LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University baseball team could not overcome the offense of the No. 4 Southeastern University Fire on Saturday, and lost both games of a doubleheader in Lakeland. The Fire won the opener 17-7, then completed the series with a 10-5 victory in the nightcap.

AMU held an early 2-0 lead in game one, as four consecutive walks and a sacrifice fly by Kolby Blanchard gave the Gyrenes some momentum. However, the next eleven runs would by scored by the Fire over a three-inning span. Those eleven runs were scored on seven hits, as the Fire took advantage of ten free passes (nine walks and a hit batsmen).

The Gyrenes scored three unanswered runs to cut the Southeastern lead to 11-5, but were met with three consecutive runs by the hosts to push the deficit back to nine. Ave Maria scored twice in the fourth on RBI singles from Alex Perez and Tyler Chase, and again in the fifth on a double by Clayton Stanley. SEU responded with an RBI fielder's choice from Carter Bridge, a solo home run from Pedro Castellano, and a wild pitch that scored Zach Cornell. 

A two-run single from Ethan Bergkamp ended Ave's scoring in the eighth, and a three-run home run by Nolan Machibroda brought the game to an end due to the NAIA run rule.

In game two, Ave Maria grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a single from Chase. Southeastern took the lead for good in the bottom half by scoring three runs. A double to left center by Cornell and a two-run single from Sam Faith allowed the host Fire to hold a 3-1 lead after one inning of play.

Both teams scored one run in the second inning, keeping SEU's two-run lead intact. Ave Maria's run was provided by Wilfredo Acevedo, whose single allowed Bergkamp to score from third. Cornell added his second RBI of the day with a groundout, which brought Cristian Martin in for a 4-2 Fire lead.

The run-trading continued in the fourth inning, as both teams put two runs on the board. A two-run single by Perez cut tied the score at four, but a double from Nick Bottari brought in Abdel Guadalupe and Castellano to put the Fire back up by two, 6-4.

After a single by Bergkamp cut the Southeastern lead to 6-5 in the fifth inning, the Fire answered with four runs to pull away from the Gyrenes. A double from Benito Varela, a two-run single from Cornell, and an RBI single from Bottari did the damage for the Fire, who remained perfect (9-0) in Sun Conference play.

Ave Maria's next nine games will all come against non-conference opponents. The stretch begins on Wednesday at Chain O' Lakes Park in Winter Haven, when the Gyrenes take on the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone University. Cornerstone, a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, enters the contest with a 3-9 record. First pitch in the neutral site affair is scheduled for 10 a.m.