AVE MARIA, Fla.— The Montreat baseball team closed out its six-game Florida trip in Ave Maria, Fla. on Monday, falling in two contests against the Ave Maria University Gyrenes, 6-2 and 6-5. With the defeats, the Cavaliers sit at 8-5 overall in 2022.
Ave Maria (10-5-1) opened the scoring in game one following a leadoff single and a double. Back-to-back RBI groundouts to
Chase Bruno at short put the Gyrenes on top, 2-0, after just an inning of action.
Montreat got a run back in the top half of the second inning thanks to three singles over the span of four batters.
Daniel Wetmore and
Norman Kelly singled to reach base safely, and designated hitter
OJ Borroto slapped a single to right field to pull Montreat within a run.
After a scoreless frame for Montreat in the top half of the third inning, the Gyrenes found a little bit of breathing room in the bottom half. Three consecutive singles followed by a throwing error and a sacrifice fly gave the hosts their second two-run inning of the day.
Scoring in pairs, the Gyrenes added their third two-run inning of game one in the fourth. With two outs in the frame, Ave Maria tallied a run-producing base knock and an RBI triple to expand their advantage out to 6-1.
The Cavaliers pulled a run closer in the fifth inning off the bat of Wetmore. After a Bruno walk and a
Rafael Padilla single to left field, Wetmore drove a fly ball into center that was tracked down but had enough distance to score Bruno from third.
After a 1-2-3 sixth inning, the Gyrenes held the Cavaliers scoreless in the seventh to close out their game one victory, 6-2.
Padilla was the only Cavalier to record multiple hits in the opener, going 2-for-4. Five other Montreat hitters registered a hit, with Wetmore and Borroto each driving in a run.
Game two started off similarly to game one. The Cavaliers were held scoreless in the top of the first inning, and for the sixth consecutive game, Montreat surrendered a first-inning run. Ave Maria's first three hitters reached safely, and its following three hitters all drove in a single run to put the hosts ahead 3-0.
As the pitching staffs settled in and delivered three consecutive scoreless innings, it was the Cavaliers who touched home plate next. Montreat started the top half of the fifth inning with back-to-back walks, and after a sacrifice bunt, Padilla delivered with a two-RBI single up the middle; however, the hosts responded in the bottom half of the inning, picking up an important insurance run thanks to two doubles from the middle of the Gyrenes' batting order.
Entering the sixth inning trailing 4-2, the Cavaliers were searching for a clutch hit. With one out and a runner on,
Michael Bell delivered. The Miami, Fla. native launched a rocket into left field that soared over the wall, tying the ballgame up at four.
But, like the inning prior, Ave Maria answered Montreat's runs with a score of its own. The first four men to bat reached safely, and a bases-loaded fielder's choice and a walk pushed two men across, putting the Gyrenes back in front, 6-4.
Montreat pushed the Ave Maria bullpen to its limits in the seventh inning, loading the bases with two outs in a two-run game. Wetmore earned a bases-loaded walk to draw the Cavs within one run, but the hosts managed to force the final out on a fly ball to center field.
Padilla, Borroto and Bell each recorded a hit in game two, with Padilla scoring two runs on a single and Bell tallying two RBIs on a home run to left field. Meanwhile,
CJ Mack reached base three times via a walk.
The Montreat baseball team remains on the road this Friday for its Appalachian Athletic Conference opener at (RV) Bryan College. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Dayton, Tenn.
