LEESBURG, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle baseball team split a doubleheader with No. 24 Mount Vernon Nazarene on Monday at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg. The Cougars took game one, 5-3, before the Eagles rode the right arm of Zac Grotz to a 5-0 win in game two. With the results, the Blue and Gold stand at 17-12 on the season, while MVNU moves to 6-2.
Game 1 - MVNU 5, ERAU 3
Embry-Riddle started strong in game one as Tobias Moreno led off the top of the first with an infield single and came around to score on a two-out RBI hit from Enderson Velasquez. The Eagles maintained their 1-0 lead until the bottom of the third when the Cougars batted around, scoring five runs to take a 5-1 lead.
ERAU got one run back in the 5th when Kyle Zirbes scored on a wild pitch and the Blue and Gold cut it to 5-3 in the sixth when Velasquez came home on a passed ball, but the Eagles couldn't get any closer, dropping the first game 5-3.
Dylan Demarest (0-3) took the loss, allowing four runs on three hits and three walks in 2.1 innings pitched. Dominic Jeancola kept the Eagles in it with a solid 3.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing a run on two hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Velaquez finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI while Joshua Garcia was 2-for-3 and Moreno was 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Lucas Daugherty (2-0) got the win, pitching all seven innings for a complete game for the Cougars. Daugherty allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out five.
Riley Swanson was 1-for-2 with a double, run scored and RBI, while Jaime Montero was 1-for-1 with two walks and an RBI.
Game 2 - ERAU 5, MVNU 0
In the second game, Embry-Riddle sent Grotz to the hill for his first start as an Eagle. Grotz, who leads the team with five saves and 16 appearances out of the bullpen, was dominant from start to finish. The right-hander didn't allow a baserunner until an error in the third and didn't allow a hit until the fourth. Grotz only allowed a Cougar to reach second base three times, and never let a runner touch third base.
The Eagles got on the board in the second inning and never looked back. The inning didn't start well as the first two batters struck out swinging, but Kyle Buchanan was then hit by a pitch to start the rally. Jake Cavender followed with a single, and both runners advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. Moreno stepped up with a clutch two-out, two-run single to open the scoring, giving ERAU a 2-0 lead. After Moreno advanced twice on passed balls and Matt Jacobs drew a walk, MVNU pitcher Roberto Cediel caught Jacobs starting early for second base. However, Cediel was too casual in attempting to run him down, and Jacobs was able to slide into second base safely. Once Moreno saw Cediel turn his back, he broke for the plate and was able to beat the throw to earn a steal of home, putting the Eagles up 3-0. Liam Goodall capped the inning with an RBI double to plate Jacobs and make it a 4-0 game.
Embry-Riddle tacked on another run in the third inning on a Buchanan RBI single, and the five-run cushion would prove to be more than enough for Grotz, as the Eagles cruised to a 5-0 win.
Grotz (5-1) earned the win with a seven-inning complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Moreno went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBIs and a run scored, while Goodall was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Buchanan was 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
Cediel (1-1) took the loss for MVNU, allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings, walking three and striking out three.
Swanson was 2-for-3 and Jaime Montero was 1-for-3, accounting for all of the Cougar hits against Grotz.
The Eagles are back home at Sliwa Stadium tomorrow, March 17, to host Huntington at 4 p.m.
