AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team dropped a pair of games on Wednesday afternoon to the Fire of Southeastern University, losing by scores of 9-2 and 1-0. The Fire, who are receiving votes in the newest NAIA Coaches' Poll, played the Gyrenes for the first and only time this season.
In the opening game of the day, Southeastern led from the first inning on in a 9-2 win over the Gyrenes. Southeastern recorded 15 hits in the victory, and surrendered only six.
The Fire jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. A pair of singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, and a walk to Kiah Ferrell got the Fire on the board. Britt Robinson brought in the second run with a single through the left side, and Britney Schmidt added a third run with an RBI groundout. Southeastern also added a run in the second inning on a double steal, which plated Kristin Mihalic.
After two scoreless innings for both teams, Southeastern widened their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Two RBI singles and an error did the damage for the Fire, with RBIs provided by Ramsey Sullivan, Shelby Lansing, and Haleigh Harrell. Two more runs crossed the plate for the Fire in the sixth inning, as singles from Jaz Szeirer and Heather Faulk gave Southeastern a 9-0 lead.
Ave Maria extended the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Emma Thompson walked to lead off the inning, and a triple from Genevieve Twigg got the Gyrenes their first run of the game. After a strikeout, Twigg came home on a wild pitch, providing the final run of the opening game. Abby Love, who led the Gyrenes with two hits, and Brianna Geiger also reached base in the sixth.
The second game of the doubleheader was a pitcher's duel, with a lone run from Southeastern providing the difference.Â
Each of the first four innings came and went with the game scoreless, with Southeastern finally striking in the top of the fifth inning. Two singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases for the Fire, and Brandee Pietrzak provided the decisive run on a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Harrell to score.
Ave Maria's best two chances to score came in the first and seventh innings. In both frames, AMU had a runner on third with two outs, but could not come up with a run-scoring hit. Five different Gyrenes provided the teams hits, with the lone extra-base hit coming on the second triple of the day from Twigg.
Brooke Pierron took a tough luck loss for the Gyrenes, as the junior allowed just the one run on seven hits.Â
The Gyrenes continue Sun Conference play on Saturday with a doubleheader against the Keiser Seahawks. Ave Maria and Keiser split their doubleheader last weekend in Ave Maria, with the Gyrenes winning the opener 5-4 and the Seahawks taking the nightcap 5-2. First pitch in West Palm Beach is scheduled for 11 a.m.
