AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria softball team split Thursday afternoon's twin bill will the Warner University Royals. The Lady Gyrenes took game one, 5-0, behind Cheyenne Benson's two-hitter before falling in game two, 6-2.
 
Ave Maria moves to 18-18 on the season and to 3-3 in Sun Conference action while Warner sits at 12-10 overall and 6-2 in TSC play.
 
In game one, Benson pitched seven scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and two walks. She improved to 7-10 on the year with the win.
 
Benson also had a good game at the plate, driving in the Lady Gyrenes' first run on a double to center field to bring in Kingsley Avery in the bottom of the first. A couple batters later, McKayla Jeter singled to left field to drive in Benson and put AMU up 2-0.
 
In the bottom of the second inning, Victoria Thompson had a two-RBI single to left field to bring in Sarah Vinci and Deanna Stirtzinger. The Lady Gyrenes increased their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth on a Benson sac fly to bring in Avery.
 
In game two, it was AMU that struck first with a homerun by Alyssa Colding in the bottom of the fourth.
 
After Warner put four on the board in the top of the fifth, the Lady Gyrenes got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a Avery RBI double to bring in Stirtzinger to make the score 4-2.
 
Warner added a run in the top of the sixth and the top of the seventh to make the final 6-2. Warner out hit AMU 12-6 in game two.
 
Emily Lemin took the loss in game two after going 4.2 innings and allowing four runs on six hits and one walk. She struck out one. Jessenia Gonzalez and Benson combined to pitch the final 2.1 innings, allowing one unearned run each.
 
AMU returns to action on April 7 when they travel to St. Petersburg, Fla., to take on Eckerd College in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.