SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Embry-Riddle baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep of Sun Confernce foe SCAD Savannah on Tuesday, as well as moving up one spot in the first 2012 NAIA Coaches' Poll to No. 4 in the nation. The Eagles used a balanced offensive attack in both contests, as well as the arms of
David Lidyard and
Daniel Eaton, taking the season series from the Bees, two games to one. Embry-Riddle is now 28-9 overall and 13-2 in The Sun Conference, while SCAD drops to 19-19 on the year and 6-9 in league play.
Game 1 -
Boxscore
The first game on Tuesday was the continuation of a suspended game between the two squads back on Mar. 3. The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth when inclement weather forced the suspension of the game. The Bees had just scored a run and had runners at first and second with one out when the game was called.
Lidyard took the mound for the Eagles and got the first batter he faced to ground out for the second out of the frame. After a two-out walk, the bases were loaded for Matt Zajac, but a nice play by
Jordan Romero at second kept the Bees from taking the lead when he threw out Zajac at first for the final out of the inning.
Jordan Davis took over for SCAD from the hill in the fifth, working through the sixth and the seventh innings without much trouble. Lidyard got a double play to end the sixth as
Ian MacGeorge doubled up Carson Parker at first when Hunter Pope flew out to right field.
The seventh inning proved to be winning inning for ERAU as the visitors pushed across four runs in the frame to take an 8-4 lead. Romero doubled to right to begin the frame, then scored when
Ben Kline singled in the next at-bat.
Chris Page drew a walk to put two runners on without an out before
JT Warmoth, the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week, gave ERAU a 7-4 lead with a double to left field that scored both Page and Kline. Warmoth moved to third and then scored on a pair of wild pitches.
Lidyard faced just seven batters combined in the seventh and eighth, but when the ninth rolled around, the Bees attempted a late rally.
A hit by pitch and then an Eagle error allowed the first two SCAD runners to reach base, a sacrifice fly by Will Cioffi brought in one run, and another Eagle error pushed across the sixth SCAD run of the game. Lidyard was able to get out of the inning with a flyout from Shane Yoder ended the game.
Lidyard (5-1) got the win for ERAU, tossing the final 5.2 innings of the game, only allowing two hits and two unearned runs with four strikeouts.
Arias and Warmoth each had two RBIs, while Kline finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Game 2 -
Boxscore
The newly fourth-ranked Eagles complete the twin bill sweep and conference win with an impressive 9-0 shutout over SCAD in the get-away game.
Daniel Eaton was once again masterful for Embry-Riddle, throwing eight innings of three-hit baseball for the victory.
ERAU scored early on, plating two runs in the first thanks to a
Matt Skipper two-out single off of SCAD starter Zakk White.
Jeff Lemon and Kline recorded back-to-back singles to left center before Page drew a walk. After the second out recorded, Skipper took a 2-2 pitch to right center to give the Blue and Gold a 2-0 advantage.
Eaton gave up just one hit to the Bees through the first six innings, keeping SCAD off the scoreboard throughout the game, and his offense rewarded him with a big five-run fifth, pushing the lead to 7-0.
Page chased in a run with a single before Kline scored on a wild pitch. Warmoth tripled to right center for two RBIs and
Adam Cellini collected an RBI single, scoring Warmoth.
The Eagles chipped in another run for Eaton in the sixth when Page singled in Arias from third.
Greg Smith brought in a run with a single in the seventh, plating Warmoth.
Eaton gave up two hits in the seventh, but a 6-4-3 twin killing ended the frame.
Adam Paulencu pitched the ninth for Embry-Riddle, ending the game on a strikeout of Michael Gwynn.
Eaton (3-2) went eight innings, giving up three hits but striking out seven.
Page, Skipper and Warmoth all had a pair of RBIs, while Kline, Page, Warmoth, Cellini and Smith collected two hits each.
The Eagles will now travel to Lakeland, Fla. to take on Southeastern in a Sun Conference series this weekend, Mar. 30-31. First pitch for Friday's single game is 6 p.m. while Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m.
Lee (Tenn.) received 13 of the 20 first-place votes to top the coaches' poll. Lee was followed by LSU Shreveport, Oklahoma City, Embry-Riddle and Azusa Pacific. TSC member St. Thomas jumped into the rankings at 12th.
COMPLETE TOP 25 POLL
