Point Baseball sweeps Ave Maria in weekend series

AVE MARIA, Fla. (Apr. 6, 2024) - The Point University Baseball team took a trip to Florida for a non-conference matchup with Ava Maria University where the Skyhawks took the sweep over the Gyrenes.  

Game One (12-1, Win) 

The Skyhawks opened fire with Daniel Gonzalez starting with a single to right field for the first base hit. A stolen base and a wild pitch from Ave Maria helped Gonzalez advance to third to put him in scoring position. Slade Mink added an RBI single past second base to send Gonzalez home for the first run. An error by the shortstop put helped Alex Marquand get on base while advancing Slade Mink to third. The Skyhawks added their second run in the top of the first with an error by the first baseman to advance Slade Mink home. The Gyrenes responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double to left field which cut Point's lead to 2-1. Point continued to find their rhythm which was put on display in the top of the third inning with Silas Butler adding an RBI single to left field to let the speed of Slade Mink send him past home plate. With One Out still on the board, Rafael Jackson added a sacrifice fly to center field to give Hunter Neumayer the advantage to sprint home for another run. Daniel Gonzalez singled to right field to advance Mason Davis and Zeb Baird home to bring the lead to 7-1. In the top of the sixth inning, Rafael Jackson opened with a triple to center field to give him a base hit. Zeb Baird capitalized with an RBI single to left field advancing Rafael Jackson home to push the lead to 8-1. In the top of the seventh, Daniel Gonzalez opened with a single to center field and followed with stealing second base. Ave Maria looked to retire Jaden Mazzaferro at bat but four balls later saw him walking to first base. With Slade Mink adding a single and Alex Marquand reaching on a fielder's choice, Daniel Gonzalez sprinted home but the catcher tagged Gonzalez out before he was safe. With Bases loaded, Rafael Jackson added a grand slam homer to score four runs and end the game with a 12-1 win. Julio Lopez was the winning pitcher on the mound and pitched a complete game with two strikeouts and only one earned run.  

Game Two (13-10, Win) 

Daniel Gonzalez doubled to right field to get the momentum going with the game being scoreless for the first two innings. Two wild pitches from the Gyrenes saw the Skyhawks add their first run. Alex Marquand's double right field was enough to advance Jaden Mazzaferro for a 2-0 lead. Point continued to make their at-bats count as Silas Butler smacked a single to left field to send Slade Mink home for another run. Point's final run of the inning resulted in a sacrifice fly from Rafael Jackson to advance Alex Marquand home for a 4-1 lead. The Skyhawks followed in the top of the fourth inning with Hunter Neumayer adding an RBI single to left field to send Jaysen Dower racing home for a 5-1 lead. Ave Maria climbed back with a two-run homer to right field to cut their deficit to two. The Skyhawks responded in the top of the fifth inning with Zeb Baird opening with a RBI single in the gap to see the speed of Silas Butler advance home. The runs continued as Jaysen Dower added a single past the shortstop which was enough for Zeb Baird and Rafael Jackson to advance for two runs. Slade Mink followed with a single to center field to give the Skyhawks their fourth run of the inning with Mason Davis advancing. With base loaded, Alex Marquand was walked to first base which sent Daniel Gonzalez home for their fifth run to lead 10-3. Ave Maria responded in the bottom of the inning with a home run to right field to trail by six. Jaysen Dower added another RBI single up the middle which saw Zeb Baird score in the process for another run. Slade Mink's sacrifice fly to center field advanced Jaysen Dower home to end the inning with two runs and a 12-4 lead. Ave Maria was able to add six runs to bring Point's lead to 12-10 as both teams went into the ninth inning. Daniel Gonzalez added the game's final run with an RBI single to right field to advance Mason Davis home for a 13-10 lead. The Gyrenes were unable to add another run which gave the Skyhawks a win in Game Two. Cameron Seiwert was the winning pitcher on the mound for the Skyhawks where he pitched five innings and struck out five batters. 

Game Three (8-7, Win) 

Ave Maria opened the bottom of the first inning with the first run as a runner at third advanced home. The Gyrenes extended their lead with a RBI Triple to right center and an error from second base to lead 3-0 in the early going. Ave Maria's lead grew to 5-0 with hopes of stealing Game Three but Point was not done as there was still a lot of baseball left. Rafael Jackson's sacrifice fly to right field helped Slade Mink advance home for the Skyhawks' first run. Point another run in the top of the seventh inning Hunter Neumayer sprinted home to cut Point's deficit to 5-2. With bases loaded in the eighth inning, Alex Marquand was walked at-bat to give Point their third run as Daniel Gonzalez advanced home. The Skyhawks followed with four runs as Silas Butler and Zeb Baird added RBI Singles in the mix, and Slade Mink and Butler used their speed on base to add five runs in the inning. With Point in the lead, Ave Maria responded with a two-run homer to tie the game at seven which ultimately brought the game to the 10th inning. Rafael Jackson put the finishing touches on the game as he smacked a home run to right field to give the Skyhawks the Game-winning run to take the sweep on the road. Sage McWaters was awarded the winning pitcher on the mound, and Daniel Crabtree was credited with a save.

Up Next 

The Skyhawks will return to the field for a non-conference game against Truett McConnell University on Tuesday, April 9th starting at 5:00 P.M. in West Point, Georgia.