Fire Power Past Gyrenes at the Plate

LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 3 Southeastern University baseball team opened up its weekend series versus Ave Maria with a doubleheader sweep over the Gyrenes Friday evening. SEU cruised to a 13-3 seven-run game win in the opening contest before fending off a spirited AMU comeback 11-8 in game two.
Junior outfielder Marvin Malone put on an air show to open up game one. In the bottom of the first, Malone smashed a two-run homer over the center field fence that put SEU up 2-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Malone struck again, this time with a solo shot that towered over the left field fence to give SEU a 3-0 advantage.
A six-run inning in the bottom of the fifth helped the Fire break things open. A sac fly by junior infielder Dominic Anagnos and bases-loaded walk allowed Southeastern to take a 6-1 lead over Ave Maria.
SEU capped off the big inning with a grand slam home run by sophomore utility man Vince Volpatti to put Southeastern ahead 10-1. This was Volpatti’s first grand slam of the season.
Junior outfielder Dan Valerio belted his team leading 13th homer of the season in the bottom of the sixth, a two-run rocket to right field. An RBI single by junior shortstop Adam De La Cruz put the Fire ahead 13-3, and proved to clinch the ten-run rule victory.
Junior southpaw Jonathan Bermudez improved to a perfect 11-0 on the season, tossing five frames, allowing one run, and striking out four.
In game two, the Fire used another six-run inning to assert themselves ahead of the Gyrenes.
In the bottom of the third, SEU scored six on four hits and two errors. Back-to-back RBI bases-loaded singles by Malone and Valerio put the first two runs on the board for the Fire. In the next at-bat, junior infielder Ivan Nunez recorded the second grand slam home run on the day for Southeastern, a center field missile that put the Fire ahead 6-0.
SEU slowly grew its lead over the next three frames, bringing one across in the bottom half of each inning. A solo homer by De La Cruz in the bottom of the fifth highlighted the scoring for Southeastern.
Senior right-handed pitcher Jordan Scott was electric in his start on the mound, pitching six innings of two-hit baseball. Scott struck out 11, including striking out the final four Gyrenes he faced.
Trailing 11-2 heading to the top of the ninth, Ave Maria attempted to mount a rally of epic proportions. The Gyrenes plated six runs on three hits, four walks, and two errors.
With an 11-8 lead the go-ahead run at the plate for AMU, senior right-handed pitcher Jared Crescentini stepped on the mound for Southeastern. Crescentini recorded a pair of strikeouts to silence the rally, preserve the Southeastern doubleheader sweep, and earn the save.
Southeastern looks to sweep the weekend series versus AMU in the finale Saturday. First pitch is set for Noon.