Gyrenes Split With Purdue North Central

Ave Maria, Fla.—Wednesday afternoon the Ave Maria baseball team earned a split with Purdue North Central University. The first game of the double header was an extra inning affair that the Panthers took from the Gyrenes by a score of 5-4. Game two was a back victory for the blue and gold with a final score of 9-3.

GAME 1 RECAP
Game one saw plenty of action right out of the gate as both teams posted two runs in the first inning. Brannon Kwiatkowski (Mahomet, Ill.) opened the scoring with a two RBI single to right field for the Panthers.

Aaron Pigna (Miami, Fla.) had an answer for the Gyrenes in the first as he sent an RBI single to left field and then later scored on a wild pitch.

Kellen Creech (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Rico Soto (Naples, Fla.) provided late inning RBIs and sent the Gyrenes into the seventh with a 4-3 lead.

In the seventh, with just one out to go in the game, Trevor Williams (Fair Oaks, Ind.) knotted the game at four with a solo home run to left center.

Will Rudolphi (Champaign, Ill.) gave the Panthers the lead in the top of the eight with an RBI double to right field off of AMU reliever Andrew Giddens. Rudolphi's double would prove to be the difference in the game as the final score would stay at 5-4, Purdue North Central.

Cody Burton (Danville, Ill.) earned the win for PNC, his first of the season.

GAME 2 RECAP
Following the late inning defeat in game one, the Gyrenes responded in a big way in game two.

After the first three frames went scoreless, the AMU offense exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning. Seniors Bobby Oliver (Naples, Fla.) and Tucker Starkey (Mayville, Ky.) started the scoring with an RBI a piece. Rico Soto added on two more RBIs with a single through the middle of the infield. Following Soto, Aaron Pigna sent a three run home run over the left field wall, making the score 7-0. Later in the inning, Nick Sacchetta (Naples, Fla.) added another run in the inning with an opposite field double, scoring Kellen Creech. Creech would cap the Gyrene scoring with an RBI single to left center in the sixth inning.

The three PNC runs came from a pair of home runs, a solo shot off the bat ty Devine ( Mount Pleasant, Mich.) and a two run home run from Colin Willis (Sheboygan, Wisc).

Ave Maria starting pitcher John Osborn (Little Rock, Ark.) went the distance for his team in game two, earning his first win of the season while going all seven innings, striking out two and walking one.

UP NEXT: The Gyrenes will wrap up their spring break home stand with double header against Clarke College, Thursday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Bowie's Ballpark. You can follow all the live stats at avemariagyrenes.com.

By Sean Buchanan | sean.buchana@avemaria.edu