AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria Universty baseball team bounced back on Saturday, winning both games of a doubleheader to earn a series victory over the Eagles of the University of Fort Lauderdale. The Gyrenes belted five home runs over the two games, earning victories of 10-8 and 5-3. The Gyrenes hit eight home runs on the weekend, a total that currently ranks fifth in the nation.

The teams traded runs in the first two innings of the opener, as Ave Maria scored first on a sacrifice fly from Ethan Bergkamp in the bottom of the first, his seventh RBI of the series. Fort Lauderdale responded in the top of the second, as a base hit up the middle from Eric Scott plated J. Frias. 

After a three home-run game from Bergkamp on Friday, Kolby Blanchard took center stage in game two. The AMU outfielder started his effort in the bottom of the third, drilling a two-run homer to put the Gyrenes back on top, 3-1. The homer also scored Francesco Barbieri, who had started the inning with a walk. 

Fort Lauderdale answered back in the top of the fourth, taking their first lead of the game at 4-3. The Eagles tied the game on a double from Wilbert Vargas, which drove in Scott and Jake Cace. Vargas then scored the go-ahead run on a single up the middle from D. Powell.

Trailing 4-3, the Gyrene offense came to life in the bottom of the fifth to the tune of seven runs. The first was the second home run of the day from Blanchard, who evened the score at four with a solo shot. A single, a walk, and an error then loaded the bases for AMU, who took the lead when Jose Gonzalez scored on a passed ball.

After a walk to Daniel Caylor, Tanner Kelly brought two home Gyrene runs in with a single. Barbieri added a bases loaded walk to bring in the fifth run of the inning, and a pair of wild pitches scored Kelly and Hayden Sullivan to extend the Gyrene lead to 10-4.

The Eagles tried to rally, scoring three runs in the sixth and another in the seventh, but the Gyrenes were able to nail down the win. Kelton Little earned the win with 2.1 innings out of the bullpen, and freshman Carlos Vega recorded the final two outs to pick up the save. 

In the second game of the doubleheader, Fort Lauderdale held a 2-0 lead after three and half innings, thanks to runs in the third and fourth. An RBI single from Scott was responsible for the run in the third, while a wild pitch that allowed Tad Stockowski to score from third extended the Eagle lead in the fourth. 

With just 12 outs to play with, the Gyrene bats again got going in the bottom of the fourth. The inning's first hitter, Jose Gonzalez hit a solo shot to cut the UFTL lead to 2-1. After a groundout and an error, Daniel Caylor gave the Gyrenes the lead for good with a two-run homer. Willie Jackson added to the fun later in the frame, hitting a two-run shot of his own to extend the Ave Maria lead to 5-2.

Fort Lauderdale did get one run back in the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out. Scott drove in another run with a single, but starter Kevin Figueredo got out of the inning with the last of his 12 strikeouts, leaving the bases loaded. Matthew Barragy would face trouble in the seventh with runners on the corners, but escaped the jam to earn a save. 

Figueredo pitched the first six innings of the nightcap for the Gyrenes, and was sensational in his AMU debut. The Florida International transfer allowed just one earned run in his six innings on the mound, and struck out 12 Fort Lauderdale hitters while surrendering only one walk. 

Holding a 2-1 record, the Gyrenes are back on the field Tuesday, when Ave Maria hosts Florida National University for a doubleheader at Bowie's Ballpark. First pitch in the non-conference twinbill is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.