MOUNT VERNON, Ga.- The Ave Maria University baseball team played their first weekend series of the non-conference schedule Friday and Saturday, playing three games against the Barons of Brewton-Parker College in Georgia. The Gyrenes took the second game of the series with a 17-5 win in Friday's nightcap, but eventually dropped the series thanks to Brewton-Parker wins in the first and third games.

A nine-run second inning proved to be the difference in the opening game of the series, as Brewton-Parker cruised to a 12-3 win Friday afternoon. The Gyrenes scored three runs in the fifth inning thanks to RBIs from Axel Melendez, Jimmy Coffey, and Tanner Kelly, but Brewton-Parker answered with three more runs in the fifth inning to seal their nine-run win.

Two of Ave Maria's four hits in the opener were provided by David Leonardi, who posted both a single and a double, as well as a run scored. Despite allowing 12 runs, Gyrene pitching was able to rack up eleven strikeouts in the opening game of the series, led by nine strikeouts over 4.2 innings of work from Kelton Little.

The second game of the series was a role reversal, as the Gyrenes scored ten runs in the sixth inning, then five more in the ninth to secure a 17-5 win. Ave Maria trailed 4-0 after two innings and 5-1 after five before scoring 16 unanswered runs to earn its first non-conference win of the season. All nine of Ave Maria's starters had at least one hit, scored at least one run, and seven of the nine drove in a run.

Jimmy Coffey was Ave Maria's leading hitter in Friday's nightcap, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Cole Rasbury led the run production with three RBIs, while Tanner Kelly and Tynan Shahidi both drove in two. Cameron Horner earned the win following five innings of work, while four scoreless innings from Brandon Willougby gave the save to the Indiana native.

Another big inning was the difference in the rubber match, as Brewton-Parker broke open a 5-4 game with six runs in the bottom of the fifth. BPC jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings, but AMU rallied with four in the fifth, led by a two-run home run from Leonardi. Brewton-Parker would claim the series thanks to their six-run fifth, as well as another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.

Leonardi, Cole Rasbury, and Connor James provided Ave Maria's hits in the losing effort. On the mound, Ave Maria's final two pitchers of the day combined to allow just one earned run over four innings, as Christian Horner tossed with fifth inning and Matt Barragy worked innings six, seven, and eight.

After four consecutive road games, the Gyrenes return home on Tuesday for another non-conference matchup. The Gyrenes will host Ohio Christian University for a doubleheader, with first pitch set for 11:30 a.m. at Bowie's Ballpark. AMU took three of four games from Ohio Christian last season in the home opening series, a stretch that included a no-hitter for the Gyrenes and 36 total runs over four games.