ORANGE BEACH, Ala.- The Ave Maria University softball team continued their winning ways on Thursday with a 14-3 victory over the Lancers of Grace College. The game, which was shortened from a doubleheader due to weather and a venue change, was played at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Alabama. The win extended AMU's school record winning streak to 12 games.

Ave Maria scored in every inning but the first, starting with one run in the top of the second. The Gyrenes had runners on second and third with two outs, thanks to a single from Aylin Naranjo and a walk to Paxton Hoop. An RBI single from Kalie Romig drove in Naranjo for the first of the game's 17 runs. AMU added two more runs in the top of the third, as Kayla Martinez bashed her third home run of the season. The freshman also drove in Angela Cataldo, who had doubled to right field.

The Gyrenes continued to add to their lead in the fourth and fifth innings, taking a 7-0 lead after scoring once in the fourth and three times in the fifth. Christina Cataldo scored the run in the fourth, scoring on an RBI groundout from pinch hitter Sydney Rogowski. Cataldo drove in a run in the next inning, as did Romig and Miriam Padgett. All three runs in the fifth inning were provided on RBI singles.

Two more runs scored for the Gyrenes in the sixth, but Grace responded with a three-spot to avoid the NAIA run rule. A double from Morgan Grimm and a single from Mariah Melendez put runners on second and third for Ave, and the runs would score on an RBI groundout from Naranjo and a Grace error. The Lancers scored their only runs of the day on an RBI single from Britney Young and a two-run homer by Olivia Scarbrough.

Any momentum Grace had after their three-run inning was erased by the Gyrenes in the seventh. AMU scored five in the final inning to finish off their third 14-run performance of the season. Runs were driven in by Rogowski, Grimm, Melendez, Brittany Blizzard, and Christina Cataldo. Four of the five run-scoring hits were singles, with the exception of a double from Grimm.

As a team, the Gyrenes logged their first 20 hit game in more than six years, posting 21 hits in the win. Eight Gyrenes had two or more hits, led by four from Romig and three from Christina Cataldo. Angela Cataldo, Padgett, Martinez, Grimm, Melendez, and Naranjo all had two. Four Gyrenes - Romig, Christina Cataldo, Martinez, and Rogowski - all drove in two runs.

Kassandra Clark pitched the first three innings of the day for the Gyrenes, and earned the win in the circle. Naranjo came in for the next 2.1 innings, and Blizzard finished the job with 1.2 scoreless innings of work. 

Both of Ave Maria's opponents on Friday enter the day with an undefeated record. The Wildcats of Baker University are 8-0, while the Wildcats of Culver-Stockton College are 2-0. The Gyrenes start the day against Baker, who got within one game of the NAIA World Series last season and are receiving votes in the newest NAIA Coaches' Poll, at 4:30 p.m. A matchup with Culver-Stockton, a 31-win team last season, follows at 7 p.m.