LAKELAND, Fla. — The series finale did not go as planned for the Ave Maria Baseball team as the Gyrenes fell to the Southeastern Fire 17-4 Saturday afternoon.
The game started off well enough with Kyle Magdic going deep in the top of first inning for a two-run blast. The senior brought in Anthony Fernandez as well with his sixth blast of the year.
Things quickly got out of hand though as Southeastern brought home eight runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a huge lead. The Fire added another run in the third to take a 9-2 lead.
The Gyrenes got a run back in the fourth in fifth innings with an RBI fielder's choice from Chris Myers and a sacrifice fly from Jake LaVine. However, that was all the Gyrenes could muster.
In the bottom of the fifth, Southeastern added three more runs off a three-run homer. The Fire then brought home five runs in the bottom of the sixth to get up by 13 and reach run-rule territory.
Ave Maria struck out three straight times in the top of the seventh to end the game.
Ri'Shon Pearl and Patrick Corley each logged a multi-hit game, making up half of Ave Maria's eight hits.
On the mound, Christian Prull entered the game in the first inning and only allowed the one run in the third across 2.2 innings of work while also striking out two. Joseph Ferri and Isaac Craig also did not give up a run during their time on the mound.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 10-17 overall and 7-13 in conference play. Thanks to two New College of Florida losses, the Gyrenes hold onto sixth place in the Sun Conference standings, which would have them as the last team getting into the Sun Conference tournament. Both New College and Florida Memorial are tied for seventh and are one game behind the Gyrenes.
Ave Maria has a chance to get some separation from one of those teams in their next series as the Florida Memorial Lions come to town. It is the final home series of the season for the Gyrenes before the end the regular season on the road. The series kicks off Thursday, April 16. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
