Boxscore
BABSON PARK, Fla. -
Randy Stegall took the reins of the Embry-Riddle baseball program in 2007. In each of his previous four seasons he has led his team to a regular season Sun Conference title. 2012 is no different. The Eagles came away with a 3-1 victory over Ave Maria on Monday night, securing their fifth consecutive conference title and 13th overall since the program began in 1989. ERAU improves to 37-14 overall with the win, ending the conference schedule with a 21-6 mark. AMU drops to 22-30 and 13-14. The Eagles claim the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Sun Conference Tournament held in Ft. Myers, Fla. from May 1-5, 2012.
Ave Maria saved their best for last in the series finale, putting senior Justin James on the mound to face the eighth-ranked Eagles. The Eagles wasted no time at the plate as
Greg Smith took the first pitch of the game back up the middle for a leadoff base hit. Smith moved to second on a wild pitch and then third when
Jeff Lemon grounded out. After a strikeout from James,
Chris Page drew a two-out walk to put runners on the corners.
Ian MacGeorge, playing in his first game since last Sunday, singled to center field to bring in Smith from third, giving ERAU a 1-0 advantage.
Kevin Maloney started for the Blue and Gold for the first time since Mar. 10, and the junior lefty showed no rust, facing the minimum through the first two innings.
Smith proved to be a spark plug again in the third, doubling to right before scoring on Lemon's single.
Ben Kline reached on a fielder's choice before swiping second to put himself in scoring position. MacGeorge recorded his second RBI of the evening with a single through the left side, scoring Kline from second.
Maloney ran into his only rough patch in the bottom-half of the third when he walked Patrick Fahey to start the frame. Fahey came around to score AMU's only run of the night when Pat Collins-Bride singled off of Maloney later in the inning.
After the third, James settled in, not allowing a hit until the eighth inning. But, Maloney and reliever
Eric Green matched James pitch for pitch. Maloney exited after the fifth, giving way to Green.
The Gyrenes never even put a runner into scoring position the rest of the way, collecting just two hits off of Green over the final four innings.
Maloney (7-0) got the win, pitching five innings for ERAU, allowing one run on three hits while striking out four. Green threw the final four frames, earning the save, his second of the season.
MacGeorge finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Eagles, while Smith was 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
The Eagles will wrap up their 2012 regular season slate tomorrow, Tuesday, Apr. 24 with a home game against Edward Waters. The game will be Senior Night for the nine ERAU seniors.
