HARDEEVILLE, S.C.- The Ave Maria University softball team took sole possession of fourth place in The Sun Conference on Friday, thanks to a road doubleheader sweep of the Sand Sharks of the University of South Carolina Beaufort. The wins of 4-2 and 12-4 clinched Ave Maria's fourth conference series win of the season, and gave Ave Maria ten conference wins for the first time since the 2017 season.

Ave Maria did not log their first hit of game one until the fifth inning, but got on the board for the first time in the top of the fourth. Trailing 1-0, Ashley Nelson drew a walk to lead off the frame. Pinch runner Alexis Lendo moved around to third on back-to-back groundouts, then scored on the last of three Sand Shark errors. USCB did get the run back in the bottom of the fourth, and held a 2-1 lead after four. 

The decisive runs in the opener came in the top of the fifth. Cecilia Garrett broke up the USCB no-hitter, but was forced out at second on a fielder's choice off the bat of Katelynn Sebastiani. A Ryanne Saluter single moved Sebastiani to third, and a Marisa Michi single scored Sebastiani to tie the game at two. Nelson followed with another single to put Ave Maria ahead, and Morgan Grimm provided some insurance with an RBI single of her own. 

Alissa Bolinger would retire the final ten hitters USCB sent to the plate, earning her 13th win of the season in her 13th complete game. At the plate, Nelson reached base four times on two singles and two walks to lead the way for AMU. Ryanne Saluter added two singles from the leadoff spot, as well as one of the runs in the decisive fifth inning.

After trailing for the first four innings of game one, the Gyrenes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap. Saluter walked to start the game, and Michi clubbed a double to open the scoring just two batters into the contest. After a popout accounted for the first out, Grimm singled down the left field line to bring Michi for the second run of the inning. 

USCB scored the next four runs to take a 4-2 lead after three, but AMU had a massive response - a nine-run fourth inning that blew the game wide open. The biggest hit of the inning was the last one, a three-run homer from Maggie Hampton to widen the Gyrene lead to 11-4. Nelson, Annie Nudera, and Kylee Lewis also drove in runs during the monster frame, which saw 12 hitters come to the plate. 

The final Gyrene run came across in the top of the sixth, enacting the NAIA's run rule at the conclusion of the sixth. Nelson added to her huge day with a leadoff double, and pinch runner Gracie Lopez would score on an RBI single from Grimm. 

Kassandra Clark captured her fifth win and fourth complete game in the circle, throwing three scoreless innings to close out the contest. Grimm led Ave Maria in the nightcap with a 3-for-3 effort, which included a run and two RBIs. Hampton and Cecilia Garrett also added two hits in the win, with Hampton's three-run homer accounting for the game high in runs batted in. 

AMU can put some more distance between themselves and the Sand Sharks in the Sun Conference standings tomorrow, as the Gyrenes go for the sweep in the series finale, which is scheduled for noon in Hardeeville.