WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In their second ever postseason appearance and first in ten years, the Ave Maria Gyrenes won their very first conference tournament game, beating the Keiser Seahawks 7-4. Strong middle innings led to the Ave victory as the Gyrenes scored three runs in back-to-back innings in the fifth and sixth.
The Gyrenes started the game strong, striking in the first inning. Jose Gonzalez worked a walk to be the first baserunner of the game, stole second, and then was brought home on a Tynan Shahidi RBI single to right field.
In the third, the Seahawks got the bulk of their runs, bringing home three of three hits. It was tough inning for starter Cameron Horner and the Gyrene defense as they were able to keep the basepaths relatively empty throughout the game.
In the bottom of the third, Tanner Kelly got on via an infield single and then stole second during the next at bat. That was the third stolen base of the game and the 165th of the season, breaking the school record for swiped bags in a season. Later on in the inning, Ave Maria thought they had gotten a run back with a Daniel Caylor sacrifice fly to score Kelly, but the third base umpire ruled that he had left the bag before the catch was made, thus leading to a very rare 9-2-1-5 double play.
In the fifth, the Gyrenes got on the scoreboard again, bringing home three runs to take a 4-3 lead. Jimmy Coffey got the frame started with a single to left field and then moved up 90 feet on a stolen base. Axel Melendez then dropped a single into right field putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Courtesy runner, Eric Havner, moved into scoring position with a stolen base of his own, and then both he and Coffey were brought home on an RBI double down the left field line from Gonzalez. The sophomore designated hitter came in to score himself and put the Gyrenes up a run after he stole third and came home on a passed ball.
Ave Maria was content with a one-run lead and added some insurance in the subsequent inning. Francesco Barbieri started the inning with a leadoff double, and then David Leonardi put runners on the corners with a single to left field. Barbieri came in to score via an RBI groundout that also moved Leonardi to second. He was brought home by a Coffey RBI double, keeping a runner in scoring position with only one out. The Gyrenes scored their final run off an error by the KU pitcher, who had trouble picking up the ball after a Kelly bunt that allowed Coffey to score.
Before the eighth inning, AMU made a pitching change, ending the day for starter Horner. The sophomore from Madeira Beach threw a strong seven innings, only allowing three runs off six hits and three walks. Horner only struck out two, which was a season low for him in starts that went longer than two innings, but he did pitch to soft contact, allowing his defense to make 11 groundouts in the infield.
His brother, Christian Horner, came out of the bullpen and pitched the eighth and one out in the ninth. The Seahawks got a run in the eighth to make it a three-run ballgame, but that is all they would get.
In the ninth, the Seahawks got a one-out walk to put the tying run on deck, but coach Michael McCormick reached into the bullpen one more time and brought out Brandon Willoughby, who got a strikeout and a groundout to end the game.
Horner got the win, improving his season record to 11-3. He now holds the record for most wins in an individual season in Ave Maria history. Willoughby got the save, his fifth of the year.
After the game, McCormick said that the resilience his team showed during the mid-inning comeback was nothing new.
"Doesn't matter what the score is on the board, every time we got out there, we try to beat teams as much as we can, as far as runs. We've shown that all season and we are not going to stop now," said McCormick. "We got a great group of guys, and we are just excited to be here. We're going to go all out and try to get as many wins as we can and try to win this thing."
With the win, the Gyrenes improve to 34-14 on the year and 4-1 in neutral site games. They stay in the winners' bracket and will take on the Webber Warriors Friday, May 5, at 6 p.m. AMU will look to avenge the series sweep that ended the regular season. The game will be broadcasted on the Sun Digital Network and live stats and recaps can be found on avemariagyrenes.com.
AROUND THE SUN
Two other games were in action in the Sun Conference Tournament today, with the top seed Southeastern Fire taking on the sixth seed Florida Memorial Lions and the third seed St. Thomas Bobcats taking on the fourth seed Webber Warriors. This is how both games played out and how that affects the matchups for Day 2.
#1 Southeastern vs #6 Florida Memorial: In a dramatic comeback, the Southeastern Fire scored six runs in the final three innings to avoid the upset and beat the Florida Memorial Lions 6-5 in game one of the tournament. FMU jumped out to a 5-0 lead spurred by some timely hitting and three errors from the Southeastern defense. The Fire battled back however, bringing home three in the seventh and three in the ninth. The final run came off a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. It was the number one team's sixth walk-off win of 2023. With the win, the Fire stay in the winners' bracket and will play St. Thomas, who lost to Webber in the final game of the day. Following the loss, the Lions drop to the losers' bracket and are one loss away from elimination. They will play the Keiser Seahawks who lost to the Gyrenes.
#3 St. Thomas vs #4 Webber: In a wild in dramatic game, the Webber Warriors outlasted and upset the St. Thomas Bobcats 11-10. WIU scored eight runs in the first four innings jumping out to an 8-3 lead. However, the lead became less and less as the Bobcats clawed their way back and eventually tied the game at 10 in the seventh inning. In the top of the ninth, WIU scored what would become the game winner with a bases loaded walk, putting them up 11-10. With the win, the Warriors stay in the winners' bracket and will play Ave Maria. Following the loss, St. Thomas stays in the winners' bracket, but are one more loss away from going home. The Bobcats will take on the number one seed Fire.
