Gyrenes Fall Late To Embry-RiddleGame RecapDaytona Beach, FLA.— The Ave Maria baseball team dropped a tight contest on Friday night to Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach. With the loss the Gyrenes fall to 1-6 in the Sun Conference and 5-10 on the season.
Senior starter Ray Messner (Naples, Fla.) gave AMU a quality outing, going seven innings and allowing only four hits. The southpaw stepped up after a three run first inning and provided the Gyrenes with six consecutive scoreless frames. Messner exited the game with seven strikeouts and only three walks.
Messner's counterpart, Stetson Neslon (Leesburg, Fla.) also gave his team a quality start going 7.1 innings, allowing three earned runs.
The AMU offense began the game with a first inning RBI single from Aaron Pigna (Miami, Fla.), scoring teammate Billy Pryor (Cape Coral, Fla.) from second. The bats would remain quiet until seventh inning when the Gyrenes pieced together a late rally.
In the seventh, Tucker Starkey (Mayville, Ky.), hammered an RBI single to center field to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of Embry-Riddle. Tommy Lentine (Chicago, Ill.) followed Starkey by hitting a gound ball past the Eagles third baseman, scoring two more runs to give the Gyrenes a 4-3 lead.
The Eagles would answer back in the eighth inning when Kyle Buchanan (Frostproof, Fla.) sent a single to left field that would plate two runs, giving ERU a 4-3 lead.
Ave Maria fought back in the top of the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to second base. Despite the attempt at another rally the Gyrenes could not bring a run across to force a bottom of the ninth, leaving the final score at 4-3.
UP NEXT: Ave Maria and Embry-Riddle will be back at it in Daytona Beach tomorrow for a Sun Conference double header. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be followed shortly by game two.
By Sean Buchanan | sean.buchanan@avemaria.edu
