AVE MARIA, Fla. – The USCB softball team rallied from a three-run deficit to force extra innings before suffering a heart-breaking 5-4 loss in the opener of a three-game Sun Conference series at Ave Maria on Friday. 

The Gyrenes took advantage of an error to build a 3-0 lead after one inning, but USCB pitcher Abby Pac settled in and shut out Ave Maria for the next six frames. 

Taylor Boykin's RBI grounder in the third cut into the deficit, and Alexa Moore's sacrifice fly and Carrie Cochran's RBI single in the sixth pulled the Sand Sharks even. 

Moore again pulled through with an RBI single in the eighth, but the Gyrenes answered in the bottom of the inning and tied it on Deanna Stirtzinger's RBI single. 

The Sand Sharks had runners at first and second with no outs in the ninth but couldn't convert, and Alyssa Colding's sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the frame brought home the winning run. 

Pac pitched the full 8 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (two earned) and eight hits with nine strikeouts. Brittany Olean had three hits, Natassja Hatcher added two, and Moore drove in two runs for USCB.

Bojangles' Player of the Game: Brittany Olean (3-for-3, SAC)

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The series concludes with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.