","thumbnailUrl":null,"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics","jobTitle":null},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics","url":"https://erauathletics.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://erauathletics.com/images/logos/site/site.png","width":50,"height":50}},"about":null,"speakable":{"type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":["article-content","article-headline"]}} No. 4 Eagles Travel to Lakeland for Sun Conference Showdown with Fire - Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics
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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics

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No. 4 Eagles Travel to Lakeland for Sun Conference Showdown with Fire

| By: Ryan Mosher


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - After a doubleheader sweep of SCAD Savannah on Tuesday, the Embry-Riddle Eagles, ranked No. 4 in the first 2012 regular season NAIA Coaches' Poll, pushed their Sun Conference record to 13-2, firmly on top of the league standings. At 6-9 in The Sun Conference, Southeastern (Fla.) is holding on to the sixth and final playoff spot for The Sun Conference tournament, May 1-5 in Ft. Myers, Fla. The two teams will meet in a crucial TSC three-game series this weekend in Lakeland, Fla., with a single game on Friday beginning at 6 p.m. and a twin bill scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday.

The Eagles have enjoyed the No. 4 national ranking 10 times previous, with the first coming on Mar. 31, 1998 and the last happening May 10, 2006. Embry-Riddle's No. 4 ranking is their third-most common, following 2nd and 3rd (16 each) and 1st (12).

The Eagles (28-9) hold a 12-2 all-time record against the Fire (21-16) stretching back to 2006 when the two teams met for the first time. Embry-Riddle has won eight straight since Feb. 3, 2009, including sweeping SEU the last two seasons and eliminating the Fire last season in The Sun Conference tournament, 9-1. The Eagle have scored at least five runs in each of the 14 contests between the two schools, and have reached nine runs eight times.

The Blue and Gold will bring their dynamic offense and stout pitching to Lakeland in hopes of holding on to their two-and-a-half game lead over St. Thomas (Fla.) in The Sun Conference race. ERAU ranks in the top two of the conference in every batting category and in the top 10 of the entire NAIA in six offensive statistics. Embry-Riddle is hitting .321 on the year with an on-base percentage of .415 and a slugging percentage of .460. 121 of ERAU's 394 base hits have gone for extra bases, including 91 doubles (2nd in the NAIA), 10 triples and 20 home runs.

The outfield has been the most impressive offensively thus far for Head Coach Randy Stegall in 2012. Seniors Greg Smith, Frankie Arias and Ian MacGeorge have led the way for ERAU, making up for 108 runs, 142 hits, 29 doubles and 91 RBIs, roughly 36% of the team's total production. Smith is averaging .382 from the plate (42-for-110), touching home 35 times, drawing a team-leading 26 walks and a team-leading 21 stolen bases. With 42 runs scored, Arias is tied with fellow senior Ben Kline for the team lead, and the native of Caracas, Venezuela has chased in 30 RBIs as well. Right fielder MacGeorge holds the national lead with 18 doubles, and is tied with Kline for first on ERAU with 52 base hits. MacGeorge's 41 RBIs ranks first on Embry-Riddle, first in the conference and eighth nationally.

The Eagle with the hottest bat right now might just be JT Warmoth. Warmoth, a senior from Longwood, Fla., has collected nine hits and 13 RBIs over the last six games the Eagles have played. The current Sun Conference Player of the Week is hitting .298 on the year with 23 RBIs and 19 runs scored for Embry-Riddle.

Two weeks into the season, the Embry-Riddle pitching staff had a team ERA of 4.81 through nine games. However, since Feb. 11 the Eagle pitchers have lowered that ERA to 3.18, first in The Sun Conference and 16th in the country. The Blue and Gold have shutout six opponents, thrown five complete games and have struck out 258 opponent hitters, the eighth best mark in the NAIA. Opponents average .261 against Eagle hurlers and have only drawn 89 walks in 37 games.

Starters Kevin Maloney, Daniel Eaton, Chad Modomo and Adam Paulencu have all been impressive, with Maloney and Modomo each earning six wins for their team. Lefties Maloney and Eaton have posted 1.24 and 2.78 ERAs respectively, combining for 87 strikeouts in 105.2 innings of work.

Modomo has proven to be a workhorse for the Eagles, posting a 3.53 ERA in 66.1 innings, tossing two complete games and striking out 53 batters. Paulencu has brought his best stuff over his last few appearances, surrendering just two runs (one earned) in 17 innings of work, fanning 21 opponents.

David Lidyard has established himself as the team's closer, tossing 17.2 innings in 12 appearances, collecting two saves and five wins while boasting a 0.51 ERA. He leads the team with a .213 batting average against.

Friday and Saturday's games will feature the two best fielding teams in The Sun Conference, with Southeastern leading the way with a .970 fielding percentage and ERAU close behind with a .962 mark.

Southeastern, coached by eight-year Head Coach Jason Beck, is looking to break their string of three-consecutive Sun Conference series losses this weekend. SEU dropped two of three games to Ave Maria (Fla.) last weekend.

Southeastern averages .298 from the dish, outscoring opponents 209-152 in 27 games. 324 hits and 190 RBIs for the Fire has led to a .392 on-base percentage of .392 and a slugging percentage of .391.

William Glessner and Shane Casey have helped the Fire the most offensively, combining for 79 hits, 46 RBIs and 52 runs scored. Glessner is hitting .367 with 40 hits while Casey, a 2011 first team All-Sun Conference performer, has posted a .361 average with 39 hits, 29 RBIs while drawing 31 walks to lead the Fire.

SEU has stolen 93 bases in 126 attempts with Glesner (29), Mauldin (17) Caesar (16) and Casey (10) all in double digits.

Southeastern's weekend starters, Dimitri Nunez, Grant Porter and Justin Mauldin have won 14 games between them, all posting sub-3.40 ERAs. Porter and Nunez have both earned Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week honors in 2012, while Mauldin was a 2011 second team All-Conference selection for the Fire.

As a team, Southeastern has a 3.71 ERA in 291.0 innings. Opponents have hit the Fire for an average of .279, scoring 152 runs on 312 hits.

Live Audio, Live Stats and a Live Chat are available via Game Central HERE.

Live Video will be provided by Southeastern HERE.

Game Notes
  • Embry-Riddle is 911-390-1 (.700) in 24 seasons.
  • Embry-Riddle holds a 308-94-1 (.766) mark in conference play since 1994.
  • Randy Stegall is 283-116-1 (.709) as a head coach, spanning seven seasons.
  • 96-18 (.842) is The Sun Conference mark for Randy Stegall since 2008.
  • JT Warmoth is riding a seven-game hitting streak, and has reached base in 10 straight contests.
  • Ben Kline leads the team with 20 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI contests.
  • Kline has 140 hits in his two-year Eagle career, he needs just 10 more hits to become the 17th member of ERAU's 150-Hit Club.
  • Kline also has 96 RBIs as an Eagle, four short of 100.
  • Ian MacGeorge needs only two hits to reach 100 in an Eagle uniform.
  • Kevin Maloney is a perfect 16-0 as an Embry-Riddle starter. He was 10-0 last season, and is 6-0 in 2012.
  • Chris Page recorded his 100th RBI in ERAU's 9-0 win over SCAD Savannah on Tuesday.
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