AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team got back in the win column on Tuesday afternoon, sweeping two games from the Crimson Wave of Calumet College of St. Joseph at the AMU Softball Field. The Gyrenes, who moved to 10-4 on the season with the wins, rallied for a 6-3 victory in the opener before controlling most of game two in an 8-2 triumph.
Calumet built a 3-0 lead in the first three and a half innings, mostly due to miscues from AMU. The Crimson Wave scored a run in the top of the first on a Gyrene error, then added another run via an error in the top of the fourth. Calumet made it 3-0 in that same inning with a sacrifice bunt from Kirmani.
Ave Maria's bats finally came to life in the bottom of the fourth, with two clutch hits putting AMU in front. Walks to Ashley Nelson and Mariah Melendez, as well as a single from Miriam Padgett, loaded the bases with two outs in the frame. Pinch hitter Kayla Martinez singled to left field to score two runs, and Morgan Grimm followed up with a walk to re-load the bases. Paxton Hoop then cleared the bases with a bloop single, giving the Gyrenes their first lead of the day.
One more run was added in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Gyrenes some added insurance. Ave Maria again loaded the bases on singles from Romig and Hoop, as well as an error off the bat of Mariah Melendez. After Melendez was picked off at third, Angela Cataldo came through anyway with an RBI single up the middle that scored Romig from second, scoring the final run of the opener.
Sarah Shepard earned the win for the Gyrenes in the circle, pitching a complete game without allowing an earned run. The top of the order did much of the damage for Ave Maria at the plate, as Romig, Hoop, and Cataldo combined for five of the team's seven hits, and four of the six runs batted in.
After needing to rally from a 3-0 deficit in game one, the Gyrenes started fast in game two, scoring the game's first six runs. It started in the bottom of the first, when Romig, Hoop, and Cataldo all reached to load the bases. With two outs, senior Abagail Love cleared the bases with a double off the right field fence, giving the Gyrenes a lead they would not relinquish.
Two more runs came in the bottom of the second inning, with another added by Romig in the fourth. AMU loaded the bases again with one out in the second, and a bases loaded walk to Cataldo increased the lead to 4-0. Reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week Marisa Michi drove in the fifth run on a groundout to second. In the fourth, Romig created a run on her own with a single, a steal of second, a steal of third, and then a run when the throw to third sailed into left.
The Crimson Wave tried to rally with two runs in the top of the fifth, but Ave Maria got both back in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach. Back-to-back RBI singles from Romig and Hoop did the damage, accounting for the final six-run margin.
Alissa Bolinger followed Shepard's complete game with one of her own, as the freshman earned her second career win in as many starts. Romig was the star offensively in game two, going 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three stolen bases to increase her NAIA-best total to 23. Hoop also added two hits for the second consecutive game.
Three neutral site games await the Gyrenes later this week, beginning with a lone game Thursday morning. Ave Maria will travel to Kissimmee for a contest against the Statesmen of William Penn University from Oskaloosa, Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 11:15 a.m.
