AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Gyrenes were red hot at the plate Wednesday in their doubleheader against the Dordt Defenders, scoring 27 runs over the course of 12 innings. The Gyrenes swept the Defenders winning game one 10-1 and game two 17-4. Multiple school records were tied and broken during the two games and the 2023 Gyrenes continue to show that they are a force to be reckoned with this season.
On the very first pitch in game one, Tanner Kelly was hit by the pitch giving him a free pass to first base and extended his on-base streak to all 22 games of the season. That streak tied Brody Rubenstein and Dylan Moser for the longest such streak in AMU history. Rubenstein and Moser achieved their streaks in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Kelly just needed to get on base in the second game of the doubleheader now and he would own the longest on-base streak in school history.
After a single and a walk loaded the bases, a Tynan Shahidi sacrifice fly scored Kelly and gave the Gyrenes an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second, Dordt's Logan De Vries hit a leadoff solo home run to tie the game at one. That was the last hit the Defenders were able to get off Ave Maria starter Cameron Horner. The sophomore from Madeira Beach, Florida, locked in on the mound and retired the next 10 batters in a row. The only runner to break that streak got on board via a hit by pitch and was immediately erased in a double play to end the fifth inning.
Horner retired the final six batters for Dordt with five straight strikeouts and then a fly out to finish off a seven-inning complete game three-hitter. Horner also ended the day with 10 strikeouts, which tied a career high for high. Horner also didn't allow a walk in the game.
Using game score, a stat created by Bill James to boil every start into one, easy to compare number, Horner's start in game one clocked in at 79, the highest score of any start this season for the Gyrenes. For game score, 50 is considered average with 80 being the benchmark for impressive. Horner's start was very impressive and the only thing holding him back from passing 80 is the fact that the game was a declared seven-inning game.
With Horner dominating on the mound, the Gyrenes went to work at the plate to regain their lead and put some distance between them and the Defenders. The Gyrenes got back on top in the bottom of the second inning when Kelly hit an RBI single up the middle that scored Jimmy Coffey.
In the third, the Gyrenes posted their 12 inning with five or more runs of the season, putting up a six-spot. Two hit by pitches and a single loaded the bases with one for Coffey. The sophomore brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly that scored David Leonardi and moved Shahidi to third to put runners at the corners. Conner James stole second during the next at bat to get into scoring position and then he and Shahidi came into score off a Cole Rasbury double to right field. Axel Melendez got in on the action during the next at bat, hitting his fourth double of the season and bringing Rasbury home.
Tanner Kelly kept the scoring going with an RBI single to right field which scored his brother, Michael Kelly, who was courtesy running for the catcher Melendez. Jose Gonzalez brought in the final run with a single to center that scored Tanner Kelly and put the Gyrenes up 8-1. Following the Coffey sacrifice fly, the Gyrenes got four straight RBI hits all with two outs to score five of the six runs in that inning.
The Gyrenes cruised from there, picking up another run in the fourth off an RBI double from Daniel Caylor that scored Shahidi, and one final run in the sixth when Rasbury hit a hard grounder that bobbled in and out of the glove of the Dordt first baseman, which gave Coffey enough time to score from second, giving the final score of 10-1.
Game two saw a little shakier pitching from the Gyrenes, but even hotter bats, which led them to a 17-4 victory.
Dordt opened the scoring to start the second matchup, plating two runs in the top of the first. Both runners got on board via walks and were brought in off an RBI double. Despite those two walks and a hit, and another walk and a hit in the second inning, starter Kevin Figueredo punched out the first six outs of the game. It wasn't until the top of the third when the leadoff batter flied out to centerfield that the Gyrene defense recorded an out.
Being down 2-0 didn't discourage the Gyrenes who put up another six spot on the day in the bottom of the second inning. Shahidi scored the first run of the frame, coming home off a James single. James eventually tied the game at two when he scored of a Rasbury groundout with the bases loaded.
Still with only one out, Michael Signorelli, who replaced Axel Melendez to catch game two, drew a walk to the load the bases up once again for Ave Maria. Kelly then ripped a double down the third base line to bring home all three runs and put the Gyrenes up 5-2. It also was his first time getting on base, extending his streak to 23 games which is the longest streak in Ave Maria history. Kelly stole third for good measure and then came home to score off a Jose Gonzalez RBI groundout.
Two more runs came into score in the third with Caylor hitting a sacrifice fly to score Shahidi and Coffey reaching on an error which also allowed James to score.
The Defenders got a run back in the top of the fourth to make it 8-3. Dordt also chased Figueredo off the mound who walked two more batters to bring his game total to five, which tied a career high. Figueredo did strikeout eight batters as well, so it was up and down for him on the mound. Justin David got the call from the bullpen and tossed 1.2 hitless innings, but did walk two in the fourth which scored Dordt's run.
The Gyrenes made up for the run the surrendered in the fourth with another Gonzalez RBI groundout that scores Kelly to regain their six-run lead. In the fifth, Ave Maria put up their third big inning of the day and brought home seven runs to put the game out of hand.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Signorelli got hit by a pitch bringing in one run. Kelly then stepped into the box and hit his second double down the third base line, bringing home three runs once again. An almost exact carbon copy of his double in the second inning. Kelly finished the game with six RBIs, which is not only a season high for anyone on the team, it is also just the sixth time a Gyrene has recorded six RBIs, which is a school high. The last player to do it was Ethan Bergkamp on January 21, 2022, against the Fort Lauderdale Eagles.
The scoring wasn't finished though. Still with two outs and Kelly standing on second, Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to put two on for David Leonardi. The junior from Southwest Ranches, Florida, then hit a bomb over the left field wall brining home three more runs.
It was Leonardi ninth home run of the season, which is impressive enough and puts him on pace for 18 long balls for the season, but it was also his 23rd career home run which ties him with Andy Hernandez for the most career dingers in Ave Maria history. Leonardi has been eyeing that record ever since he and Gonzalez broke the single season record last year and got off to a hot start at the plate in the beginning of this year. One more home run and, like Kelly with his on-base streak, the record will be all Leonardi's.
To top things off, the Gyrenes added one more run in the sixth inning for good measure to get 17 runs, which is tied with their 17-5 win over Brewton-Parker earlier this season for the seventh highest run total in school history. The final run came off the bat of Blake Albritton, who hit an RBI bloop single to center field to score Eric Havner. It was the freshman's second hit of his Ave Maria career and his second RBI as well.
Dordt added their final run in the top of the seventh inning to make it 17-4 off Alex Nickler, who otherwise pitched a solid final two innings of the game recording three strikeouts.
With the doubleheader sweep, the Gyrenes improve to 18-5 overall and a perfect 12-0 at home. The Gyrenes have one more non-conference doubleheader before heading into conference play. Ave Maria will play the Purdue Northwest Pride, who are members of the NCAA Division II conference, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Pride and the Gyrenes have played twice in past, once in 2017 and once in 2019, with PNW coming out on top in both games. Coverage of the doubleheader can be found on the Sun Digital Network with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
