AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Ave Maria University baseball team got a strong pitching performance from freshman Brandon Diaz and three home runs on the offensive side to post a 9-3 victory in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader to earn a split against Warner University in the first action of the season for both teams.
Diaz, making his first collegiate start, allowed just a single hit and a pair of runs over 5.0 innings of action en route to his first victory of the season. The Miami, Fla., native opened the contest without allowing a hit over the initial four innings of action, before Warner finally broke through with an infield single in the top of the fifth. Diaz finished with seven strikeouts and fanned a total of six over the first three innings.
Warner took advantage of a pair of walks in the top of the first to claim an early 1-0 edge, but the Gyrenes wasted no time in taking control with a four-run bottom of the second that was keyed by a grand slam by junior shortstop Daniel Caylor, who ripped a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left center field to give AMU a 4-1 advantage that they would not relinquish.
Senior Brody Rubenstein upped the lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the third with a two-run triple that drove in teammates Wilfredo Acevedo and Hayden Sullivan.
Fellow senior Ethan Bergkamp got into the power surge with a two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth to increase the margin to 8-1 and Rubenstein followed his triple with a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 9-2.
Tyler Brown notched an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to account for the final run of the game, driving in Devin Frost.
Diaz went five innings for his first collegiate win, while Ryley Rozar was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs, two hits and three walks over 1.2 innings.
The opener saw the Gyrenes run into a hot hitting attack for the Royals as they totaled 23 runs and 22 hits en route to a 23-7 victory.
The two teams traded three runs in each half of the first before Warner started to pull away on the strength of a four-run second inning and a nine-run outburst in the fifth, that proved too much for AMU to overcome.
Bergkamp was a bright spot for the Gyrenes at the plate as he finished 2-for-4, including a home run, double and four RBI. Rubenstein also recorded a pair of hits in defeat.
John Bean picked up the win for the Royals despite allowing five runs and six hits over three innings. Callan Carn took the loss for AMU after giving up 10 runs and 12 hits in four innings.
The Gyrenes return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at Keiser in a 2 p.m. EST start.
