Ave Maria, FL -- The Ave Maria University baseball team were the victims of an eight run second inning from the St. Thomas University Bobcats, a frame that proved to be the difference in a 13-4 decision on Monday afternoon at Bowie's Ballpark in Ave Maria. It was the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams, but did not count in the Sun Conference standings.
 
St. Thomas and Ave Maria traded runs in the first inning. The Bobcats used a one out single from Kendrick Gutierrez and a throwing error to plate their first run, while the Gyrenes' run came via wild pitch when Justin Hartshorne scored after starting the inning with a walk.
 
The decisive inning came in the second, when the Bobcats sent 12 hitters to the plate, recording seven hits to go with their eight runs. The key hits in the frame were a two-run homer from James Spatafora, a two-run single from Jack Diaz, and a three-run home run by David Palenzuela. The big inning moved the Bobcat lead to 9-1 through two inning.
 
Four runs over the next three innings pushed the St. Thomas lead to 13-1. Diaz hit an RBI single in the third, Orlando Rivera and Gutierrez drove in runs in the fourth, and Palenzuela clubbed his second home run of the game in the fifth.
 
Ave Maria scored the final three runs of the game, starting with one in the fifth inning. Andy Hernandez, who had three hits and reached base five times, lined a one-out single. He moved to second on a groundout, and scored when Brody Howe singled with two outs.
 
AMU extended the game with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, courtesy of a two-run double from Mason Dinesen. Dinesen's two-bagger scored Blake Roxberry and Hernandez, who reached on a walk and a double to start the inning.
 
The Gyrene relief pitching was stellar in the final four innings, holding the Bobcats to one hit from the sixth inning on. Griff Anderson, Andrew Giddens, and Sergio Miyares combined on the effort, led by two strikeouts over two innings from Giddens.
 
A three-game non conference series awaits Ave Maria this weekend, beginning Friday afternoon as the Gyrenes welcome Spring Arbor to Bowie's Ballpark. The series is set to begin at 2 p.m. Friday, with a Saturday doubleheader to follow.