AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Softball team logged their third conference win of the season as they split a doubleheader with the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans to close out the series. Ave Maria took game one in dramatic fashion, winning 5-4, before dropping the second game 13-8.
Before the first game, Hailee Howe, Karsyn Moore, Ashley Lykins, Kaedyn Sutton, and Kaitlyn O'Neil were recognized for Gyrene Senior Day.
The Gyrenes were close to completing the comeback on Friday as they put the tying run aboard in the seventh inning before running out of time. On Saturday, the Gyrenes picked up right where they left off and scored in each of the first two frames. Senior O'Neill led off, reaching on a single to right center. Genevieve Peterson then cracked a hard ground ball that caused a New College error.
Peterson was able to make it to third on the NCF miscue and O'Neill came in to score giving Ave Maria an early 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Ave Maria exploded for four more runs, logging their highest scoring inning since March 3 against Florida National. Senior Lykins got the scoring started with a bases loaded single that brought home Mary McIntire. O'Neill immediately followed that up with her second hit of the game, this time an RBI single that brought in Alexia Bracero. A few at-bats later, senior Howe brought in the final two runs with an RBI single to left field scoring Lykins and O'Neill.
New College got a run back in the top of the fourth but didn't get within striking distance until the final frame.
In the top of the seventh, the Mighty Banyans brought home three runs early on in the frame and had runners on the corners with just one out. The Gyrenes went to bullpen and pulled out freshman Liz Negron, who got a strikeout and a groundout to end the game. The tying run was left stranded at third with the go-ahead run left standing at first.
At the plate, O'Neill led the Ave Maria with three hits and an RBI. Franklin also had multiple with two on the day.
In the circle, senior Sutton pitched for five innings and only gave up one run off five hits. The senior also logged a strikeout. With the win Sutton improved to 5-9 on the year.
Negron earned her not just her first save of the season, but the first save among the entire pitching staff.
The second game was the complete opposite of the first game as it was New College who exploded for the early lead. In the first two frames, the Mighty Bayans brought home seven runs off seven hits.
In the bottom of the second, the Gyrenes were able to score for the first time in the game. With the bases loaded, McIntire roped a single to right field, bringing home Peterson.
In the top of the fourth, New College responded with another frenzy of runs. The Mighty Banyans scored four runs off four hits and extended their lead to 11-1.
The Gyrenes got a pair back in the bottom half of the frame. With the bases loaded, Haleigh Campbell laced a single to center field that was able to bring home Lykins. Howe brought home O'Neill for the second run with a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the fifth, senior Moore led off with a little league home run. On what looked to be a routine grounder to second, the New College second baseman whiffed on the ball, and it rolled all the way to the wall in right field. Moore had plenty of time to round the bases and score an inside the park home run. The Gyrenes lit up the scoreboard again when O'Neill executed a sacrifice bunt to bring home Mia Mazzolini. The final scoring play came from a McIntire who cracked a single and brought home Lykins.
Ave Maria kept their fire burning at the plate with two more runs in the sixth inning. With the bags full of Gyrenes, Franklin dropped a single in center field that brought home Bracero and moved everybody else up 60 feet. Lykins brought home the next run when she reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Moore to score and make it a three run ballgame.
Unfortunately, three runs are as close as Ave Maria would get. New College tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh and sat down the Gyrenes in order to end the game.
At the plate, McIntire led the Gyrenes with three hits and two RBIs. Lykins was the other Gyrenes to log a multi-hit game.
In the circle, Negron started the game and tossed the first inning. Lindsey Watson pitched for 2.1 innings and recorded one strikeout. Sutton tossed the final 3.2 innings and struck out two batters.
The double header split brings the Ave Maria record to 7-26 overall and 3-18 in the Sun conference.
The Gyrenes will close out the regular season at home with their final series against the Florida Memorial Lions. The Lions have yet to win a game in 2026. The series gets started Friday, April 24, with first pitch set for 4 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
