AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball couldn't complete a massive series upset over the No. 10 team in the nation on Saturday afternoon, falling 10-5 to the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia in the series finale at the AMU Softball Field. The teams split Friday's doubleheader, setting up Saturday's rubber match between the Gyrenes and the first place Mariners.

Ave Maria jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, scoring three unearned runs on CCGA starter Elizabeth McGovern. Without the aid of a hit, the Gyrenes had runners on first and second for Morgan Grimm, who put AMU on the board with a single through the right side. The lead expanded to 3-0 when the next batter, Annie Nudera, clubbed a double to left field. 

Coastal Georgia got all three runs back in the top of the second, but Ave Maria reclaimed the lead in the bottom half by manufacturing a run. Maggie Hampton reached on an error, which also moved the junior to second base. Hampton moved up to third on a grounder from Gracie Lopez, and a wild pitch sent the Indiana native across the plate to put Ave Maria back in front, 5-4.

The Mariners took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the fourth, tying the game on a bunt single and an error, and going ahead on a two-run single from Mackenzie Kagee. Ave Maria got back within a run in the fifth, which started with a single from Nudera. The sophomore then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored with two outs on the second wild pitch of the inning. 

Any chance of a Gyrene rally was extinguished in the last two innings, as the Mariners pulled away with one in the sixth and three more in the seventh. The run in the sixth scored on a single from Kayla Rowell, while an RBI single from Sarah Thinger and a two-run single from McCall Maret did the damage for the visitors in the seventh, which would prove to be the final runs of the series.

AMU's offense knocked out ten hits in the series finale, led by standout performances from a pair of sophomores. Annie Nudera went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs batted in and another run scored, and Ryanne Saluter logged three singles from her spot at the top of the Gyrene lineup. 

The Gyrenes exit the weekend with an 8-7 SUN record through the first five series, good enough for fifth in the league with four series remaining. The Gyrenes' next test comes in the form of the team that is currently tied with the AMU in the SUN standings, the Sand Sharks of the University of South Carolina Beaufort. The final three meetings in SUN play between AMU and USCB are set to begin Friday in South Carolina.