AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team took on a nationally recognized foe on Wednesday afternoon, taking on the Warriors of Webber International University. The Gyrene bats went quiet against the second place team in the league, as Webber claimed victories of 5-0 and 8-1.

Neither team scored in the first three innings of the contest, as starting pitchers Sarah Shepard and Jenna Chaudoin exchanged three scoreless frames. Shepard allowed just one hit to the Warriors in her first inning of work, while Chaudoin allowed two hits in the first inning before keeping the Gyrenes hitless in the second and third innings.

Webber finally got on the board in the top of the fourth, then added another insurance run in the sixth. In the fourth inning, a throwing error from the Gyrenes on a sacrifice bunt from Faith Campopiano brought Cassidy Roberts in for the first run of the game. The run in the sixth was provided by Kyleigh Springle, who singled with two outs to plate Roberts, who had singled to start the inning. 

The Warriors proceeded to pull away in the seventh inning with three more runs. Two singles and a stolen base put runners on second and third with no outs, and Dejia Benn made it 3-0 with an RBI single up the middle. The final two runs of the game were driven in by Krista Hoyt, who doubled to left center field to score Benn and courtesy runner Juliana Ortiz.

Paxton Hoop was Ave Maria's top offensive performer in game one, going 2-for-3. Marisa Michi and Kayla Martinez added one hit each, with Martinez's a one-out triple in the bottom of the fourth. 

In game two, Webber jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Warriors put runners on second and third thanks to singles from Roberts and Mimi Maggard, and took a 2-0 lead on an RBI double from Victoria Atkinson. Alyssa Rodriguez then added an RBI double of her own, increasing the Webber lead to three.

Miriam Padgett provided the biggest highlight of the day for the Gyrenes in the bottom of the first. The speedster singled to the third baseman on a bunt, then proceeded to circle the bases when the throw from the third baseman sailed into left field. Padgett's run cut the AMU deficit to 3-1, but would prove to be the only run scored by the Gyrenes on the day. 

One run each in the third and fourth innings allowed the Warriors to extend their lead to four runs. Kelsea Friend provided the offense in the top of the third, drawing a walk before stealing second and third. Friend proceeded to score on a groundout to second off the bat of Atkinson. The run in the fourth was provided by Haley Saylor, who scored on a Blakeleigh Boyett groundout following a leadoff double and a wild pitch. 

Three runs in the top of the sixth put the game out of reach for Webber, with runs coming on an error off the bat of Kiersten Sanchez, as well as RBI singles from Sabrina Hebding and Dariyen Moss.

Ave Maria had two hits in the losing effort - the leadoff single from Padgett and a single from Ashley Nelson. Nelson was also a bright spot in the circle for the Gyrenes, pitching the game's final four innings and allowed just two earned runs. 

AMU is back in action on Saturday, with Keiser University coming to town for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon.