WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The magical season continued for the Ave Maria baseball team as the Gyrenes toughed one out against the Keiser Seahawks, winning 4-3. The Gyrenes now have 30 wins on the year, marking the first time they have hit the 30-win mark since 2013.
The game started out quietly for both squads, with only one hit between the two teams through the first three innings. Keiser was the recipient of that hit, with Anthony Catalano ripping a double down the left field line in the second inning, but he was stranded on the basepaths. The only baserunner for the Gyrenes during this time was, unsurprisingly, Tanner Kelly, who draw a leadoff walk in the first inning, but was also left stranded. The walk extends his on-base streak to all 40 games now, which is not only dominating the previous school record, but is the longest streak in the Sun Conference and one of the longest streaks in the nation.
Finally in the fourth inning, the Gyrenes opened the scoring. Jose Gonzalez got the inning started with a solo home run to left center. That is his sixth long ball of the season, the second most on the team. It was also his 16th career home run, giving him sole possession of fifth place on the all-time Ave Maria leaderboard, passing Ryan Keegan, who played for the Gyrenes from 2015-2018.
Daniel Caylor kept the party going with a double to left field right after the Gonzalez home run. Following a strikeout, three straight walks eventually brought Caylor home and the Gyrenes took a 2-0 lead. A double play with the bases loaded ended the inning prematurely for Ave Maria unfortunately.
Keiser got a run back in the fifth off a solo home run from Bradley McLean, but the Gyrenes held their ground and made sure they stayed on top for the whole game. A big part of that was starter Cameron Horner, who tossed seven innings for the Gyrenes, tying a season high for him. Through the first seven innings, the sophomore from Madeira Beach, Florida, only allowed one run off five hits and three walks. He also struck out three batters during that time span, which isn't his highest total of the season, but gives him 72 on the year, which is the fourth highest single season total in school history.
In the top of the seventh, Ave Maria extended their lead to 4-1 with a two-out rally. Axel Melendez got the rally started with a double to left center, his fifth double of the season. Francesco Barbieri came into courtesy run for the catcher, giving the Gyrenes an extra boost of speed on the basepaths. Kelly drew his second walk of the game and Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Caylor. The senior from Lehigh Acres, Florida, came through with his second double of the game, bringing home Barbieri and Kelly to give the Gyrenes a three-run lead. It was Caylor's 13th multi-hit game of the season as well as his seventh multi-RBI game.
In the eighth, The Seahawks hit their second home run of the game with another solo shot, this time from Alejandro Macario, cutting the Gyrene lead back to two. That would end the day for Horner, as the Gyrene bullpen stepped up to finish the game for him. Justin David came out of the bullpen first, and despite giving up two singles, struck out two batters to end the frame with Ave Maria on top.
David started the ninth for Ave Maria, but gave up back-to-back walks, putting the tying run on first and the winning run at the plate. The Gyrenes reached into the bullpen again and pulled out Brandon Willoughby, who got a sacrifice ground out and a sacrifice fly to bring the Seahawks to their final out. Those two plays did bring home a run for Keiser and put the tying run on second. Willoughby wasn't fazed though, and during the next at bat, whipped around 180 degrees and fired a dart to second baseman Caylor who applied the pickoff tag in time to win the game for the Gyrenes. It was the first win on a pickoff for the Gyrenes this season.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 30-10 and 12-4 in conference play. Horner got his 10th win on the mound, becoming just the second Gyrene in Ave Maria history to get double digit wins in a single season. He ties Joe Bocchino for the record of most wins in a season, who got his 10 wins 10 years ago in the 2013 season, the only other year when the Gyrenes won 30 or more games. Willoughby got his fourth save of the season, the most on the team.
The series between the Gyrenes and the Seahawks wraps up Saturday, April 22, with a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for noon with the second game starting 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one. Both games can be streamed on the Sun Digital Network and game recaps can be found at avemariagyrenes.com.
