The Ave Maria University softball team finished the regular season with a doubleheader split on Saturday afternoon, taking the first contest 5-2 before falling 9-3 in the finale. The nine seniors on the Gyrene roster were honored between the games of the twinbill.
 
The Gyrenes used a four-run third inning to take control of the opener, and clinched the series victory with a 5-2 triumph over the Seahawks. AMU needed just four  hits to top Keiser.
 
It was the Seahawks that struck first, scoring a run on two hits in the top of the first. Kelsey Brodbeck singled with one out, and advanced to third on a groundout and a stolen base. Cheyenne Blumberg kicked off the scoring for the visitors with a single, giving Keiser the initial 1-0 lead.
 
Ave immediately got the run back in the bottom of the first, and did so without the benefit of a hit. Kalie Romig and Marinna Shadley each drew walks, but Romig was thrown out at the plate on an attempted double steal. Shadley was able to score the first Gyrene run on a passed ball.
 
Keiser retook the lead in the top of the third. Leadoff hitter Kristen Garceau started the frame with a single, and proceeded to steal second base. After a groundout moved her to third, Cassidy Miller drove her in with a single, the fourth Seahawk hit.
 
Four walks, two hits, and a hit batsmen comprised the decisive inning for the Gyrenes. Ave loaded the bases with one out on walks to Danielle Garcia and Shadley, as well as a hit by pitch to Rachel Curtiss. Sadie Mosher drove in Garcia with a single, and Alyssa Colding followed with a bases loaded walk. Deanna Stirtzinger added a sacrifice fly to left field, and a Marissa Conde single concluded the four-run frame for the hosts.
 
Sadie Mosher picked up her 16th win of the season, leaving the Seahawks hitless from the fourth inning on. The senior retired 11 in a row from the third to the seventh, striking out three hitters. Mosher also had two of Ave's four hits in the win.
 
Big hits proved to be the difference in the regular season finale, as a collection of doubles, triples, and home runs powered Keiser to a 9-3 victory.
 
Keiser led off the contest with a triple to left field from Kristen Garceau, who subsequently scored on a Kelsey Brodbeck groundout. Cassidy Miller then stretched the Keiser lead to 2-0 with a home run.
 
Two runs from Ave Maria in the bottom of the second evened the score. Danielle Garcia started the action with a double, and a sacrifice bunt from McKayla Jeter was misplayed, allowing Garcia to score. After a bunt from Marissa Conde, Meghan Sullivan singled to plate Jeter, tying the game at two. Sullivan was one of two Gyrenes with two hits in the finale.
 
Each of the game's next seven runs would be recorded by the visiting Seahawks. A two-run triple in the third inning from Dajia Jones and a RBI triple that became a home run by Garceau in the fourth extended Keiser's lead to 6-2. The Seahawks added three runs in the top of the sixth to complete their half of the scoring.
 
Marinna Shadley hit her second home run of the season with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and added a triple in her final home game.
 
The Gyrenes enter the Sun Conference Tournament as the number four seed, and will match up with the Sand Sharks of the University of South Carolina-Beaufort in the opening round. The top three seeds of the tournament, which begins May 3 in Clermont, are Warner, Southeastern, and Thomas.