Gyrenes To Take On Embry-Riddle

Series Preview

Ave Maria, FLA – The Ave Maria Gyrenes baseball team will travel up to Daytona Beach this weekend for another Sun Conference series against Embry-Riddle. This will be the last time these two teams will face each other with conference bragging rights and rankings on the line as the Eagles of ERU will be making the transition out of the NAIA and into NCAA Division II next season.

The Gyrenes

The blue and green are looking to bounce back this weekend after last week's conference series with Webber ended with three losses. AMU now sits at 5-9 on the season with a 1-5 record in the Sun Conference.

Leading the way at the plate for the Gyrenes will be Rico Soto (Naples, Fla.) and senior Nick Sacchetta (Naples, Fla). Soto leading the team in batting average at an impressive .385 clip so far this season. Sacchetta has been providing the power numbers thus far leading the team in home runs with four and RBIs with twelve.

Austin Comesanas (Miami, Fla.) and Christian Dufresne (Rockledge, Fla.) will be two of the arms that the Gyrenes will continue to rely on this weekend to get it done on the mound. Dufresne boasts a .175 batting average against this season, while Comesanas has set down eleven opposing hitters via strikeout in ten innings pitched.

Scouting Embry-Riddle

Embry-Riddle began this season as the #11 ranked team in the nation according to the NAIA pre-season coach's poll and are regarded by many to be this year's favorite to win the Sun Conference.
The Eagles enter this weekend with an overall record of 9-5 and a 2-1 record in the Sun Conference. They too are looking for a bounce back weekend after dropping their last two contests.

Matt Jacobs (Altemonte Springs, Fla.) been a leader for the ERU offensive attack this season. The junior infielder leads the team in home runs with three and RBIs with eleven while sporting a .325 batting average.

Power pitching has been on display for the Eagles through the early stages of the season as starters Kenny Burkhead (Deltona, Fla.) and Stetson Nelson (Leesburg, Fla.) each have an ERA under 1.00. Reliever Zac Grotz (San Bruno, Calif.) has piled up four saves so far this season while striking out fifteen in 11.1 innings pitched.

Follow The Action: This weekend's first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and the action will continue with a double header on Saturday, beginning at 1:00 p.m. You can follow all the live stats of this weekend series at Embry-Riddle on the Eagle's athletics website eruathletics.com.
By Sean Buchanan | sean.buchanan@avemaria.edu