CLERMONT, Fla. – In a battle of first-year programs, third-seeded Southeastern knocked off sixth-seeded Embry-Riddle, 7-3, at The Sun Conference Softball Tournament on Thursday evening. The Eagles fell to 13-24 on the year while SEU improved to 26-18.
 
The Fire sent eight batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring four times to take a 4-0 lead.
 
The Blue and Gold got two runs back in the fifth on the strength of RBI singles from Savannah Smith and Robi Zimmerman.
 
Siera Spahiu hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 5-2 for Southeastern.
 
Embry-Riddle got the run back in the sixth thanks to aggressive baserunning from Haleigh Lewis who advanced from first to third on an Ariel Brayer sacrifice bunt. Lewis took the extra base when she saw third base had been vacated and she narrowly beat the left fielder, who alertly ran in to cover third, to the base. Lewis then scored on an error, trimming the deficit to 5-3.
 
Southeastern added a pair of runs in the sixth when Sam Rich drove in a pair with a two-out two-run triple, building the lead to 7-3, which would prove to be the final score.
 
Alexis Estrada pitched all six innings for ERAU, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out seven.
 
Zimmerman went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Savanna Smith was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
 
Sam Rich pitched a complete game for the Fire, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and a strikeout. Rich was also solid at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and a run scored.
 
The Eagles will return to action at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning in an elimination game against No.2 Webber International.