AVE MARIA, Fla. – Junior Anier Ricardo crossed the plate with the winning run on a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Aidan Hickey in the bottom of the eighth to cap a late-inning comeback and lift the Ave Maria University baseball team to a 4-3 victory in the second game of a pair of seven-inning games on Tuesday at Bowie's Ballpark.
The Gyrenes put together a furious late-inning rally that saw them flip a 3-1 deficit in the top of seventh into a one-run victory that snapped a four-game losing streak and improve their overall mark on the season to 12-23. Florida National slips to 10-20 following the game two defeat.
AMU trailed the finale 2-0 after five and a half innings before starting its comeback. Junior Kolby Blanchard led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple off the center field wall and scored two hitters later on a groundout by senior Clayton Stanley to trim the margin to 2-1.
After Florida National got the run back in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Manuel Blanco, making the score 3-1, the Gyrenes posted a pair in the bottom of the seventh to force the extra inning.
Freshman David Leonardi led off the seventh for AMU with a solo blast to left center, his second of the season, to get the Gyrenes within 3-2. Junior Daniel Caylor added a two-out base hit and came around to score on a clutch double down the left field line by senior Alex Perez to knot the game at 3-3.
Ricardo opened the eighth with a double to left center for AMU. The next hitter Stanley was hit by a pitch and sophomore Jeffery Cardazzone followed with a single to load the bases for the Gyrenes with no outs. After a strikeout by Leonardi, Hickey drew the decisive walk to force in Ricardo with the winning run.
Freshman Brandon Diaz (2-4) earned the win for the Gyrenes after allowing four hits and one run in two innings of relief.
The opening game of the doubleheader did not end as well for the Gyrenes as they dropped a 14-12 decision after holding a 10-2 advantage through two innings.
Sophomore Marcel Lopez dropped in a two-run double in the top of the second to put Florida National ahead 2-0.
The lead was short-lived however as AMU erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the second to open a commanding 10-2 advantage.
Senior Ethan Bergkamp opened the fray with a solo shot to right field, his team-leading fifth of the season. Wilfredo Acevedo added a two-RBI single to give AMU a 3-2 lead and Caylor matched him one hitter later with another base hit that plated a pair. Another single that scored two by Ricardo preceded the final run of the rally which came across when Hickey was once again hot by a pitch with the bases loaded, making the score 10-2.
Florida National then began to chip away at the lead, beginning with six runs in the top of the third. Boris Valdes led off the frame with a solo shot and Daniel Rodriguez followed two hitters later with an RBI single. The big blow came on a grand slam off the bat of Jeremy De La Cruz Chan, which saw the inning end with AMU's lead trimmed to 10-8.
The Conquistadors continued the comeback with a run in the fourth that made it 10-9 before taking the lead for good with a four-run sixth. Manuel Blanco and Carlos Cartaya each registered a two-RBI double to account for the scoring that put FNU in front 13-10.
Daytan Biegel launched a solo shot in the seventh to account for the final run of the contest.
The Gyrenes return to action at Bowie's Ballpark on Tuesday, April 8 against Florida Memorial in a doubleheader that is slated for a 12 p.m. EDT start.
