GAMEDAY CENTRAL
#11 Embry-Riddle (0-0) vs. Reinhardt (1-0)
DATES: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 6-8
FIRST PITCH FRIDAY: 1 p.m.
FIRST PITCH SATURDAY: 1 p.m.
FIRST PITCH SUNDAY: 1 p.m.
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: Sliwa Stadium
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO: Stretch Internet
CURRENT EMBRY-RIDDLE STREAK: L1 (dating back to end of 2014 season)
CURRENT REINHARDT STREAK: W1
SERIES: First Meeting

EMBRY-RIDDLE
Embry-Riddle opens its 27th and final NAIA season on Friday by hosting the first of three games against Reinhardt at Sliwa Stadium. The Eagles, under eighth-year Head Coach Randy Stegall, finished 40-21 last season, winning the program's 15th Sun Conference regular season championship, but failed to advance to the Avista-NAIA World Series for the first time in Stegall's tenure.

The Blue and Gold, ranked 11th in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll, returns 15 letterwinners from the 2014 team, including All-Conference pitchers Stetson Nelson and Corey Tufts and All-Conference outfielder Liam Goodall. 21 newcomers dot the Eagle roster, including 12 transfers to Stegall's squad.

Goodall is ERAU's top returning position player, posting a .319 average with 74 hits, including 10 doubles and six triples, and 14 stolen bases in 2014. Utility man Jake Cavender also is back for the Blue and Gold after his initial campaign with the Eagles resulted in a .282 clip from the plate, 62 hits, 37 runs and 11 stolen bases.

Nelson and Tufts highlight the pitching returners for Embry-Riddle after the 2014 staff posted one of the best seasons on the mound in program history. Nelson went 9-4 with a 2.21 ERA in 102 innings as a junior, throwing the program's fifth no-hitter in his junior season. Tufts was 8-4 with a 2.42 ERA and a .186 batting average against. Tufts struck out 81 opponents in 89.1 innings and had eight outings of three hits or less.

REINHARDT
Reinhardt opened its season on Feb. 3 at Truett-McConnell, benefitting from 11 walks and five HBP to win 8-1. Reinhardt plays Thursday at Thomas before trekking south to Daytona Beach for the weekend's three-game series.

Justin Schlie hit .297 with 52 hits and 32 RBIs last season for a team that went 34-24 overall and 18-9 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Bobby Gazzola was the team's ace last season, posting a 10-3 record and 1.25 ERA with four shutouts and 93.2 innings of work while fanning 81 opponents

STATISTICAL TID BITS
• The Eagles are 20-6 in season openers
• Embry-Riddle is 19-7 in home openers, including a 12-2 mark at Sliwa Stadium
• The Eagles have played a team from Georgia 13 times in season openers, winning 11 times
• 104 wins all-time against teams from the state of Georgia
• 258 wins by the Eagles in the month of February all-time
• The Eagles have never turned a triple play in program history

EAGLE BASEBALL BY THE NUMBERS
1,017 - Wins in program history
388 - Career wins by Head Coach Randy Stegall
372 - Conference wins in program history
224.1 - Innings pitched by Stetson Nelson in his two seasons with the Eagles
124 - Career hits by Liam Goodall
81 - Corey Tufts' strikeouts in 2014, 22 more than the number of hits he allowed
20 - Conference Championships in program history

27 SEASONS OF EAGLE BASEBALL
The 2015 season marks the 27th edition of Eagle baseball and Embry-Riddle athletics overall. Embry-Riddle is 1,017-435-1 in 26 seasons, capturing 15 conference regular season titles, five conference tournament titles, seven regional crowns, claiming 31 NAIA All-America honors, 37 Honorable Mention All-American honors and advancing to the NAIA World Series 12 times (T3rd most in NAIA history).