VIERA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team waited nearly three hours to take the field on Monday night, but made it worth the wait. The Gyrenes pounced for eleven runs in their first inning of play, rolling past William Penn University 16-1 in their first game of the night at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in Viera.
AMU couldn't carry the momentum into the nightcap, as the Gyrenes fell 8-2 to the Cardinals of Concordia University. AMU's games were delayed several hours due to storms that rolled through the Space Coast area.
William Penn scored a run in the top of the first, but the Gyrenes' response was titanic. Ave Maria pounded out a season-high eleven runs on eight hits in the opening frame, logging six singles, a double, and a triple. Marisa Michi was responsible for the biggest hit of the inning, a three-run double that extended Ave Maria's lead from 7-1 to 10-1. Ryanne Saluter, Hailee Howe, Cecilia Garrett, Annie Nudera, and Ashley Nelson also provided RBIs in the mammoth inning.
Two more runs crossed the plate for the Gyrenes in the bottom of the third inning. Michi led off the inning with a single down the right field line, then moved to second on a groundout. Maya Gonzalez gave the Gyrenes a 12-1 lead on an RBI double, and Gonzalez came around to score on an RBI single from fellow freshman Karsyn Moore.
Ave Maria's last three runs of the opener came in the bottom of the fourth, finishing off the 16-1 victory. AMU scored the first of those three runs on three singles from Nudera, Michi, and Nelson, the last of which drove in the run. Michi and Nelson then came around to score when a flyball off the bat of Gonzalez was misplayed in centerfield.
Garrett, Nudera, and Michi all had three hits in the victory, with Nudera and Michi both scoring three times and Michi driving in a team-best three runs, all on her first inning double. In the circle, Maya Gonzalez pitched all five innings for the Gyrenes, allowing just the one run in the first before four shutout innings.
In game two, the Gyrenes once again had to work from behind, as the Cardinals of Concordia jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals took advantage of their speed in the opening frame, with three of the team's four first inning hits coming on bunts.
AMU got on the board in the top of the third inning, trimming Concordia's lead to 3-1. Maggie Hampton led off the frame by reaching on a hit by pitch, then moved up to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Ryanne Saluter clubbed a single to right field, and Hampton beat the throw home to get the Gyrenes their first run. Concordia would answer with a run of their own in the bottom half, re-extending their edge to three runs.
The Gyrenes got the lead back to two in the fifth, thanks to another hit with two outs. Kylee Lewis drew a walk as the frame's leadoff hitter, and pinch runner Hailee Walter got to third base on a passed ball and a groundout. Nudera continued her hot hitting with a single, scoring Walter from third. The Gyrenes would get no closer, as Concordia answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to stretch their lead to 6-2, then added two more runs in the sixth.
Ave Maria's 15 game schedule at the USSSA Space Coast Spring Games comes to an end on Tuesday, when the Gyrenes play two final games in Viera. Ave Maria will start their day with a 10:00 a.m. first pitch against Missouri Baptist, then will conclude their time in the Space Coast with a 12:30 game against Aquinas College from Michigan.
