AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University baseball team claimed a pair of victories on Monday afternoon, topping Florida National University 2-0 and 6-1 at Bowie's Ballpark. The wins ran Ave Maria's all-time record against the Conquistadors to 6-0, and gave the Gyrenes their 17th and 18th wins of the season.

Game one's only scoring came in the bottom of the second inning, as the Gyrenes plated a pair of runs. Ave Maria loaded the bases on a walk to Robby McMahon, a single by Anier Ricardo, and a hit by pitch to Nick Wydler. After a pair of popouts kept the bases loaded with two outs, the Gyrenes got on the board via a balk and an error of the bat of Luis Rodriguez. 

Two runs would be more than enough for starter Ben Krizen, who tossed six shutout innings to earn the win for Ave Maria. Krizen struck out four hitters without allowing a walk, and surrendered just one hit to the Conquistadors. Jack Zander finished the game for Ave Maria, pitching a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the 2-0 advantage.

Ave Maria's two hits in the opener were both singles, and were provided by McMahon and Ricardo. Allen and McMahon also reached base once, drawing walks. The lone hit for the Conquistadors was recorded by David Sarmiento, who singled in the sixth inning. Despite not allowing an earned run, Zjeanuwayne Braafhart took the loss for Florida National.

The Gyrenes never trailed in the second game either, tagging the Conquistadors with three runs in the bottom of the first. Luis Rodriguez started the inning with a triple, and was promptly driven in by Jared Halteman on a groundout. Tully Allen would come around to score on two singles and an error, and Ricardo drove in Alex Perez, who had singled, to stretch the AMU lead to three runs.

Three more runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the third, giving the Gyrenes a six-run edge. Ave Maria loaded the bases on singles from Perez and McMahon, as well as a walk to Ricardo. Nick Wydler then cleared the bases with a three-run double. Despite leaving the bases loaded, the three-spot was more than enough to seal the win.

Florida National scored their lone run of the day in the top of the fifth inning. An RBI single from Sarmiento drove in pinch runner Javier Roman to cut the Ave Maria lead to 6-1. Relief pitcher Cristian Cotto, who tossed three innings en route to his first collegiate save, stranded runners on second and third to keep the AMU lead at five runs. 

Justin David tossed two scoreless innings for Ave Maria, and earned his first victory of the season. Kyle Conway also logged a pair of scoreless frames in relief. At the plate, two-hit games were recorded by Rodriguez, Allen, Perez, and Nick Wydler.

Ave will play their final road game of the 2019 season on Wednesday, when the Gyrenes travel to Miami Gardens for a game with the nationally ranked St. Thomas University Bobcats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.