BABSON PARK, Fla. — Ave Maria opened conference play Thursday and dropped both games of a doubleheader to the #11 Webber Warriors. WIU won game one 12-2 and game two 9-6.
Webber opened the scoring in game one in the bottom of the third, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout.
It didn't take long for the Gyrenes to respond though, tying the game up in the next half inning with a David Leonardi RBU double that brought home Francesco Barbieri.
Webber retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth, and then poured on the runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Warriors had five players cross home plate, taking a 7-1 lead.
The Gyrenes got their final run in the top of the sixth with Davis Blair hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Tanner Kelly.
Webber brought home two runs in the bottom half of the inning and then got three more in the eighth to run-rule the Gyrenes 12-2.
Cam Horner got the loss in his first shaky outing of the season, giving up seven runs, six of them earned, off nine hits while only striking out four in five innings.
In a pre-planned seven-inning game two, it was the Gyrenes who got on the board first. In the top of the second, Jimmy Coffey and Michael Kelly teamed up for back-to-back RBI singles to put the Gyrenes up 2-0.
Ave Maria held that lead for an inning, but then Webber put up back-to-back four-run innings in the fourth and fifth to take a commanding lead.
Ave Maria got a run in the top of the fifth, but after giving up one in the sixth, the Gyrenes found themselves in a tight spot, down 9-3 heading into their seventh and final frame.
AMU did their best to get out of the jam. After two quick outs, Barbieri hit a solo shot over the wall for his fifth homer of the season. Blair continued the rally with a single to right center, and Leonardi brought them both home, going yard for the second home run of the inning. A Cole Rasbury walk out the tying run on deck, but the rally ended a few runs short with a strikeout.
Sean Hogan got his second loss of the season, giving up six runs, five of them earned, while striking out four in four innings.
The two losses drop the Gyrenes back down to .500 on the season at 5-5 and 0-2 in SUN Conference play. Ave Maria will close out the four-game series against the Warriors with a doubleheader Friday, March 1. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and the series finale will start thirty minutes following the conclusion of the first game. Both games will be streamed on the Sun Digital Network.
