Winter Haven, FL -- The Ave Maria University baseball team finished the non-conference portion of their 2017 schedule on Wednesday evening, losing a 9-4 contest to Rollins College in Winter Park. Six of the nine Ave Maria batters in the starting lineup got a hit in the losing effort.
Rollins jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings of the game, a run that started with a three-run first. An error started the scoring, as Peter Nicoletto scored from third after a leadoff triple.
The Tars added two more runs on a Christopher Corbett double down the left field line.
A sacrifice fly off the bat of BJ Minarcin extended the Rollins lead to 4-0 in the second inning, while a Brian Brooker home run and a Sam LaFontaine triple pushed the Tars' advantage to six runs through three innings.
Each of the game's next three runs were plated by the Gyrenes, cutting the six-run lead in half. Ave got on the board in the top of the fourth, when Ryan Cook belted a solo home run with two outs in the frame. Then, in the top of the sixth inning, the Gyrenes put runners on first and third after singles by Ryan Keegan and Mason Dinesen.
Cook added to his effective day at the plate with an RBI single. Cook then stole second, which allowed Dinesen to score AMU's third run of the contest.
However, Rollins put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. All three runs were driven in by LaFontaine, who hit a three-run homer with two outs in the inning. The two other runners, Corbett and Nick Breen, had both reached on walks.
The final run of the game was scored by Ave Maria in the top of the eighth inning. Keegan led off the inning with a double to left center field, and was driven home by Andy Hernandez, who singled into center.
Cook and Keegan served as Ave Maria's offensive leaders with two hits a piece in the contest. Bright spots on the mound were Sergio Miyares and Matt Leslie, who each tossed a scoreless frame out of the bullpen.
The 2017 season concludes this weekend for Ave Maria, as the Gyrenes battle Warner University in a three-game series. The opener of the final set of the campaign is scheduled for 3:30 pm Friday in Lake Wales.
