HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Despite losing the final game in a very disappointing way, 27-4, the 2023 season will always be looked upon with rose-colored glasses among Gyrenes fans. It was the year that saw the best record in program history at 36-18. This year's team also set the school record for runs (444), stolen bases (201), doubles (112), RBIs (381), walks drawn (261) and strikeouts (448). They tied the school record for triples (14) and team batting average (.306). The Gyrenes also broke the previous school record for most stolen bases in game three times this season, taking 11 bags against Thomas and Texas Wesleyan and 13 bags against St. Thomas. The 11 bags against Texas Wesleyan set an NAIA record of most steals in an Opening Round game.
Individually, Tanner Kelly, Jose Gonzalez and Tynan Shahidi all broke the school on-base streak record, with Kelly establishing the new high mark of 43 straight games of getting on base. David Leonardi also broke his own record from last season by hitting 14 home runs, three more than he did last year. That also gave him the record for most career home runs at Ave Maria with 28.
Daniel Caylor and Kelly each broke the season stolen base record, with 43 and 38 respectively, which also put them as the top two swipers all time in Ave Maria history at 96 and 59 respectively. Kelly tied the school record for stolen bases in a game, with five against Trinity Baptist.
Caylor finished his five-year career at Ave Maria with 226 hits, tying him with Rico Soto for the third most all time. Caylor's final hit came in his final at bat of the game Thursday, hitting a double to right center, stealing his 96th and final bag, and came into score his 189th and final run, a career record he set in 2022.
On the mound, Cameron Horner finished the season with 12 wins, passing the previous record of 10 set by Joe Bocchino in 2013. Horner also finished the year with 83 strikeouts, the third highest in school history.
All of these broken records and the great play all year made Thursday's loss to end the season all the more sad. However, in true Gyrene fashion, they manage to have some good moments throughout the game. Chris Cuppini, a senior transfer from Young Harris, got his first ever collegiate at bat in the eighth inning, and singled to right field, batting 1.000 for his college career.
In ninth inning, before he got his final hit, steal, and run, Caylor struck out the side, getting the only 1-2-3 inning of the game for the Gyrene defense. Caylor had had some pitching experience before, including this season, but this was one of the best performances in his career.
After the game, Coach McCormick reflected on the 2023 season as a whole and said not many people would have guessed the Gyrenes would play ball in May, but he knew all along. "At the end of fall camp, we were able to really see that the guys we had brought in meshed really well with the guys we had returning, filled some holes, and it just came out together on the field," said McCormick. "It was a really special group, it was a really fun group to be a part of, and I'm just extremely proud of all of them, and [the] seniors have laid the foundation for the years ahead where, next year, two years or whatever it is down the road, making Ave Maria Baseball a household name."
It was a phenomenal season for the Gyrenes, one that has rewritten the record book both at a school level and a national level. But now that it is all over, the bats have been hung up and the cleats have been put away, there is only one question that burns in the minds of Ave Maria fans across the nation:
Is it 2024 yet?
