Fire Split Opening Day Doubleheader with Gyrenes

No. 1 Southeastern Gets Mixed Results in Season Opener
AVE MARIA, Fla. – In an Opening Day with mixed results, the No. 1 Southeastern University baseball team split a non-conference doubleheader with the Ave Maria University Gyrenes. The Fire gritted out a 5-0 win over the Gyrenes in game one before being edged 7-6 in the second contest.
The Fire did not wait long to score their first run of 2019. Senior outfielder Manuel Mesa led off the game with a triple to center field. He was driven in later in the frame by an Ivan Nunez RBI groundout to put SEU on the board 1-0.
SEU tacked on another run in the top of the fourth thanks to a bases-loaded fielder’s choice, and an additional run in the top of the fifth via a wild pitch that allowed junior outfielder Mike Taylor Jr. to cross the plate.
A pair of Gyrenes’ miscues in the top of the 7th allowed SEU to add a pair of insurance runs off two errors to go up 5-0.
Southeastern earned the shutout on the mound thanks to a combined staff effort.
Coming in relief in the top of the third, junior right-handed pitcher Kyle Wilson sat down six of the nine Gyrenes he faced, striking out four in the process. The Arkansas Tech transfer earned the winning decision for Southeastern.
Junior southpaw Colton Tison was dynamic in relief for SEU, retiring the first six batters he faced. In three innings of work, Tison surrendered just one hit and earned the save.
In game two, the Fire found themselves battling from behind throughout the contest.
After a solo home run by Taylor Jr. to left field in the top of the first, the Gyrenes responded with three runs on three hits and an error in the bottom half of the frame.
The Fire quickly retaliated in the top of the second with a three-run spurt of their own. Four-straight singles are how SEU accomplished the big-inning, with Mesa, Taylor Jr., and junior first baseman Noah Strohl picking up RBIs.
Taylor Jr. impressed in his Fire debut, batting .500 (3-6) on the day with two runs batted in and three runs scored.
The final RBI single by Strohl gave SEU a 4-3 lead. The Fire added another in the top of the third thanks to another AMU error.
However, the Gyrenes had a final answer for the Fire in the bottom half of the inning, stringing together a four-run frame off four hits to take a 7-5 lead.
The Fire bats fell into a lull at that point, unable to advance a runner into scoring position until the top of the seventh.
In the top of the seventh, the Fire broke their silence, bringing home Anagnos on a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Carlos Viera to cut the deficit to 7-6. However, the Fire were not able to bring home the tying run.
Southeastern now turns its focus to a monumental non-conference series this weekend. The Fire travel to Lawrenceville, Georgia to take on No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett in a three-game set. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m.