SARASOTA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University softball team began 2024 with two very different wins Saturday afternoon, as the Gyrenes swept the Mighty Banyans of New College in Sarasota. The Gyrenes dominated the season opener to the tune of an 11-0 win, then came up with a dramatic 8-5 victory in the nightcap.
The Gyrenes capitalized on two NCF errors in the first inning of the opener, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. AMU took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Marisa Michi single and back-to-back errors, then added a second run on an RBI double by senior infielder Ashley Nelson.
Program history was set in the top of the second, with the Gyrenes adding four more runs. Cecilia Garrett singled with one out, stole second, then scored on an Annie Nudera single. After a Ryanne Saluter single, Marisa Michi stepped to the plate. The senior hit a lazer beam that cleared the center field fence for a three-run home run, giving Ave Maria a 6-0 lead. The RBIs moved Michi's career total to 93, making her the program's all-time leader, surpassing the previous record set by Deanna Stirtzinger.
The hitting continued into the third inning, as Ave Maria added five more runs to account for the 11-0 final score. Karsyn Moore started the fun with a two-run single, while Nudera added her second RBI of the day with a perfect sac bunt to make it 9-0. Ave Maria's scoring concluded with back-to-back RBI singles from Saluter and Michi.
Those eleven runs were more than enough for Gina Gallegos, who dazzled in her AMU debut. Gallegos tossed four shutout innings against the Mighty Banyans, allowing just one hit before Maya Gonzalez finished the game with a 1-2-3 fifth inning. Gallegos picked up the win in her first game in an AMU uniform.
Game 2 was much more competitive, as New College jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Ave Maria got back into the game with a run in the fourth, thanks to an RBI groundout from Ashley Altman, and a run in the fifth on a Ryanne Saluter RBI single, but still trailed 4-2 heading to the sixth inning.
Down two runs, the Gyrenes scored three in the top of the sixth to take their first lead of the game. Ashley Altman started the inning with a single, then came all the way around to score on a wild pitch. With one out, Maya Gonzalez ripped a double down the line, and Cecilia Garrett added a single to eventually put runners on second and third. After Nudera tied the game with an RBI groundout, Annabella Phillips gave the Gyrenes the lead with a clutch double to deep center field, her first hit as a Gyrene.
New College got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game at five. The Mighty Banyans nearly took a three-run lead on a deep fly ball with two outs, but Garrett made an unreal play in center field, bringing back a sure home run to keep the game level.
With the game tied at five, Ave Maria came up big in the top of the seventh. With two outs and runners on the corners, Maya Gonzalez clubbed a single up the middle, scoring Ashley Nelson and giving AMU the lead. Garrett then added to her defensive heroics with a two-run single, putting Ave Maria up three.
Maya Gonzalez was superb in every facet of the game on Saturday, tossing three innings without an earned run to go with her game-winning single in the seventh. Gonzalez allowed just two hits over her three innings of work, which came in relief of starting pitcher Kaedyn Sutton.
Ave Maria will look for a 4-0 start on Sunday, when the Gyrenes travel across Alligator Alley for a meeting with the University of Fort Lauderdale. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
