LAKELAND, Fla. — Ave Maria led for the first four innings in Saturday's finale with the Southeastern Fire. However, SEU scored eight unanswered runs to win 11-6 and sweep the series.
In the top of the first inning, Ave Maria struck twice. A wild pitch brought home Tanner Kelly for the first run of the game. Kelly got on via an error extending his on base streak to all 37 games. David Leonardi then reached on another error which allowed Francesco Barbieri to score.
Southeastern responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame.
That run didn't discourage the Gyrenes who plated three more runs in the second. With the bases loaded, Luis Rodriguez-Gallo drew a walk to bring home Kelly for his second run of the game. Kyle Kuramoto then grounded out to first base, which allowed Barbieri to come home. Leonardi crossed home plate for the third run of the inning off a Davis Blair RBI single.
Ave Maria held their 5-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning, but Southeastern got two back in the third.
The Gyrenes scored their final run in the top of the fourth with a Leonardi RBI single, scoring Barbieri for the third time. That gave Ave Maria a 6-3 lead.
Unfortunately, with their biggest lead of the series, the Gyrenes couldn't fend off the Fire. Southeastern scored two runs in fourth, four runs in the fifth and two runs in the seventh all while keeping AMU off the board in the final five frames. After the final out, Southeastern walked off the field with an 11-6 win.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 17-20 overall and 4-12 in conference play. Florida Memorial lost to Webber on Saturday as well, so the Gyrenes stay in the playoff picture for now, three games ahead of the Lions in the standings.
The Gyrenes drop a full game behind Keiser, who sits in fifth place. Ave Maria will take on the Seahawks next, playing two doubleheaders at home April 19 and April 20. All four games can be streamed on the Sun Digital Network.
