Paulencu (2-1) earned the victory for the Eagles, striking out seven batters in seven innings.
Boxscore
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The recent offensive firepower continued for the fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles on Thursday evening at Sliwa Stadium. The Eagles racked up 17 hits and pushed across nine runs en route to a 9-2 victory over visiting Northwestern Ohio. ERAU's record stands at 21-7 while the Racers drop to 10-6 on the year.
Adam Paulencu had one of his best outings of the 2012 season for the Eagles on the mound. The right-handed junior got an early lead from his offense and kept the Racers at bay through much of his seven-inning performance.
Despite a two-out walk in the first, Paulencu brought his team back into the dugout when he got Kevin Cyrus to groundout to
Ben Kline at short.
Embry-Riddle struck for three runs in the bottom of the first, beginning when reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week
Ian MacGeorge doubled down the left field line to score
Jeff Lemon from third. Lemon collected a single and moved to third on a
Chris Page base hit earlier in the inning.
Callahan Hood walked to load the bags for
Jordan Romero, and the sophomore from St. Augustine recorded two RBIs with a single to center field, giving ERAU a 3-0 lead.
Paulencu again stranded a runner on the base paths in the second, this time he got Cory Cook to look at strike three to end the frame.
Greg Smith started the Eagles on the right foot in the second, doubling to right center to lead off the inning.
Frankie Arias traded places with his fellow outfielder, doubling to left center to plate Smith. After Rob Wilson, UNOH's starter, was relieved by Zachary Petrick, Lemon singled through the left side for his first RBI of the game. Lemon moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt from Petrick that ended up along the fence in foul territory, and the Eagles' third baseman would score on a Page single, bringing the score to 6-0 in favor of the hosts.
Paulencu gave up one run in the fourth, but it proved to be unearned as a pair of Eagle errors allowed Cyrus to score to cut the lead to 6-1.
The Racers got another run in the sixth, but Embry-Riddle answered back with a run of their own as Lemon came in to score on a Page groundout. Lemon had doubled down the right field line and moved to third on a passed ball to put himself in position to score.
Robbie Ratliff came in for Paulencu in the eighth, and Ratliff stranded a runner on the bases with a groundout from Pichi Torres.
The Eagles got two more runs in the home-half of the eighth, one on a Page double to left center that scored Kline for Page's third RBI of the night. The final Eagle run came on a Romero single to left field that plated Page, proving to be Romero's third RBI of the contest.
Ratliff faced four batters in the ninth, ending the game with a foul out from pinch hitter Brett Akins.
Paulencu (2-1) got the win for the Eagles, pitching seven strong innings, surrendering two runs (one earned) on five hits while fanning seven UNOH batters. Ratliff tossed the final two frames without giving up a hit.
Lemon was 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored for ERAU, while both Page (4-for-5) and Romero (2-for-4) recorded three RBIs apiece. MacGeorge and Smith had three hits each.
Embry-Riddle plays host to Northwood (Fla.) in a three-game Sun Conference series this weekend, beginning with a single game on Friday, Mar. 16 at 6 p.m. and concluding with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 17 at 1 p.m.
