DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Miami Gardens, Fla. and Frank R. Esposito Stadium will be the site of this weekend's NAIA top-15 battle between the sixth-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles and the 12th-ranked St. Thomas Bobcats. The two teams will square off with the top-spot in The Sun Conference standings, as well as the inside track to the regular season league title and the No. 1 seed in The Sun Conference tournament, in the balance.
ERAU is 33-11 overall and 17-4 in league play, holding a 2.5-game lead over St. Thomas in the conference standings, who brings a 31-9 overall mark and 14-6 record in The Sun Conference into the weekend. The Eagles travel to Ave Maria, Fla. for their final conference series of the season against the Gyrenes of AMU, and the Bobcats, who still have a game to make up with Warner, will host Florida Memorial in their final conference matchup.
The Bobcats have sent the Eagles to defeat more times than any other team in ERAU's 24-year history, including the first 10 times the two teams met from 1990-1993. Embry-Riddle holds a 45-37 all-time series edge over St. Thomas, having won six straight, dating back to ERAU's thrilling 3-2 victory in the title game of the 2010 NAIA National Championship Opening Round - Daytona Beach bracket. Last season, the Eagles took all five games from STU, a three-game sweep during the regular season in Daytona Beach, as well as a pair of contests in the 2011 Sun Conference tournament.
The Eagles are coming off an impressive 7-6 win over traditional NCAA II power Florida Southern on Tuesday after suffering their first conference series loss since 2010 last weekend at the hands of No. 22 South Carolina Beaufort. Friday and Saturday will feature the two best offensive teams in The Sun Conference in ERAU and STU, both teams have outscored their opponents by over 100 runs in 2012.
ERAU has scored 339 runs in 44 games, holding their opponents to just 171 runs. The Eagles are 26-2 this season when scoring six or more runs, and conversely are 27-6 when holding opponents to five runs or less. Embry-Riddle has not been shutout in 2012, and just as remarkable has not lost back-to-back games this year.
The Eagles' .315 average from the plate is second-best in the conference, behind only St. Thomas' .334.
Jeff Lemon paces the Eagles from the dish, hitting .382 in 27 games for the Blue and Gold. Close behind the third baseman is the trio of Eagle outfielders,
Greg Smith,
Frankie Arias and
Ian MacGeorge. Smith is second on the team with a .371 clip (49-for-132), and is just one hit short of the century mark in his two-year Embry-Riddle career. The Clermont, Fla. native has swiped 49 bags over the last two seasons, three more would put him in a tie for ninth all-time in ERAU history. Smith's .494 on-base percentage works to the Eagles' advantage with him at the bottom of the lineup, working as a second leadoff man for Head Coach
Randy Stegall.
As the Eagles' traditional leadoff man, Arias is hitting .356 with 58 hits, 35 RBIs and a team-leading 50 runs scored. He is second on the squad with 17 stolen bases. MacGeorge has 61 hits, 25 have gone for extra-bases, including 21 doubles and four home runs. His 48 RBIs lead the conference, as does his .556 slugging percentage.
Senior
Ben Kline is putting together one of the best statistical seasons in recent memory, posting a .350 batting average with 63 hits, 14 doubles, three homers and 37 RBIs. Kline has extending his hitting-streak to double-digit games, the longest streak of any Eagle this season. The transfer from the University of Nebraska has 100 career RBIs at Embry-Riddle and 151 hits, putting him in the
150-Hit Club. Kline is 34-for-37 in steal attempts over the past two seasons, and has scored 106 times as an Eagle.
The Eagle pitching staff has rounded into shape as they near the end of the season, posting a 3.20 team ERA in 371.1 innings of work. Eagle opponents average only .262 against the Blue and Gold hurlers in 44 games this season while striking out 290 times in 2012. The Eagle bullpen has been especially impressive, as ERAU is 30-0 when leading after six innings.
Daniel Eaton has turned in an inspired performance this season, leading the squad with 73.2 innings pitched with a 2.69 ERA. Eaton's 4-3 record belies his workhorse output in 2012, opponents average just .246 against him while striking out 58 times. The Warner Robbins, Ga. native is 3-1 with a 0.93 ERA in six conference games.
Adam Paulencu posts a 3.38 ERA and 5-1 record, and the Eagles are 8-2 when he starts. Paulencu has posted wins in three consecutive starts for the Blue and Gold.
David Lidyard and
Robbie Ratliff have been two of the most-used pitchers in ERAU's arsenal, with Lidyard posting a 5-1 record with four saves, and Ratliff going 5-2 in 51.0 innings.
The Bobcats, ranked No. 12 in the third edition of the NAIA Coaches' Poll, made their first appearance in the poll since Feb. 27, 2008 when the first regular season poll came out on Mar. 27. St. Thomas is led by fourth-year Head Coach Jorge Perez, and has made back-to-back appearances in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
Offensively, the Bobcats hit .334 as a team with seven regular starters hitting over the .300 mark. St. Thomas has scored 304 runs on 468 hits and 265 RBIs. STU is paced by five Bobcat upper-classmen, Joel Capote, Victor Madrazo, Hector Acosta, Antonio Sepulveda and Ricky Claudio. The five have combined for 257 hits with Capote's 71 leading the team. Capote hits .436 from the dish, has scored 53 runs and driven in 35 with his bat. He is also 34-for-43 on the bases.
St. Thomas' pitching staff has a 4.02 team ERA in 349.1 innings of work, giving up 156 earned runs on 359 hits. Opponents average .270 versus the Bobcats and have struck out 215 times.
Game time on Friday is slated for 6 p.m., while the doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Live Stats and a Live Chat can be found
HERE.
St. Thomas provides live video
HERE.
Game Notes
- Embry-Riddle's all-time record is 915-392-1.
- Embry-Riddle's all-time Sun Conference record is 312-96-1.
- Embry-Riddle is 45-37 all-time against St. Thomas.
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Randy Stegall is 288-118-1 in his coaching career (seventh season).
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Randy Stegall is 219-73 at ERAU (fifth season).
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Randy Stegall is 100-20 in The Sun Conference.
- The Eagles are 14-3 on the road this season.
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Ben Kline leads the team with 23 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games.
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Ben Kline has a 10-game hitting streak, the longest of the year for any Eagle.
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Chris Page is the only Eagle to hit in the same spot of the lineup in all 44 games (fourth).
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Tyler Robbins has drawn 75 walks in three seasons, tied for fourth all-time.
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Robbie Ratliff is 12-3 over the past three years for Embry-Riddle.
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JT Warmoth needs 14 hits to reach 150 for his career.
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Greg Smith is at 99 hits in two seasons as an Eagle.
