AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Softball team closed their busiest stretch of the season Saturday, losing both games of a doubleheader to the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish. The Gyrenes scored three runs in each game, falling 10-3 in game one and 5-3 in game two.
The early game of the doubleheader was a hitting spree for the Sailfish who brought home 10 runs off 17 hits. There was no one big inning as PBA spread out all 17 of their hits across the seven frames. It is the most hits allowed in a game by the Gyrenes since March 31, 2021.
Palm Beach Atlantic scored two runs in the top of the first, but the Gyrenes immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning. With Alexia Bracero on first, Annabella Phillips ripped a double to right center to bring home the run. It is the third double of the season for Phillips.
The Sailfish added three more runs in the second to take a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Gyrenes got back within two runs thanks to two miscues from PBA. Ave Maria loaded the bases on three back-to-back singles with nobody out. A wild pitch and a passed ball in the next at bat brought home Cecilia Garrett and Neveah Wing to make the score 5-3. Palm Beach Atlantic went to the bullpen after the passed ball and that was the change the Sailfish needed.
The Sailfish bullpen silenced the Gyrenes, recording the next 15 outs in a row. PBA added two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh to win 10-3.
Game two was a much tighter game with both teams getting eight hits, but the Sailfish still came out on top 5-3.
Palm Beach Atlantic scored all five of their runs in the first two innings with three in the first and two in the second.
Ave Maria got a run back in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly from Phillips to score Mary McIntyre, but the Gyrenes still found themselves in a similar situation as in game one being down 5-1.
In the fifth inning, Ave Maria scored two runs to make it a two run ball game. With two runners in scoring position, Hailey Howe hit a hard grounder to the right side that was bobbled by the Sailfish second baseman. Both Genevieve Peterson and Wing were able to score on the play.
Ave Maria made some noise in the seventh getting the tying run on base, but a pop out ended the comeback short for the Gyrenes.
Bracero led the team in hits Saturday with two knocks in each game. Those were her fourth and fifth multi-hit games, which is tied for the most on the team. Wing had one multi-hit game in the doubleheader, tying her with Bracero for most multi-hit games this season.
With the sweep, Ave Maria falls to 6-11-1 on the year. Saturday were the fifth and sixth games of a three-day stretch for the Gyrenes, their most condensed stretch of the season.
Ave Maria gets a week off before returning to the diamond for back-to-back doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2. Saturday, the Gyrenes will take on the Calumet Crimson Wave. It is the second season in a row the Gyrenes have scheduled a home doubleheader against the Crimson Wave. Sunday, Ave Maria takes on the Cleary Cougars, whom the Gyrenes have only played in neutral site games before. Sunday will be the Cougars first visit to Ave Maria.
Both doubleheaders are set to start at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
