DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle baseball team won its weekend series against visiting No. 12 St. Thomas with a victory in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, 6-3. The Bobcats came back to win the final game by a score of 6-5. The results move ERAU's season mark to 16-11 and 6-5 in conference play, while STU goes to 18-8 and 9-5 in the league.
Game 1 - ERAU 6, STU 3
The Blue and Gold wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, manufacturing a run in the bottom of the first. Tobias Moreno slapped a single through the left side to open the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Jake Cavender. Moreno took third on a wild pitch and came home to score on an RBI groundout off the bat of Liam Goodall.
St. Thomas answered right back with a run in the top of the second, scoring on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1. The Bobcats then took the lead two innings later when Tyler Cyr's pickoff attempt sailed over Cavender's head at third base, allowing two runs to score, giving STU a 3-1 advantage.
The score remained 3-1 until the bottom of the sixth, when Embry-Riddle sent eight men to the plate in a big five-run inning. Cavender reached on an error to start the inning and Goodall followed with a base hit. After a flyout, Joshua Garcia singled home Cavender to make it a 3-2 game. Matt Jacobs then hit a ground-rule double to left-center that plated Goodall with the tying run. Two batters later, Dalton Hughes hit a ball up the middle that scored Jacobs and Garcia, and Hughes alertly turned it into a double with nobody covering second base. That baserunning proved fruitful as Kyle Buchanan singled to left, allowing courtesy runner Kyle Zirbes to score from second base, putting the Eagles ahead, 6-3.
The Bobcats threatened in the eighth and ninth, but Clayton Wagner got an inning-ending strikeout to strand two runners in the eighth, and Zac Grotz induced a rally-killing double play in the ninth as he closed out the 6-3 win.
Tyler Cyr (2-2) pitched seven strong innings to get the win, allowing three unearned runs on six hits, walking one and striking out eight. Grotz earned his fifth save of the year, pitching a scoreless ninth, giving up two hits and striking out one.
Buchanan was 2-for-3 with an RBI while Goodall, Garcia and Jacobs each went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
Alex Perez (1-1) took the loss, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits, walking one and striking out five in 5.1 innings of work. Steven Fischer was 3-for-4 with a double and Eric Santamaria finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Game 2 - STU 6, ERAU 5
St. Thomas got on the board first with a two-run third inning, only to see Embry-Riddle answer back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The Eagles could've done more damage, but Cavender bounced into a double play with the bases loaded and nobody outs, scoring Bruehl but erasing two baserunners. Goodall came up with a two-out RBI single that drew the Eagles even at 2-2.
The Bobcats responded with three more runs in the fourth and Embry-Riddle was only able to counter with a single run in the bottom half on a Hughes sac fly.
STU added to its lead with a run in the fifth, putting the visitors on top 6-3.
The Blue and Gold cut the deficit to two runs when Enderson Velasquez hit into an RBI fielder's choice in the seventh, making it a 6-4 ballgame.
The Bobcats maintained a 6-4 lead until the bottom of the ninth, when Goodall drove in Moreno with a fielder's choice to make it a 6-5 game. Goodall stole second with two outs but the Eagles couldn't get him home to tie the game and ERAU dropped the finale, 6-5.
Corey Tufts (4-3) took the loss, allowing five runs on five hits and four walks in 3.1 innings pitched. Wagner was effective in relief, giving up just one run on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Eight different Eagles registered a hit, including Goodall, who was 1-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base and two RBIs, and Moreno, who was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.
Alejandro Kan (3-0) got the win in relief for STU, pitching 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Chris Rodriguez got his sixth save of the year despite allowing a run on two hits in the ninth.
Brandon Canizares went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs and Adam Duarte was 1-for-2 with two runs scored for the Bobcats.
The Eagles are back in action on Monday, March 16 when they will travel to Leesburg to face No. 24 Mount Vernon Nazarene in a doubleheader at Pat Thomas Stadium that is slated for an 11 a.m. first pitch.
