AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University baseball team faced off with the No. 19 team in the nation for the third time this weekend, and left with an unusual result Saturday afternoon at Bowie's Ballpark. The Gyrenes tied, 2-2, with the Knights of Middle Georgia State University, as the game was called due to inclement weather in Southwest Florida that arrived in the top of the eighth inning. 

Runs were at a premium on Saturday, with both teams only scoring in one inning. For Ave Maria, that inning was the bottom of the third. Kolby Blanchard and Jose Gonzalez both drew one-out walks, and Harrison Rossi followed with a single through the right side, which scored Blanchard from second. The second run was plated by Ethan Bergkamp, who drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Middle Georgia's run scoring was done in the top of the sixth. Ryan Wilson drew a walk to start it off, but was erased on a fielder's choice. Derick Stager reached on a fielder's choice, and moved up to second on an error. Following a wild pitch, Stager scored on an AMU error. The Knights then tied the game on a solo home run from Andrew Krauss.

The seventh inning passed without any scoring, and Middle Georgia had a runner on third with two outs when the skies opened up over Bowie's Ballpark. A steady rain that lasted more than two hours rendered the field unplayable. With travel for the teams already cemented, the schools agreed to finalize the game as a tie, with no plans to continue the game at a later date.

Ave Maria and Middle Georgia used different pitching paths in the game's seven-plus inning. AMU starter Kevin Figueredo tossed 7.1 innings for the Gyrenes, allowing just two runs on four hits. Middle Georgia used four pitchers over seven innings, which occurred following the exit of JT Shields due to injury. The most effective of these pitchers was Garrett Martin, who struck out six hitters over three innings.

At the plate, Tanner Kelly and Jose Gonzalez both had two hits for the Gyrenes, while Harrison Rossi and Eric Havner each had one. Gonzalez reached base in all four of his plate appearances, drawing two walks to go with his two singles.

Next on the schedule for Ave Maria is the preseason favorite in The Sun Conference, as the No. 3 ranked Southeastern University Fire await in a midweek contest. The Fire come to Bowie's Ballpark on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.