GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle (0-4) vs. NCAA II Florida Tech (10-2)
DATE: Saturday, February 21, 2015
CITY: Melbourne, Fla.
SITE: Nancy Bottge Field
FIRST PITCH: 1 p.m. EST
LIVE STATS: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE AUDIO: Florida Tech Gameday Network
LIVE VIDEO: Florida Tech Gameday Network

ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
Embry-Riddle opened up the home portion of its 2015 campaign against NCAA II Rollins last Saturday, dropping both ends of the doubleheader to slip to 0-4. The Blue and Gold were slated to play a doubleheader against NCAA II Florida Southern on Wednesday, but the games were cancelled due to unplayable field conditions.

Kelsey McDonnell has a pair of hits in four at-bats and Talia Barraco leads the team with two doubles and two runs scored. Rae Heuer has drawn a team-high four walks and driven in a team-leading two runs. In the circle, Taylor Cowan has been effective in a pair of relief appearances, tossing five innings with a 2.80 ERA.

ABOUT FLORIDA TECH
Florida Tech is 10-2 on the year after going a perfect 5-0 at the Columbus State Tournament last weekend. The Panthers have played just two home games, sweeping a doubleheader against Webber International to open the season.

Elaine Brown leads the team with a .441 batting average, while Hailey Leonard is batting .395 and Taylor Peterson is hitting .343. Peterson also leads the team with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Brigit Godfrey leads the Panthers with 10 runs scored and seven stolen bases while hitting .318. FIT has two quality arms in the pitching circle, led by Rachel Pence's 7-1 record and 2.33 ERA. Taylor Smith is 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA in 35 innings of work.

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
The 2015 edition of the Embry-Riddle softball team will look much different than the previous two seasons. ERAU has a new head coach in Kelsi Dunne, a new assistant coach in Monique White, and six of the 13 players are brand new this year. Besides the new faces, the Eagles will be playing most, and possibly all, of their home games at Daytona State College while the new baseball/softball facilities are completed. Embry-Riddle is hopeful that the construction will be completed in time for the Eagles to play their final two regular season doubleheaders at the ERAU Softball Complex, but that has not yet officially been determined.

SOLID AS A ROCK
Talia Barraco, the team's lone senior, was one of the most reliable players on the team in her first season at Embry-Riddle in 2014, earning her the nickname "Rock." Barraco was third on the team with a .343 batting average and led the Eagles with 24 RBIs. She also led the team in sacrifice bunts with 16 and was solid in the field, committing just six errors in 208 chances while playing third and first base.

DUAL THREATS
Robi Zimmerman has contributed at the plate and in the circle in each of her two seasons at Embry-Riddle. Last year, Zimmerman earned 10 wins with a 3.06 ERA as a pitcher while also collecting eight doubles and 14 RBIs at the plate.

The Blue and Gold have another dual-threat athlete this year in Raquelli Bianco who will split time between the pitching circle and first base. Bianco had a 2.72 ERA in 54 innings last year while batting .429 with five doubles, three triples and home runs a year ago for Miami Dade College.

DEFENDING THE NEST
The Eagles have been tough to beat at home in the program's first two years of existence, compiling a 9-3 mark in 2013 and a 13-8 record in 2014. ERAU's two-year record at home is 22-11, good for a .667 winning percentage. The Blue and Gold will look to continue that winning tradition in 2015 at the Daytona State College Softball Complex, Embry-Riddle softball's temporary home field.

EAGLES FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
After winning The Sun Conference regular season championship in 2014, the Eagles have been picked to finish fourth in the league in 2015 in a preseason poll voted on by all nine TSC softball coaches. Prior to winning the regular season title last season, the Blue and Gold were picked to finish third in the preseason poll.