LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Ave Maria University baseball team erupted for seven unanswered runs, including five in the top of the ninth to turn a 13-9 deficit into a 16-13 victory in the opening game of a Sun Conference doubleheader at Warner University on Saturday.
The Gyrenes rallied for the win in a contest that saw them trail by as many as seven runs and saw the lead flip three times.
Junior Koby Blanchard started the comeback for the Gyrenes in the top of the eighth with an RBI double that made the score 13-10. Blanchard followed by stealing third before eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jeffrey Cardazzone, trimming the Warner lead to 13-11.
Senior Alex Perez got things rolling for AMU in the ninth with a leadoff solo shot over the right field wall to get the Gyrenes to within one at 13-12. Warner pitchers followed by walking the next three AMU hitters to load the bases setting up senior Clayton Stanley who responded by launching a grand slam to right center – and giving the Gyrenes a 16-13 advantage that they would not relinquish.
Senior Christian Whitlatch (2-3) picked up the win in relief for AMU following two innings of work in which he allowed one hit while striking out three.
Saturday's second game saw the Gyrenes lead for the entire game up until Warner's last turn at bat in the bottom of the ninth.
AMU opened an early 3-0 edge in the top of the first before Warner responded with a pair of runs in its half of the opening frame.
The Gyrenes posted five runs on five hits in the top of the fourth to increase their lead to 8-2. The run came on the strength of four RBI singles and a sacrifice fly – overall seven AMU hitters reached in the inning.
Warner added a pair of runs via a walk, single and a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth to trim the deficit to 8-4. Caradazzone drilled a solo shot for the Gyrenes in the fifth to up the lead to 9-4.
Unfortunately for AMU, Warner would score the next seven runs, including a pair in the decisive bottom of the ninth.
Following a four-run outburst in the sixth for the Royals, which cut the AMU lead to 9-8, leading to Warner's walk-off win in the ninth.
Warner's Alexander Ramos led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and was pinch run for by Zachary Arnold. Arnold came around to score two hitters later following consecutive bunt singles by Daniel Coca and Anthony Capri – Coca scored the winning run when he crossed the plate on Capri's bunt single which was followed by an error by AMU, allowing Coca to score.
The split moves AMU's overall record for the season to 9-19 and 3-6 in Sun Conference action. Warner sits at 20-12 overall and 5-4 in the conference loop.
The Gyrenes continue their current 14-game road swing on Tuesday, March 23 with a doubleheader at No. 4 St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. EDT.
