Ave Maria, FL -- The Ave Maria University baseball team came up short to the No. 4 Southeastern University Fire in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, losing the opener 15-4 before falling 8-2 in the nightcap.
 
A nine-run third inning propelled Southeastern to a 14-5 victory in the opening game of the twinbill. The Fire clinched the series victory with the win in the second game of the series.
 
Two scoreless innings started the game, but Southeastern was able to break through for nine runs in the third. Mike D'Acunti hit a two-run homer to lead the surge, and Danny Acevedo, DeJohn Suber, and Gerald Ceballos all added RBIs in the frame. The Fire sent 14 hitters to the plate during the inning, and eight of the nine players in the lineup scored.
 
Southeastern scored two more runs in the fourth, as Luis Diaz scored on a wild pitch after a leadoff triple. Ceballos provided an RBI single to score Suber, his second run producing hit of the contest.
 
The Gyrenes got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Keegan powered a double to right field to lead off the frame, and advanced to third base on a groundout. The first baseman scored on a passed ball to pull the Gyrenes within ten, 11-1.
 
D'Acunti hit his second home run of the game, and Acevedo pushed across an RBI single to extend the Fire lead to 12 runs in the top of the fifth inning. Southeastern recorded 20 hits in the victory.
 
Ave Maria battled back for three runs in the bottom half of the frame, and did so exclusively with two outs. Singles by Steven Valentine and Rico Soto set up an RBI single from Keegan and a two-run double by Andy Hernandez.
 
An RBI walk from Southeastern concluded the scoring in the top of the ninth for the Fire, and Tully Allen scored on a wild pitch after a leadoff single for the Gyrenes.
 
CJ Bottiglieri was a bright spot for the Gyrenes, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. Offensively, Tully Allen, Soto, Keegan, and Hernandez all had two hits, as the Gyrenes totalled 11 hits.
 
In the finale, Southeastern held Ave Maria off the board until the bottom of the ninth in a 8-2 victory.
 
The Fire started the scoring in the second inning with a pair of runs.
An error and a Luke Maher double put runners on second and third.
Angel Garced drove in Marcus Guzman with a single, and Luis Diaz followed suit to drive in Maher.
 
Southeastern scored two more runs in the fourth inning to add to their lead. Guzman hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on an error, and a Diaz sacrifice fly brought De'John Suber across the plate to give the Fire a 4-0 lead.
 
One run in the eighth and three runs in the ninth finished Southeastern's offensive efforts. Suber drove in a run with a groundout in the eighth, and consecutive RBI singles by Guzman, Maher and Suber provided the scoring in the top of the ninth.
 
Mason Dinesen, who had two hits and extended his hitting streak to nine games, broke up the shutout in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI double. The two-bagger scored Andy Hernandez, who had singled to start the frame. Dinesen proceeded to score on a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Justin Hartshorne.
 
Ave Maria heads on the road for four games next week, beginning with a midweek contest against Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. The Gyrenes then travel to South Carolina for a TSC series against USC-Beaufort.