KISSIMMEE, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team finished up a perfect week on Friday afternoon, winning two games in the PFX Spring Games at the Fortune Road Athletic Complex in Kissimmee. The Gyrenes' pitching combination of Kassandra Clark and Sarah Shepard was dominant, allowing a total of two earned runs in 14 innings as AMU earned a 3-1 victory over Dordt University from Iowa and a 7-2 win over Bellevue University from Nebraska.
Dordt scored the first run of the opening game, pushing a run across in the bottom of the third inning. The leadoff hitter of the inning, Karli Olsen, reached on an error, then moved to second on a bunt from Jessica Flaherty. With two outs, an infield single placed by Jessica Oules allowed Olsen to scored from second, giving the Defenders a 1-0 lead through three.
That 1-0 score would hold until the top of the fifth inning, when Ave Maria finally struck for three runs. The Gyrenes had runners on first and second following an error and a walk to Kalie Romig. With two outs in the inning, Paxton Hoop tied the game with an RBI single that scored Gracie Lopez. Angela Cataldo then gave AMU the lead for good with a triple down the right field line, scoring both Hoop and Romig.
Clark needed no more help, as the sophomore was excellent in her fourth win of the season. The ultra-efficient righty tossed just 67 pitches in her seven innings of work, and allowed just three hits with just one unearned run. Clark struck out a pair of Dordt hitters in the win, and did not walk a batter.
Despite only scoring in the fifth inning, the Gyrenes did outhit the Defenders, 8-3. The top of the order did much of the damage for Ave Maria, as Romig, Hoop, and Cataldo each had two hits. Christina Cataldo and Emma Thompson also added singles in the victory.
In game two, the Gyrenes would score one run in each of the first two innings to jump on top of Bellevue. An error off the bat of Angela Cataldo scored Romig in the first inning, which came after a leadoff single and two stolen bases from the centerfielder. A wild pitch plated Kayla Martinez, who had reached on an error, in the second inning, increasing the AMU lead to 2-0.
After a scoreless third inning, the Gyrenes broke it open with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Gyrenes had runners on second and third without contact ever being made, as Miriam Padgett walked, then stole second and third, while Abagail Love walked and pinch-runner Mariah Melendez stole second. A bunt single from Katelynn Sebastiani plated the first run, while a squeeze bunt from Sydney Rogowski added another. Angela Cataldo added an RBI single with two outs to make it 5-0 Gyrenes.
Two more runs crossed the plate in the fifth, breaking the game wide open for the Gyrenes. Martinez singled with one out, and pinch-runner Gracie Lopez stole second. Miriam Padgett tripled to score Lopez, then scored herself on a bunt from Love. Bellevue got on the board in the seventh inning with a two-run homer from Kelsey Arnold, but never truly threatened the Gyrenes.
Sarah Shepard had perhaps her most dominant game in an Ave Maria uniform, striking out 12 Bellevue hitters in a complete game victory. The senior took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and did not allow a run until the seventh inning. Shepard earned her fifth win of the season in the circle, and pitched the full game for the seventh time in her eight starts.
Sun Conference play begins for the Gyrenes on Wednesday, when the Bobcats of St. Thomas University come to the AMU Softball Field. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
