AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University baseball team ran into the number one team in the nation on Friday afternoon, and fell 11-1 to the Southeastern University Fire at Bowie's Ballpark. The Fire remained undefeated in Sun Conference play, while the Gyrenes fell to 5-11 in the league.
Southeastern's powerful offense struck early on Friday, scoring five runs in the first inning. The Fire singled five times in the opening frame, with RBI singles from Colton Onstott and Dan Valerio starting the scoring. Adam De La Cruz drove in two more runs with a single through the left side, and the fifth run of the inning crossed the plate on an Ave Maria error.
Another run was added by Southeastern in the top of the fourth inning, boosting the Fire lead to six runs. Manuel Mesa led off the frame with a double to center, and moved up to third base on a flyout. A single from Ivan Nunez allowed Mesa to score easily from third, but saw Nunez thrown out at second trying to stretch his hit into a double.
After three scoreless frames from both teams, the Fire extended their lead to 7-0 in the top of the eighth. Nunez drove in the run with two outs, bringing in Dominic Anagnos. Anagnos had reached on a walk, and moved up to second when Willie Estrada was caught stealing third.
Ave Maria got on the board in the bottom of the eighth inning, finally getting to Southeastern starter Felix Dieguez in his final inning of work. Daniel Caylor reached on a fielder's choice, which accounted for the second out of the inning. Caylor then recorded AMU's lone run of the day when Tully Allen lined a double to right center, allowing Caylor to score from first base.
The Fire concluded the scoring in the top of the ninth, plating four runs. The first two runs were driven in by Noah Strohl, who blasted a deep home run over the left center field fence. An RBI double from Estrada and an RBI single from Anagnos finished the action for the No. 1 Fire.
Allen and Robby McMahon led the Gyrenes at the plate, recording a single and a double each to account for four of the team's five hits. A single from Chris Wydler accounted for the other hit. Jack Zander was a bright spot on the mound for AMU, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of work with two strikeouts.
The Gyrenes and the Fire will play two more games on Saturday to conclude their Sun Conference series. The first pitch of the opening game is scheduled for noon, with the finale set to begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.
