TITUSVILLE, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team swept a tripleheader on Wednesday, claiming a win over Rochester College and two over Shawnee State University. The Gyrenes are now 15-3 on the season, which marks the best start in school history.

Ave Maria rolled to victory in the first game of the day, an 11-0 triumph over Rochester College from Michigan. The Gyrenes pounded out 12 hits in the win and allowed only two.

The Gyrenes scored two runs in each of the first two innings to take an early 4-0 lead. Emma Thompson drove in the first run of the game on a grounder that saw her reach on an error. Thompson scored the second run on the first of five errors from the Warriors. In the second inning, Destinee Elmore provided the two runs with an RBI single and a run scored on an error.

AMU added six runs in the fourth inning to pull away from Rochester. Deanna Stirtzinger and Genevieve Twigg each hit two-run singles, and Thompson accounted for her second RBI of the game on a squeeze. Emily Acosta scored the final run on two consecutive Rochester errors. The final run of the game, in the fifth inning, came when Kalie Romig scored on an error off the bat of Thompson.

Abagail Love and Elmore each had 3-for-3 games to lead the Gyrenes at the plate. Romig scored three times and stole three bases to bring her season total to 20. Brooke Pierron picked up her fifth win in the circle after 4.1 solid innings of relief.

In the second game of the day, Ave Maria won a 12-10 slugfest over Shawnee State. The teams combined for 34 hits in the first of two between the schools, and a run was scored in nine of the 14 half-innings played.

The Gyrenes' victory was powered by five-run frames in the third and fourth innings. Shawnee State scored in each of the first five innings, and outhit the Gyrenes 18-16. The Gyrenes did not take the lead for good until the fourth, when five runs gave the Gyrenes an 11-7 lead.

Six different Gyrenes recorded two hits or more, led by three-hit efforts from Elmore and Davis. Davis was one of five Gyrenes to drive in two runs, and brought in one on her second home run of the season. Davis also led the Gyrenes with three runs scored. Finally, five Gyrenes hit a double in the winning effort.

Pierron again picked up the victory in the circle, pitching against her hometown university. The junior consistently kept Shawnee State damage to a minimum, stranding ten Bear runners on base and allowing only one inning of more than two runs. 

AMU found another way to win in the nightcap, beating Shawnee State 4-2 on a walk-off home run from Stirtzinger. The Gyrenes rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win their seventh game in a row.

Shawnee State grabbed an early 2-0 lead with runs in the first two innings. Stacy Trenholm opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning, which brought in Michal Cunningham. The Bears made it 2-0 in the second inning on an error of the bat of Cunningham.

After two scoreless innings, the Gyrenes pushed across two runs to tie the game in the top of the fifth. Love led off the inning with a single, and moved to second base on a wild pitch. An Elmore single put runners on first and third, and with two outs, a single from Stirtzinger and an ensuing error tied the game.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Gyrenes put Elmore on second base following a single and a bunt from Romig. Stirtzinger then ended the game by blasting her second homer of the year, giving Ave Maria a rare sweep of a tripleheader.

The Gyrenes complete their Spring Break trip on Friday with one game against St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Chain of Lakes Park in Titusville.