BABSON PARK, Fla.- The Ave Maria University baseball team played what amounted to a tripleheader on Saturday, playing two full games and the continuation of a third against the Warriors of Webber International University in Babson Park. The Gyrenes were unable to take a game off the No. 15 team in the nation, falling by scores of 7-5, 9-3, and 9-5.
The Gyrenes held a 5-0 lead in the opening game of the doubleheader, scoring four in the first and one more in the second. Webber rallied for five runs in the second, and led 6-5 when the game was suspended due to rain. When the game picked up Saturday morning, a Webber run in the bottom of the sixth would be the only score for either team.
Dylan Moser had the biggest hit of the opener for the Gyrenes, a bases-clearing triple that gave AMU a 4-0 lead at the time. Moser was one of two Gyrenes with multiple hits in game one, with Daniel Caylor, who reached four times on two singles and two walks, the other. Ryan Schroeder was the standout on the mound for Ave Maria, tossing scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth.
Ave Maria again led in game two, but fell victim to six unanswered runs from the fifth inning on to fall, 9-3. Ave Maria led 2-0 after one and a half innings, and the score was even at three after three. Webber was able to pull away from the Gyrenes with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and four more in the bottom of the eighth.
AMU outhit Webber 9-6 in game two, led by two-hit efforts from Moser, David Leonardi, and Jimmy Coffey, all three of whom also stole a base. On a day where saving pitching was essential, Cameron Horner gave the Gyrenes seven innings of work, striking out five hitters.
The only game where Ave Maria never led was the finale, which saw Webber jump out to a 4-0 lead after two. Ave Maria cut the lead to 4-3 with a three-spot in the fourth, but Webber scored the next five runs to essentially clinch the sweep. The Gyrenes scored two in the ninth to cut the Warriors' lead to four, but could not get any closer.
Jose Gonzalez had a solid performance in the nightcap, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and another batted in. Leonardi continued what was his best overall week of the season with three runs batted in, which included a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
A stretch of five consecutive road games for the Gyrenes concludes on Tuesday, when Ave Maria heads across the state for a doubleheader with the University of Fort Lauderdale. The Gyrenes took two of three from the Eagles back in January at Bowie's Ballpark, and will need one win to take the season series. The doubleheader is slated for an 11:00 a.m. first pitch in Lauderhill.
