MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ave Maria dropped both games of a doubleheader Friday against the St. Thomas Bobcats, giving STU a 2-1 lead in the four-game series. St. Thomas won game one 6-5 and then shutout the Gyrenes in game two, winning 4-0.
Under the new rules for conference series, one of the four games is seven innings, instead of nine, and game was set as the shortened game between the Bobcats and the Gyrenes.
St. Thomas got on the board first, blasting a two-run homer in the first and scoring on an RBI single in the second.
The Gyrenes took the lead in the top of the third, plating four runs. The Gyrenes got two baserunners early in the inning to bring up the top of the lineup. Tanner Kelly then grounded to the third baseman, who stepped on his bag for one, but overthrew first base for the second out. Michael Kelly was able to score from first base on the fielder's choice and throwing error.
Davis Blair kept the scoring going with an RBI single to bring home Kelly. On the next at bat, David Leonardi hit his second home run of the series and seventh of the season to put Ave Maria on top 4-3.
A couple of innings later, Leonardi added another RBI to his total in the fifth, giving Ave Maria some insurance with an RBI single that scored Tanner Kelly.
However, St. Thomas got a run in the sixth to bring them within one of the Gyrenes. In the seventh, the comeback was complete with a walk-off two-run home run.
Game two was a much quieter game. The Bobcats won 4-0 and scored all four runs in the third. Outside of that one half inning, there were 16 scoreless frames between the two teams.
Kevin Figueredo started game two for the Gyrenes and pitched five solid innings around the bad third inning. His final line read six innings pitched, four runs off six hits, one walk and six strikeouts. Ryan Schroeder pitched the last two innings for Ave Maria and kept the Bobcats at bay, only allowing one hit.
The Gyrenes were 7-0 entering the game when holding an opponent to four or less runs this season but couldn't find their groove at the plate to extend the record. Ave Maria only managed five hits in the game. Their best shot was in the eighth inning with two runners in scoring position with only one out, but those runners were left stranded following a strikeout and groundout.
With the two losses, Ave Maria falls to 11-10 on the year and 1-6 in conference play. The series wraps up with afternoon game Saturday, March 16. The Gyrenes look to split the series and leave Miami Gardens on a good note. The Gyrenes are then back home for a weekend conference series against Florida Memorial March 22-23.
