WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Ave Maria Gyrenes were eliminated in the Sun Tournament Saturday falling to the Keiser Seahawks 6-5. AMU got 90 feet away from tying the game in the ninth inning but fell just a couple of inches short.
The ninth inning rally started with Tanner Kelly singling to left field moving Eric Havner, who pitch ran for Axel Melendez after he reached on fielder's choice, to second. Jose Gonzalez then dropped a single into shallow left field to load the bases with only one out. Daniel Caylor then worked a full count walk to bring home the Gyrenes' first run of the inning, making it a 6-4 ballgame.
The two teams then traded a run for an out, with Havner scoring on a fielder's choice that caught Caylor out at second. That moved Gonzalez over to third and 90 feet away from tying the game at six. Francesco Barbieri worked a good at bat, fouling a couple of pitches off, then hit a ground ball to third. In light rain coming down, the speedy senior dugout for first and dove for the bag, but the throw from the KU third baseman beat him out by a fraction of a second, ending the game and the tournament for Ave Maria.
Keiser struck first in the game, bringing home two runs in the bottom of the first. The Gyrenes tied the game up at two in the third inning off a Tynan Shahidi double down the left field line, bringing home Gonzalez and Kelly.
In the fourth, Ave Maria seized the lead with a Conner James double also down the left field line scoring David Leonardi.
The lead didn't last long however as Keiser struck three times in the fifth to take a 5-3 advantage. All five runs were charged to Chris Cuppini, who made his third start of the season, though the final two runs were scored after he had made his way to the dugout. Blake Albritton got the Gyrenes out of the fifth and then pitched a solid sixth and seventh innings, allowing three hits but striking out four.
In the eighth inning, Keiser scored what became the game-winning run off an RBI single from Edbarry Guzman. That made the deficit three runs, which proved to be just enough to get past the Gyrenes.
Ave Maria exits the tournament with a 1-2 record and a 34-16 record overall. The Gyrenes now turn their attention to the national stage, looking to make their second ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament as an at-large bid. Just like the Sun Conference tournament, AMU's first and only trip was in 2013. The Gyrenes went 1-2, knocking off Martin Methodist College, who was ranked fifth in the country at that time, before losing to Embry Riddle and Lindsey Wilson College to end the season.
Ave Maria hopes for a better outcome this season, and it starts with the selection show Thursday, May 11. The opening round then kicks off the next Monday and runs May 15-18. The selection show will be streamed on the NAIA YouTube channel, with opening round games being streamed on the NAIA Network, which is available on most Smart TVs. Live stats and recaps can also be found on avemariagyrenes.com.
