DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The NAIA fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles will be seeing a lot more of Thomas (Ga.) in the coming years, as the Night Hawks are set to join The Sun Conference in 2012-13. However, this season the two remain non-conference foes, and Wednesday's game will be the first of three the squads will play this season. Rain pushed back what would have been a Tuesday game to Wednesday afternoon in Thomasville, Ga.
The Eagles are 14-5 all-time against TU, including a three-game sweep last season in Thomasville. ERAU took the first contest of the series with an 11-0, mercy-rule shortened, shutout.
Tucker Jensen tossed six innings of one hit baseball, allowing just three runners to reach base while striking out seven Night Hawks.
Tyler Robbins drove in three runs on two hits, while
Ian MacGeorge and
Ben Kline both chased in two runs of their own.
The second game of the doubleheader proved to be a much closer affair. ERAU was able to build a 5-1 lead thanks to a strong outing from
Kevin Maloney, but two runs in the bottom of the sixth cut the TU deficit to 5-3. The two teams traded runs in the seventh, and
Phillip Reamy earned his 13
th save of the season by tossing the final 1.1 innings. Kline hit two homers in the victory while
Aaron Glaum smacked his second long ball of the season.
The finale was once again all Embry-Riddle as the visitors raced out to a 4-0 lead before sealing the 5-1 win in nine innings.
Ryan Vigue threw eight innings, allowing one unearned run on six hits while setting down nine Night Hawks via strikeout. MacGeorge and
Adam Cellini hit homers for ERAU, as four Eagles collected RBIs in the game.
This season, the Eagles are riding a seven-game winning streak and coming off a tripleheader sweep of Sun Conference member Warner on Saturday. The Eagles scored 42 runs in 27 innings in Lake Wales, pushing their conference record to a perfect 6-0.
The Eagles' bats are averaging .343 from the plate through their first 10 games, recording RBIs on 86 of their 97 total runs. Seniors MacGeorge,
Frankie Arias and
Chris Page have paced the Blue and Gold offensively, with juniors Robbins and
Callahan Hood close behind.
MacGeorge, the Eagles' everyday right fielder, is hitting .500 (19-for-38) with 10 RBIs. The Winter Park, Fla. native is slugging .737 with an on-base percentage of .578. He also boasts a 1.000 fielding percentage and leads the team in runs scored with 12.
Caracas, Venezuela's Arias has pushed his batting average to .400 in 2012. The center fielder has 14 hits and eight RBIs and has scored 11 times. Arias became the third Eagle in the last two seasons to hit a grand slam, joining
Steve Sabins and Page with his four-run homer against Warner on Friday evening.
Page leads the Eagles in nearly all the power offensive categories, including home runs (4), total bases (33) and RBIs (17). He also ranks first in the nation in those three categories. Page has hit .375 in 10 games, with 10 of his 15 hits going for extra-bases.
Robbins (.357) and Hood (.348) have combined for 18 hits and 10 RBIs while scoring 13 runs between them.
The Eagle pitching staff had a rough weekend in Lake Wales, seeing their team ERA balloon to 4.50, despite winning all three games.
David Lidyard is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three relief appearances. The Seattle, Wash. Native has thrown 5.1 innings, giving up just four hits.
Junior
Kevin Maloney is 2-0 as a starter, posting a 2.14 ERA in 21.0 innings of work. The 2011 second team All-Conference performer has faced 78 batters while allowing them to average just .231 against him.
Meanwhile, Thomas sits at 5-3 overall after taking two out of three games from Loyola (La.) over the weekend. TU has two series wins (Montreat and Loyola), while splitting a doubleheader with Spring Hill.
The Night Hawks average .309 from the plate, led by Joey Kampfer and Hugh Russell Lee. Kampfer is hitting .483 with 14 hits while scoring 11 runs. Lee has collected eight RBIs on 11 hits in 26 at-bats.
TU's pitching staff has a 3.69 ERA in 61.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .296 against Thomas, and TU opponents have recorded just 10 extra-base hits.
Game time is set for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, and fans can follow along with audio and live stats
HERE.
-Embry-Riddle's all-time record is 892-383-1 (.699)
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Randy Stegall's career record is 263-109-1 (.706)
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Randy Stegall's record at ERAU is 194-64 (.752)
-Embry-Riddle is 14-5 all-time against the Night Hawks
-ERAU is 235-99 in the month of February
The Eagles are 90-25 against opponents from the state of Georgia
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Tyler Robbins has moved into fifth all-time in career walks (72)
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Adam Cellini has reached base in 25 straight contests, dating back to the 2011 season
