DAVENPORT, Fla. — The Ave Maria Baseball team swept a doubleheader against the Cornerstone Golden Eagles to close out their three games in the annual RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Gyrenes got a shutout 8-0 win in the first game and a tight 4-3 win in the second game.
The long ball was the hallmark of the first game, with Ave Maria hitting two three-run blasts in the first and second innings.
Michael Kelly hit the three-run dinger to open the scoring in the bottom of the first. With two and two out, Kelly smashed a ball over the right field fence for his second home run of the season.
In the second inning, Jesus Gonzalez doubled up the lead for the Gyrenes with another three-run homer. Just like Kelly, Gonzalez went over the right field fence in the neutral site park in Davenport and it was also his second home run of the season.
Things quieted down after the two big innings for the Gyrenes. Ave Maria scored two more runs, one in the fourth off a Davis Blair RBI double and one in the fifth off a sacrifice fly from Sebastian Cabeza.
On the mound, Cameron Horner made his sixth start of the season and tossed five scoreless innings. The senior only allowed one hit while striking out six batters. Horner got the win to improve his record to 3-1 on the year.
Matt Barragy tossed the final two innings of the shortened non-conference doubleheader game and completed the shutout for the Gyrenes. Barragy also only allowed one hit and struck out three batters. It is the second shutout of the season for the Gyrene pitching staff and the first since the season opener against the Point Skyhawks.
The second game was a lot tighter and saw the Gyrenes comeback after losing an early lead.
The two teams swapped home and away designations at the break and Ave Maria opened the scoring in the top of the third inning by plating two runs. Jimmy Coffey got the scoring started with an RBI double down the right field line to bring home Caleb Metzen. A couple of at bats later with runners on the corners, the Gyrenes ran a double steal and Coffey scored by swiping home.
The lead did not last long however as Cornerstone scored their first runs of the doubleheader in the bottom half of the frame. The Golden Eagles loaded up the bases with two walks and a single, and then brought them all home with a bases-clearing double.
Trailing for the first time in the doubleheader, the Gyrenes worked quickly to get back in front. Jordan Crawford scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning to tie the game at three.
The Gyrenes scored the winning run in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Harrison Rossi bringing home Kelly.
Kevin Figueredo started the game on the mound and tossed the first four innings of the game. The graduate student struck out seven batters in his four frames and was only in trouble in the three run third inning.
Brandon Willooughby was first out of the bullpen for Ave Maria and tossed the fifth and sixth innings when the Gyrenes took the lead. Willoughby struck out two batters in his time on the mound and got the win, bringing his record to 2-0.
In the bottom of the seventh, Davis Blair took the mound for the Gyrenes for his third appearance out of the bullpen. Blair struck out a batter and tossed a scoreless frame to close out the game and secure the win for Ave Maria. It was his second save of the year.
With the sweep, Ave Maria's record improves to 9-11.
The Gyrenes are finally back home for their next game after playing nine games on the road. Ave Maria opens a three game set with the Fisher Falcons Tuesday, March 4. It will have been 24 days in between home games for the Gyrenes as their last game at the friendly confines of Bowie's Ballpark was February 8.
First pitch is set for 12 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
