Hardeeville, SC -- The Ave Maria University baseball team split a doubleheader with the Sand Sharks of USC-Beaufort on Friday afternoon, earning a critical Sun Conference victory in the process. USCB won the opener 13-3 before the Gyrenes swiped a 9-8 victory in the nightcap.
In the opening game of the twinbill, USCB scored 12 times in the third inning, en route to a 13-3 seven-inning win.
Before USCB's massive scoring output, Ave Maria held a 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run top of the third. Tully Allen hit a one-out single, and a muffed fielder's choice put Steven Valentine on and moved Allen to third. Rico Soto drove in Allen with a single to center, and Valentine scored when a fielder's choice from Ryan Keegan resulted in a Sand Shark error. Keegan also supplied two hits, and was the only Gyrene with multiple hits in the loss.
USCB's 12-run frame was powered by nine Sand Shark hits, including a home run, three doubles, and nine singles. The offensive leader in the inning was Alex Murphy, who completed the scoring with a grand slam over the left center field fence. Brandon Joyce added a two-run double, and other RBIs were provided by Thomas Estopare, Kal Davis, Nick Graham, Noah Matthews, and Bobby Wenthe.
The Sand Shark lead stretched to 13-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Nick Payne hit an RBI groundout that plated Davis, who had walked to start the frame. Ave Maria's half of the scoring wrapped up in the top of the sixth, as Ryan Cook drove in Mason Dinesen with an RBI single.
Two runs in the top of the ninth gave Ave Maria a victory in the back half of the doubleheader, as the Gyrenes held off the Sand Sharks in a 9-8 decision.
For the second game in a row, the team that took the defeat in the contest struck first. USCB got on the board in the bottom of the first, as Bobby Wenthe clubbed a two-out double to left field, allowing Thomas Estopare to score the first run of the game.
The Gyrenes quickly responded with a run in the top of the second. The leadoff hitter of the inning, Andy Hernandez, belted a home run over the right field fence in Hardeesville. Hernandez's longball evened the game at one.
The lead quickly swung back to the host Sand Sharks, who scored three times in their second turn at the plate. The run-scoring came with two outs again, as a Tristan Triplett single, an Thomas Estopare triple and a Brandon Joyce single pushed USCB back in front, 4-1.
In the next two innings, Ave Maria scored a run in each frame to pull within one run of USCB, 4-3. In the third, Rico Soto clubbed a two-out double down the left field line, which scored Steven Valentine.
Hernandez struck again in the fourth, belting his second homer of the day. The homers gave Hernandez seven on the season.
Ave Maria took their first lead in the top of the fifth inning with its biggest inning of the day, a four-run frame. The Gyrenes loaded the bases with two outs on a single, a hit by pitch, and a walk. Mason Dinesen came up with the go-ahead hit, a two-run single through the left side. After a walk to Brody Howe re-loaded the bases, Ryan Cook ripped a double down the left field line, giving AMU a 7-4 advantage.
USCB trimmed the Gyrene lead to 7-5 in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Payne drew a two-out walk, and pinch runner JoJo Markle proceeded to steal both second and third. Alex Murphy added to his RBI total on the day with a single through the left side.
After a scoreless sixth and seventh innings, USCB tied the contest with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, the Sand Sharks had runners on the corners after a double and a single. Estopare doubled and Joyce singled to score two runners, but a double play allowed AMU to escape the inning with the game even.
The decisive runs for the Gyrenes came via a two-spot in the top of the ninth. With one out, Ryan Keegan clubbed a triple to left field. After Hernandez was intentionally walked, pinch-runner Jake West scored when a play at the plate was mishandled by the Sand Sharks. Ryan Cook added the second AMU run with a two-out single to right field.
South Carolina-Beaufort threatened in the bottom of the ninth, but could only get one run across. USCB had runners on first and third with no outs, but Ave closer Justin Bureau was able to pick off the runner at first for the first out. A Murphy single closed the gap to one run, but Bureau was able to induce a strike out and a flyout to earn the victory.
The series between the two teams will be decided via a Saturday afternoon rubber match. The Gyrenes and Sand Sharks will conclude the Sun Conference set in Hardeesville at noon.
