Tweet #eraubaseball

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Embry-Riddle hosted Thomas (Ga.) in a twin bill on Sunday afternoon at Sliwa Stadium, and the Eagles and Night Hawks each won a game, with ERAU taking game one, 5-3, and TU earning the victory in game two, 4-3. Embry-Riddle moves to 26-9 overall, and Thomas goes to 16-16 on the year.

Game 1 - Boxscore

The Eagles took a 5-0 lead in the third inning, and held on during a late Thomas charge in game one, giving Robbie Ratliff his fourth win of the 2012 season.

Ratliff stranded five runners in the first three frames, scattering Thomas hits and getting key strikeouts at opportune times.

The Eagles gave their starter a 4-0 lead in the second, recording three hits off of TU starter, Trent Stoker. Ian MacGeorge collected a one-out single, moving to second when Matt Skipper, making his first-ever appearance as an Eagle, drew a walk. Mike Gragilla also earned a walk to load the bases, and after the second out was recorded, senior JT Warmoth drove in two runs with a two RBI single to right center. Greg Smith doubled in Gragilla and Warmoth in the next at-bat after Warmoth swiped second base.

Skipper recorded his first hit and first RBI as an Eagle in the third, doubling home MacGeorge after he reached on a Night Hawk error.

Thomas cut into the Eagle lead with a single run in the fifth, bringing the score to 5-1. However, the Night Hawks' offense awoke in the sixth, plating two runs on three hits, cutting the deficit to 5-3. David Lidyard relieved Ratliff in the inning after the bases were loaded. Lidyard got out of the inning and stranded three Thomas players on base with a groundout from Joey Piccolo.

Stoker faced the minimum in the bottom of the sixth, giving his team an opportunity to tie things up in the final inning.

Thomas appeared to have runners at second and third with no outs when Chris Cravotta doubled to right center, but pinch runner Corey Conway rounded third and was thrown out at home for the first out of the frame. A groundout and a strikeout from Lidyard ended the game in favor of ERAU.

Ratliff (4-1) went 5.1 innings, scattering 10 hits while fanning six. Lidyard (2) earned the save for the Eagles.

Game 2 - Boxscore

The fifth-ranked Eagles made a comeback in the doubleheader finale, but a late unearned run by the Night Hawks proved to be too much for the hosts, as Thomas went away with a 4-3 victory.

Kurtis Mancauskas got the start for TU, and was in command through most of the game, taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the third.

Corey Tufts was ERAU's starter, and the freshman pitched the first two innings, giving up two unearned runs, one in each frame, while striking out three.

Trailing 3-0, ERAU plated a single run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to tie the game up at 3-3. However, in the sixth, Thomas centerfielder Joey Kampfer came around to score what would prove to be the winning run on a Mike Lane single up the middle. Kampfer had reached base because of an Eagle error, the fourth of the game for the home team.

The Eagles went three-up, three-down in the seventh, failing to extend the game, sending Chad Modomo to his third loss of the year.

Modomo (6-3) was tagged with the loss for ERAU, pitching the final two innings, giving up one unearned run on three hits. Eric Green had a solid outing for the Blue and Gold, tossing three innings of relief, only giving up one run on two hits while striking out three batters.

Embry-Riddle travels to Savannah, Ga. to conclude a suspended doubleheader against SCAD Savannah on Tuesday, Mar. 27. Game time is set for 4 p.m. for The Sun Conference series.