HARDEEVILLE, S.C.  – The Ave Maria University baseball team dropped the final game of a three-game road set on Saturday at University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) by a 12-1 margin.
 
The Gyrenes were limited to just a pair of hits by Land Shark starting pitcher Blaize Minick (1-2), who fanned 10 hitters and earned the win after allowing no earned run over the full seven innings.
 
AMU starter Brandon Diaz (2-5) took the loos after allowing eight hits and eight runs (six earned) over two innings.
 
The Land Sharks took control of the contest with a nine-run outburst in the third inning on seven hits and a pair of Gyrene errors. 
 
The Gyrenes lone run came on an error by USCB second baseman Wesley Ambrose, which allowed Jeffery Cardazzone to score in the top of the fifth – making the score 9-1.
 
USCB added another run in the fifth and two more in the fifth to end the game after seven innings at 12-1.
 
The loss drops AMU's overall record to 14-28 and 4-14 in Sun Conference action, while the Land Sharks improve to 23-17 and 10-11 in league play.
 
The Gyrenes return to play on Tuesday, April 20 with a non-conference twin bill at Webber International University in Babson Park, Fla.  First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. EDT.