game’s only run in the third inning. After Lauren Hicks led off with a single and stole second, Ansley Eason lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Hicks for the early 1-0 lead.

Grace Hodges paced the offense with two hits and a walk, while Hicks added two hits and scored the lone run. The Night Hawks totaled seven hits on the afternoon but stranded seven runners as ABAC’s starter kept the game tight.

Despite the slim margin, Thomas played error-free defense behind Herrera to secure the series win and notch their eighth shutout victory of the season.

The victory also marked a special milestone for Head Coach Jessica Sanders as she earned her 100th win as in her career and as head coach of the Night Hawks.

Thomas now turns their attention to the postseason as next week they will travel to Decatur, Ala. for the SSAC Softball tournament as the No. 2 seed. They will face the winner of No.7 Brewton-Parker and No.10 Point on Thursday, May 1st at 3:00 p.m.