JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team swept their doubleheader on Friday afternoon, rolling to victories of 9-3 and 14-0 over the Eagles of Trinity Baptist College. Ave Maria used stellar pitching and their biggest offensive performance of the season to win their fourth and fifth consecutive games.
Both games of the doubleheader saw the Gyrenes score first, with six runs coming for AMU in the second inning of the first contest. Ave Maria pounded out nine hits in their second trip to the plate, including a pair of extra base hits. Runs in the inning were driven in on a Dariyen Varner single, a Morgan Grimm single, a Miriam Padgett single, a Kayla Martinez single, and two were driven in on a triple by Paxton Hoop.
Trinity Baptist got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to a solo home run.. The Gyrenes answered with a run in the top of the fourth, extending their lead to 7-1. A two-out single from Martinez plated Angela Cataldo, who had reached on a single of her own.
AMU scored twice in the sixth to cap their half of the scoring. An RBI groundout from Cataldo accounted for the first run, while Martinez logged her third RBI of the day on a single. Trinity Baptist avoided a run rule with a two-run homer from Courtney Byrd in the bottom half of the frame, but the Eagles would not get any closer than six runs.
Kassandra Clark set a new Ave Maria record in the victory, striking out 13 Trinity Baptist hitters en route to the win. At the plate, Clark, Hoop, and Romig each had three hits to lead the way for the Gyrenes. Martinez drove in a team-high three runs, and all nine AMU hitters in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit. Romig stole two bases in the win, giving her 100 during her career in the Blue and Green.
In game two, the Gyrenes jumped out to another lead with two runs in the first inning and another in the second. An RBI single from Abagail Love put the Gyrenes on the board in the first inning, and a double steal allowed Martinez to score the second run. Ave Maria's run in the second inning was the result of an error, as a single from Romig led to a TBC miscue.
Ave Maria broke the game wide open in the fourth inning, scoring nine runs to turn a 3-0 game into a 12-0 rout. The biggest hits of the inning were provided by Gracie Lopez and Cataldo, who both drove in two runs. Other runs were accounted for by Romig, Love, and Hoop.
The final two runs of the day were scored in the top of the fifth inning by the Gyrenes. Aylin Naranjo and Hoop hit consecutive RBI singles to increase the AMU lead to 14 runs. The runs were scored by Mia Gallegos and Brooke Angerer, who had singled and walked, respectively.
Brittany Blizzard threw all five innings for Ave, allowing just two hits while striking out four. Hoop and Lopez were the standout Gyrenes at the plate, with each player accounting for three hits. Romig, Gallegos, and Love all added two hits in the win.
On Saturday, the Gyrenes and Eagles will play two more games before Ave Maria heads home to Southwest Florida. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., with the series finale scheduled for thirty minutes after the conclusion of the opener.
