ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --- The Ave Maria softball team rebounded from a game one loss and rallied in game two to earn a split with NCAA DII Eckerd on Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Gyrenes fell 13-3 in game one and defeated Eckerd 12-8 in game two. AMU moves to 19-19 on the season.
 

Game 1 Recap

• Marlie Braddy put AMU in front 1-0 in the top of the first inning on an RBI single to right center to score Cheyenne Benson.
• After Eckerd tied the game in the bottom of the first, Victoria Thompson singled down the right field line to bring in Kingsley Avery and Madison Benitez in the top of the second to retake the lead for the Lady Gyrenes 3-1.
• Eckerd erupted for eight runs on five hits in the bottom of the second innings to take a 9-3 lead.
• The Tritons added four more runs on two hits in the bottom of the third to take a 13-3 edge. They held AMU scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings to close out the game in five innings.

Game 2 Recap

• Eckerd jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a home run in the bottom of the first and a RBI groundout in the bottom of the second.
• McKayla Jeter reached on an error in the top of the third which allowed Thompson to score on the play.
• The Tritons took an 8-1 lead in the bottom of the third, scoring six runs on three hits and one AMU error.
• The Lady Gyrenes made a big dent in the Eckerd lead with four runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning. AMU got two runs on a Jeter single to bring in Thompson and Nikki Woodard. Braddy got into the action with a double to drive in Benitez, who pinch ran for Jeter, to make the score 8-4. Deanna Stirtznger followed that up with an infield single to shortstop to score Braddy and cut the AMU deficit to three.
• The Blue and Green got two more runs back in the top of the sixth on a RBI single by Avery to score Benson and a Thompson single up the middle to bring in Avery.
• The Lady Gyrenes tied the game in the top of the seventh on an RBI groundout by Sarah Vinci to bring in Alyssa Colding. In the ensuing at-bat, Woodard reached on an error by the pitcher to plate Stirtzinger. With two runners on, Avery capped the Lady Gyrene rally with a home run to center field to put AMU in front 12-8.

Quick Hits

• Four pitchers were used in the game two win. Emily Lemin and Benson pitched four scoreless innings (two each) to close out the game. Benson picked up the win in game two to improve to 8-10 on the season.
• Thompson went 3-for-8 with three RBI and two runs scored. She also had a stolen base.
• Avery finished 2-for-6 with three runs scored and four RBI.
• On the day, AMU scored 15 runs on 14 hits and seven Eckerd errors. The Tritons totaled 21 runs on 20 hits and three Lady Gyrene errors. The Blue and Green did not commit an error in game one.

Up Next

• The Lady Gyrenes will welcome Northwood University to AMU Softball Field for a Sun Conference doubleheader on Saturday. The twin bill is set to begin at 1 p.m. For the game, the AMU softball team is partnering with the NFCA for a Strikeout Cancer game to help raise funds and awareness to fight cancer.