MONTGOMERY, ALA. - The 11th-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles took Friday's opener over host Auburn Montgomery, 8-4 before dropping the second game of the day, 5-1. The Eagles (8-3) will meet the Warhawks (9-5) for the series finale tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 21 in a single, nine-inning game beginning at 12 p.m. (Central).
Game 1 • ERAU, 8, AUM 4The Eagles went hitless through three innings in Friday's opener, but exploded for eight runs in the last four innings to come back from a 2-0 deficit against AUM.
Corey Tufts got the start and was roughed up a little to start, allowing a run in the first and a run in the third, both on sacrifice flies as AUM took a 2-0 lead. The Eagles struggled against starter Raymond Moody until the fourth when the visitors recorded five hits and four runs to take a 4-2 lead.
Enderson Velasquez broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single to right, followed by a
Liam Goodall base hit and a
Matt Jacobs bunt for a hit to load the bags with no outs.
Dalton Hughes tied the game with a double down the left field line, scoring both Velasquez and Goodall.
Kyle Buchanan gave ERAU a lead with an RBI groundout and
Tobias Moreno singled to left to bring home Hughes' courtesy runner,
Kyle Zirbes.
Tufts delivered a scorelee inning in the bottom of the fouth, but the Warhawks plated a pair of runs in the fifth to knot the score at 4-4. Tufts got out of the inning with a nice pick off of Darius Reese from second base.
The Blue and Gold took the lead for good in the sixth, loading the bases against three AUM pitchers in the inning. Buchanan was hit by a pitch with one out before
A.J. Mazzurco and Moreno both walked to load the bags. A wild pitch brought in the first run of the frame and
Jake Cavender did the rest with a two-RBI single up the middle with the infield in as ERAU went up, 7-4.
Tufts was relieved by
Zac Grotz with two runners on in the home-half of the sixth and the Eagle closer got out of the jam with a ground ball.
Hughes registered his third RBI of the day with a single to center in the seventh, bringing home Goodall after he walked and stole second to start the inning.
Grotz worked around a couple singles in the last of the seventh to secure the win for the Blue and Gold and record his third save of the season.
Tufts (2-1) got the win in 5.2 innings, striking out five while allowing six hits. Hughes finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs while Velasquez had two hits and Cavender added two RBIs.
Game 2 • AUM 4, ERAU 1Matt Miller continued his pitching dominance over the Eagles with a complete game, four-hitter as AUM took the day's finale, 4-1. Miller, who transfered to AUM after pitching for Southern Poly a season ago, struck out six Eagles and surrendered just one run in the victory.
Austen Thrailkill got the start, but only lasted 2/3rds of an inning before
Dylan Demarest was called upon to relieve him. Thrailkill allowed a run on a sacrifice fly before Demarest was able to get out of the frame without any more damage.
The Eagles' lone run of the contest came in the third when Hughes singled to start the game, and his courtesy runner
Kyle Zirbes moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Moreno before scoring on a
Joshua Garcia single to center field to tie things up at 1-1.
Demarest, who cruised through the second, standed the bases loaded in the last of the third, but the Eagles couldn't find any answeres against Miller and AUM took a 2-1 lead in the fourth after a failed pickoff attempt.
Kyle Krebs made his first appearance as an Eagle in relief of Demarest, giving up a run in the fifth on a single up the middle as AUM went up 3-1.
Miller retired his fifth, sixth and seventh straight batters in the sixth before the home team chipped on an insurance run in the bottom of the inning for a 4-1 cushion.
Miller ended the contest with his third straight, three-up, three-down inning in the seventh, securing the DH split for the day.
