THOMASVILLE, Ga.- The Ave Maria University baseball team finished off their first Sun Conference series sweep in more than nine years on Saturday, as the Gyrenes drubbed the Thomas University Night Hawks, 12-2, in Thomasville. The sweep was Ave Maria's first in league play since April 6 and 7, 2013, when the Gyrenes took three straight games from the Webber Warriors at Bowie's Ballpark.

Thomas took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but the Gyrenes battled back to tie the game in the second, then took the lead for good in the third. David Leonardi clubbed a one-out triple in the second, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Kolby Blanchard. The next inning, the Gyrenes scored on a two-out rally. Tanner Kelly walked, stole second, and crossed the plate on an RBI double by Jose Gonzalez.

The Ave Maria lead widened in the fourth inning, as the Gyrenes plated two more runs to take a 4-1 lead. Leonardi walked, Blanchard singled, and the pair pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third with no outs. Rocco Pascente drove in the first run of the frame with a sacrifice fly, and Eli Garcia followed with an RBI single through the left side.

Ave Maria proceeded to pull away from the Night Hawks with four runs in the top of the sixth. The first two AMU runs, scored by Hayden Sullivan and Garcia, came across thanks to a Thomas error off the bat of Jimmy Coffey. Coffey then scored on a Daniel Caylor sacrifice fly, and Tanner Kelly scored the eighth Gyrene of the day, reaching on a single before eventually scoring on a Jose Gonzalez groundout. 

Four runs crossed the plate for the Gyrenes in the seventh, which would eventually cause the game to be cut short due to the NAIA run rule. RBI singles from Garcia and Caylor extended the Gyrene lead to 10-1, and Kelly drove in the final two runs of the afternoon with a two-run double. A run from Thomas in the bottom of the seventh would not be enough to extend the contest. 

Garcia led the Gyrenes with three hits in the win, while Kelly and Blanchard both went 2-for-3. In addition to his two hits, Blanchard stole three bases, giving him 51 stolen bases in his AMU career and breaking the school record of 50, set in 2015 by Aaron Pigna. On the mound, Ryan Schroeder tossed a complete game, striking out seven hitters over his seven innings.

The sweep keeps Ave Maria in the thick of the chase for a spot in The Sun Conference Tournament, but the Gyrenes will have nearly two weeks between league games, with Easter weekend as AMU's designated bye week. The Gyrenes will be on the field on Tuesday, playing their sixth and seventh games of the season with the Eagles of the University of Fort Lauderdale. First pitch from Bowie's Ballpark is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.