AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University baseball team kept their postseason hopes alive on Friday afternoon, taking game one of a doubleheader with the Sand Sharks of the University of South Carolina Beaufort at Bowie's Ballpark. AMU's 9-8 game one win was followed by a USCB victory of 8-4 in the nightcap, setting up a crucial rubber match Saturday afternoon.
USCB struck first in the opener, taking a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the top of the third. Ave Maria's first runs came on one swing of the bat in the fourth. The leadoff hitter of the frame, Dylan Moser, singled up the middle, sending David Leonardi to the plate. The AMU first baseman belted his ninth home run of the season, one shy of the program's single-season record, to even the score at two.
After USCB retook the lead with two more runs in the top of the fifth, the Gyrenes responded with three runs of their own, claiming an edge they would not relinquish. The action started with two outs, when Jose Gonzalez pulled himself even with Leonardi in the home run column, hitting a solo shot for his ninth of the season. Walks to Moser and Leonardi followed, and an RBI single from Kolby Blanchard and an ensuing USCB error gave Ave Maria a 5-4 lead.
The Gyrenes would score four more runs, part of a 7-0 run. Three of those runs came in the bottom of the sixth, beginning with an RBI double from Daniel Caylor. Tanner Kelly then drilled Ave Maria's third home run of the day, a two-run shot to make it 8-4. Blanchard joined in on the fun in the seventh with a solo home run of his own.
The Sand Sharks scored four times in the eighth inning, but Kelton Little stranded two runners on base to end the eighth, then left a runner on second in the ninth to nail down his team-best fourth save of the season. Little finished off an effort from Cameron Horner, who earned his fourth win of the season after striking out ten hitters in his seven innings on the mound.
In game two, the teams traded runs in the first inning. USCB got their run with a two-out double, while Ave Maria manufactured their run. Daniel Caylor would hit a leadoff single, then stole both second and third base to give him 28 stolen bases on the season, a new AMU single-season record that would move to 29 later in the game. Caylor scored on a sacrifice fly from Jose Gonzalez.
Four runs from the Sand Sharks in the third inning would put Ave Maria behind for good, but the Gyrenes did manage three runs of their own in the bottom half of that inning. Gonzalez and Moser started the inning with singles, and Gonzalez scored on an RBI single from Kolby Blanchard.
A stolen base from Blanchard, his 27th, forced a USCB error that allowed both Moser and Blanchard to score what would prove to be Ave Maria's final runs of the day. South Carolina Beaufort would proceed to pull away, scoring runs in the fifth, sixth, and ninth innings to even the series.
Saturday will take on a Game Seven feel for the Gyrenes, who would be eliminated from postseason contention with a loss. A win would give AMU a chance heading into the final weekend, as the Gyrenes would likely need one win against national No. 1 Southeastern to punch their ticket to West Palm Beach for the conference tournament. First pitch of the rubber match is set for noon, with Senior Day festivities slated for 11:30 a.m.
