AVE MARIA, Fla. – Despite falling behind early, the No. 4 Southeastern University baseball team battled back to defeat the Ave Maria University Gyrenes 15-7 in game one of the weekend series.
The Fire found themselves in a 3-0 hole at the end of the first after the Gyrenes cashed in on a two run homer and a RBI single.
After a shaky first frame, redshirt senior southpaw
Kade Wagner settled in, not allowing a AMU hitter to advance past first and recording five strikeouts from the second through the fifth inning.
SEU took advantage of an Ave Maria miscue in the top of the fourth, as both
De'John Suber and
Danny Acevedo scored on a throwing error by Gyrenes pitcher Austin Munn.
Angel Garced later crossed the plate on the sac fly by
Luis Diaz to even things up 3-3.
The Fire took their first lead of the game in the top of the fifth off the two-run blast from senior
Mike D'Acunti. The Dix Hills, N.Y. native finished the day 3-6 at the plate with a season high five runs batted in. In his last six games, D'Acunti is batting .474 (9-19) with 11 RBI.
After pulling ahead to a 6-3 advantage over the Gyrenes through five innings, the Fire never looked back. SEU padded its lead with a pair of runs scored in both the sixth and eighth frames.
The Fire packaged together a five run insurance plan in the top of the ninth that put Southeastern up 15-4, dousing any hopes of an Ave Maria comeback attempt.
Both junior outfielder
Jadan Garcia and redshirt sophomore infielder
Derek Martin turned in 2-4 performances at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI each.
Wagner finished his outing with eight innings pitched, 12 hits allowed, two earned runs, one walk, and nine punch outs on 117 pitches. With the win, he is now 7-1 on the season with a 2.11 ERA and a Sun Conference leading 68 strikeouts.
The Fire will look to close out the series against the Gyrenes with a sweep of tomorrow's doubleheader. Game times are set for 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.
