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The NAIA No. 5 Eagles travel to Lake Wales, Fla. to take on longtime conference foe Warner in a three-game Sun Conference series this weekend. ERAU is coming off a three-game sweep of Florida Memorial in their first league series, and will look to extend their four-game winning streak on Friday with their 3 p.m. contest against the Royals.
 
The Blue and Gold has clashed with Warner 86 times since their first meeting on Feb. 10, 1990, the most times the Eagles have played any opponent in their 23-year history. Embry-Riddle holds a 54-32 all-time advantage, and has won four straight in the series, including a three-game sweep last season in Daytona Beach. The Eagles opened that series with a 9-0 shutout thanks to a three-hit combined shutout by Ryan Vigue and Barrett Bruce. Ben Kline and Chris Page combined for four hits with four RBIs in the rout.
 
The opener of Saturday's doubleheader last season would prove to be one of the more exciting games in the history of the rivalry, as the contest went into the 15^th inning before a winner was decided (the longest single game in either program's history). Tied at 6-6 since the top of the ninth, Aaron Glaum laced a double to left field to plate Adam Cellini's courtesy runner in the bottom of the 15^th frame to secure the 7-6 victory for the Eagles. Greg Smith drove in four of ERAU's runs, while Kevin Maloney and Brandon Creath bookended the pitching outing for the Eagles, both throwing six-plus innings, with Creath earning the win after tossing the final six innings of the game without surrendering a hit.
 
Tucker Jensen put together a gem of a game in the series finale with a one-hit shutout of the Royals. Jensen pitched all nine innings for a complete game, walking one and striking out eight. Kline, Smith and Steve Sabins all collected RBIs for the hosts.
 
The 2012 season has been marked by strong offensive performances and impressive showings on the mound by the Eagles, as the team is averaging .346 from the plate through it's first seven games, and the pitching staff boasts a 2.95 ERA.  ERAU's team average is good for second in The Sun Conference, while Embry-Riddle's sparkling ERA stands atop the conference leaderboard.
 
Junior Tyler Robbins leads the Eagles with a .571 batting average on eight hits, four of which have been doubles. The Port Orange, Fla. native and Spruce Creek High School product has driven in six runs while drawing nine walks on the season, pushing him to 70 free-bases for his career (the ERAU career record is 118, set by Rick Gray in 1995). Robbins is also second on the team in runs scored with six.
 
The team leader in runs scored is senior Ian MacGeorge with seven, who also paces the Eagles with 13 hits. MacGeorge has reached base safely in all seven contests this season.
 
Two of the Eagles' biggest RBI-producers in 2011 are back at it again this season, as Kline and Page have eight and seven RBIs respectively with Kline leading the conference and ranking 10^th in the nation in that category.

The Eagle pitching staff has matched their offensive counterparts with solid outings to begin 2012, with the three weekend starters of Adam Paulencu, Chad Modomo and Maloney leading the way. The staff as a whole has given up just 44 hits (6.3-per game) and 18 earned runs in the first seven contests. Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada native Paulencu has a 0.82 ERA in two starts, allowing one earned run on six hits while fanning nine opponents. Modomo, a junior transfer from West Virginia Wesleyan, is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings of work. Modomo has struck out 12 batters while opponents are hitting just .188 against him. The only returning weekend starter, Maloney picked up where he left off last season, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.08 ERA in 13.0 innings.
 
The Royals, led by 28-year head coach Jeff Sikes, enter the weekend series with a 3-3 record on the year. Sikes has 866 wins to his credit, good for 10^th on the active NAIA winningest coaching list. WU split two games with Crooked Lake rivals Webber International to begin the year, beat Clearwater Christian before losing to NCAA II Eckerd, and splitting a doubleheader with NCAA II Palm Beach Atlantic last weekend.
 
Warner is hitting .228 from the plate, led by Dylan Gross's .400 average on six hits with three RBIs. First team All-Conference performer from 2011, catcher Herb Sickler is hitting .313 from the dish while Ethan Lovell's six runs paces the squad.
 
On the mound, WU hurlers have a 5.44 ERA in 43.0 innings and have surrendered 28 runs on 48 hits while striking out 30 batters. Dylan Heiring boasts a 2.25 ERA with a 2-0 record in two starts, while Aaron Kehres is 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in a pair of starts.
 
Game time for the single game on Friday is set for 3 p.m. and the Saturday doubleheader begins at 12 p.m. Former Eagle Cory Davids will provide play-by-play for Friday's game, and as always, live stats will be available. For all the action of this weekend's contests click HERE.
 
Notes

• Embry-Riddle's all-time record is 889-383 (.699)
• Randy Stegall's career record is 260-109-1  (.704)
• Stegall's record at Embry-Riddle is 191-64 (.749)
• Stegall's Sun Conference record is 86-16 (.843)
• ERAU holds a 54-32 all-time advantage over Warner
• Stegall is 11-4 against Warner
• Ben Kline is six hits way from 100 in his ERAU career
• Maloney is 2.1 innings from 100 in his ERAU career
• Robbins has 70 career walks, tied for fifth on the ERAU all-time list
• JT Warmoth needs 21 at-bats for 400 in his four-year Embry-Riddle career