AVE MARIA, Fla. – Ave Maria University freshman Ethan Wood tossed a complete game in his collegiate debut, without allowing an earned run, to lead the Gyrenes to a 6-1 victory over Webber University in the opener of a three-game Sun Conference series on Friday afternoon at Bowie Ballpark.
Wood, a native of Vero Beach, went all nine innings, scattered six hits, struck out eight and walked none en route to the first win of his collegiate career. His only run allowed was unearned following an AMU error in the top of the fourth.
The win moves the Gyrenes overall mark to 2-5 and 1-0 in Sun Conference action. Webber slips to 5-6 and 0-1 in league play following the loss.
Webber starting pitcher Drake Kasparek was short on control in the bottom of the first – as he walked the first three Gyrenes he faced on 12 consecutive pitches outside of the strike zone. Kasparek then hit AMU senior Ethan Bergkamp with a pitch to spot Ave Maria a 1-0 advantage.
Sophomore Aidan Hickey came up big for the Gyrenes in the bottom of the third with a two-run double that upped the advantage to 3-0.
Webber scratched out its lone run of the game in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Luis Acevedo. Rougie Odor scored after opening the inning on a single, before advancing to third after Angel Diaz was hit by a pitch and Bryan Eusebio reached on an error by Gyrene third baseman Hayden Sullivan.
The Gyrenes added another tally in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 4-1. AMU capitalized on a two-out walk by Brody Rubenstein, who advanced to second on a single by Caylor and later scored on a bad pickoff throw by Kasparek.
Rubenstein and Caylor opened the bottom of the seventh with singles to begin the final scoring push for the Gyrenes. Another errant pickoff toss at first brought home Rubenstein and Caylor followed him on an RBI single by Bergkamp, making the score 6-1.
Wood recorded seven of his eight strikeouts over the first five innings. Kasparek was tagged with the loss for the Warriors after allowing four runs, two earned, two hits and five walks over four innings. He struck out eight in the loss, which dropped his record to 0-1.
The Gyrenes return to action on Saturday, Feb. 13 with a doubleheader against Webber that is slated to begin at 11 a.m. at Bowie's Ballpark on the campus of Ave Maria University.
