WALESKA, Ga. — The Gyrenes played the equivalent number of innings of a non-conference doubleheader, but Tuesday only counts as one game for the Ave Maria Baseball team. Fortunately, the marathon ended in favor of the Gyrenes thanks to a walk-off homer in the 14^th inning from Jesus Gonzalez to put Ave Maria on top of Oakland City 11-9.

The fourteenth inning did not look like it was going to be the deciding frame for the Gyrenes. AMU started the inning with a leadoff walk, but the runner was immediately erased with a double play. Kyle Van Leire then got hit by a pitch to flip the lineup over and bring up Gonzalez. The junior transfer from Puerto Rico swung at the first pitch and belted it over the wall in left field for a walk-off homer. It is the first walk-off dinger of the year for the Gyrenes and their second walk-off overall.

"He's just one of the most talented baseball players I have ever been around," said interim head coach Pete Horner after the game. "I am so happy for him. The things he has gone through this year and to be able to come out and show out the way he has…on the biggest stage in the NAIA… that's just a credit to him."

The walk-off homer was just the exclamation point of what was one of the most exciting games of the season for the Gyrenes.

After falling behind 1-0, Ave Maria slammed two home runs to take a 5-1 lead. Dakota Jones hit the first home run with a two-run bomb in the first inning. Gonzalez hit the other homer, this one being a three-run blast in the second. It is the third game this season Gonzalez has had a multi-homer game.

Oakland City got a run back in the top of the third, but Jones put the lead back at four with an RBI single in the fifth.

However, after the Jones single, the Gyrenes went quiet for the next three innings. In the top halves of those innings, Oakland city scored two in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the ninth to take an 8-6 lead.

With their backs against the wall, the Gyrenes fought their way back and tied it in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. Kyle Magdic launched a ball to deep center that bounced off the wall for an RBI double that brought home Tanner Kelly. Magdic then scored the tying run after the Oakland City second baseman bobbled the ball and allowed Jordan Crawford to reach on an error with two outs on the board.

Both teams were held scoreless in the 10^th. In the 11^th, Oakland City loaded the bases with nobody out but could only bring home one run. Nevertheless, the Gyrenes still had their backs against the wall once again, and once again they answered. After two quick outs, Crawford got aboard with a hit by pitch and then a single from Sebastian Cabeza put runners on the corners. Jimmy Coffey then dropped a single into centerfield to bring home the tying run and keep the game in extras.

Neither team could get a rally going in the 12^th or 13^th inning. The Mighty Oaks went 1-2-3 in the top of the 14^th leading to the Gonzalez walk-off in the bottom of the inning.

At 14 innings, Tuesday is tied for the second-longest game in program history. Two other games in AMU history have ended in the 14^th inning, most recently in 2013 against the Southeastern Fire. The longest game the Gyrenes have ever played was 15 innings in 2012 against Warner.

At the plate, Gonzalez led the team with five hits and five RBI. Both of those are season-highs for him and the five hits tie a team-high for the year. Jones and Cabeza also had multi-hit games, each with two. Jones was the only other player with a multi-RBI game as well, collecting three.

On the mound, Kevin Figueredo threw 5.1 innings to start and only allowed four runs while striking out six. Luke Zmolik closed things in the ninth to keep it a two-run game. In extra innings, Jeremy Fox tossed an inning with one run allowed and one strikeout. He was followed by Ryan Young who tossed three scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Cam Horner pitched in the fourteenth and only needed five pitches to get through all three batters. He gets the win bumping his record up to 6-2 on the year and his 26^th career win as a Gyrene.

With the win, Ave Maria improves to 28-26 on the year and 1-1 in the Opening Round. They knock Oakland City out of the tournament and move onto Wednesday.

The Gyrenes will take on the Reinhardt Eagles in the early game on Wednesday. The Eagles beat the Gyrenes Monday 12-5. The winner between Ave Maria and Reinhardt will stay alive in the Opening Round and will take on the Loyola Wolfpack while the loser will go home. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on Reinhardt's YouTube channel by the Southeastern Sports Network.