ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Ave Maria Baseball team dropped their midweek game Tuesday against the NCAA Division II Eckerd Tritons 9-3. The Gyrenes scored all three of their runs in the eighth inning.
It was a tight game in the first six innings with Eckerd only getting out to a 3-0 lead. The Tritons scattered a run in the second, fourth and sixth innings to build up their lead. Starter Jeremy Fox pitched the first three innings and allowed just one run off four hits while striking out two. Paul Arencibia followed him out of the bullpen and tossed the next two innings, allowing one run off one hit and a walk while also getting a strikeout. The third run was in the sixth inning against Alex Nickler and came home on a balk.
The Gyrenes got a couple of baserunners in those first six innings, but the farthest they reached was second.
In the seventh inning, Eckerd blew the game wide open, bringing home four runs to take a 7-0 lead. Two runs scored on a two-RBI double with the other two being brought home on a wild pitch and RBI single.
Down seven runs, the Gyrene bats woke up in the top of the eighth inning to bring home all three of their runs. With a runner on, Michael Kelly drove a double down the right field line to put him and Dakota Jones in scoring position. A wild pitch in the next at bat brought home Jones for the first run. Kyle Magdic drew a walk to get on and then stole second to move into scoring position. Kyle Van Leire brought home Kelly with an RBI single for the second run and Brian Williams brought home Magdic with an RBI single for the third run.
The Gyrenes were feeling good about closing the gap back down to four runs, but the Tritons responded with two runs in the bottom half to go up 9-3. The Gyrenes went down in order in the top of the ninth to end the game.
Williams led the team with two hits, registering his third multi-hit game of the season.
Fox got the loss dropping his record to 1-3 on the year.
With the loss, Ave Maria's record falls to 18-18 on the year and 10-10 in non-conference games. The Gyrenes have two non-conference games left on the schedule with a doubleheader against the Fort Lauderdale Eagles April 16.
The Gyrenes stay on the road for their next four games to close out their final road stand of the season. Ave Maria will be making the trip east to West Palm Beach to take on the Keiser Seahawks in a four-game conference series. The Gyrenes are tied with the Seahawks for fourth place in the Sun Conference Standings, with a .500 winning percentage. Ave Maria is 8-8 while Keiser is 6-6. The series concludes a nine-game road stand which then leads into a 10-game home stand to end the season.
The series is set to start with a doubleheader Friday, April 4. First pitches are set for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
