AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Ave Maria University baseball team totaled eight extra-base hits as it swept a Sun Conference doubleheader against Thomas (Ga.) University on Friday afternoon at Bowie's Ballpark.
The Gyrenes posted a 6-4 win in the opener and followed with a 9-6 victory in game two. Overall, AMU amassed 21 hits over the two contests - including eight extra-base hits.
AMU (16-29, 6-14) wasted little time in taking control of game one as it posted five runs on five hits to claim a 5-0 lead in the second. Following a single by Kolby Blanchard to lead off the frame, Brody Rubenstein cranked a two-run homer over the right field wall, putting the Gyrenes ahead 2-0. Jeffery Cardazzone, Aidan Hickey and Daniel Caylor each added a run-scoring hit to close out the spurt.
Cardazzone added another RBI in the third on a single that scored Blanchard to increase the AMU lead to 6-0.
Andy Valdes put Thomas (Ga.) on the board in the top of the fourth with a two-run home run to center.
The Night Hawks added a single run in both the seventh and the eighth to get within 6-4 – but were shut down in order in the ninth by Matthew Esquijerosa, who notched his first save of the season.
Starting pitcher Zach Zink (2-1) was stellar in earning the win, limiting Thomas (Ga.) to just three runs and six hits over seven innings of work. He struck out six and walked two.
In the finale, Brad Toxen briefly put Thomas in front for its only lead of the afternoon with a solo shot in the top of the first.
The lead was short lived as AMU scored five unanswered runs beginning with an RBI double by Blanchard in the bottom of the first that deadlocked the score at 1-1.
A productive groundout by Cardazzone plated Blanchard in the fourth to give the Gyrenes for good at 2-1. AMU added three more runs in the fifth and two in the sixth on a pair of run-scoring doubles by Alex Perez and Aidan Hickey – increasing the lead to 7-4.
The two teams each traded runs in the seventh and eighth to account for the final margin.
Blanchard finished with three hits, two runs and two RBI to pace the Gyrenes offensively. Over the two games, the junior centerfielder totaled five hits and scored four runs. Cardazzone and Hickey each posted a pair of hits in the victory.
Freshman Brandon Diaz (2-5) picked up the win for AMU following a five-inning effort that saw him allow five runs on four hits and a pair of walks. Wyatt Sargent picked up his first save by retiring the final two batters of the contest.
The Gyrenes and Night Hawks conclude the three-game weekend set on Saturday, April 24 beginning at 12 p.m. EDT at Bowie's Ballpark on the campus of Ave Maria University.
