THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The 18th-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles came back from a Friday afternoon loss to sweep a Saturday doubleheader from Thomas at Varnedoe Stadium, 8-5 and 10-3, claiming the weekend series from the Night Hawks, two games to one. The Eagles (24-13, 11-6) fell behind early in both contests before taking leads and scoring insurance runs late to send Thomas (15-17-1, 7-10) to two defeats. Eagle pitchers combined to strikeout 25 Night Hawks batters on Saturday while Jake Cavender went 6-for-10 with six RBIs and two runs scored for the Blue and Gold.

Embry-Riddle returns to Daytona Beach to host Warner in a three-game Sun Conference series next weekend, beginning with a 6 p.m. Friday night contest and concluding with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Game 1 • ERAU 8, TU 5
In the day's opener, the Eagles fell behind 1-0 after one, but bounced back to go up 6-1 in the top of the fourth before holding on for an 8-5 victory. Tyler Cyr struck out 12 Thomas batters and did not allow an earned run before Zac Grotz entered in the seventh and finished the contest without allowing a baserunner.

An error and a passed ball in the first allowed Jake Desuyo to score the day's first run, but Cyr struck out the side in the second and the Eagles took a lead in the third after a Tobias Moreno walk, Cavender triple and Liam Goodall groundout as Moreno and Cavender both scored for a 2-1 ERAU advantage.

The visitors extended their lead in the top of the fourth thanks to a Moreno sac fly, a Cavender single and an Enderson Velasquez single that brought in two ERAU runs for a 6-1 cushion.

Cyr left runners on the corners by striking out the side again in the bottom of the fourth, but the Night Hawks got a run in the fifth on a Desuyo single, cutting the ERAU lead to 6-2.

After the Eagles went quietly in the sixth the home team got to within 6-5 in their half of the inning, all runs coming after a key Embry-Riddle error. Cyr left the potential tying run at second by inducing a groundout from Desuyo to end the frame and after Thomas put a runner at second with one out in the seventh Grotz was called upon to get out of the inning and he did, retiring the next two batters to keep ERAU in front by a run.

Kyle Buchanan started the eighth inning off with a bang, driving a pitch down the left field line and over the wall for his first homer of the year for a big insurance run, and Cavender recorded his third RBI of the game with a double to right that brought in Moreno after he singled through the left side and stole second base.

Grotz breezed through the eighth and ninth for his seventh save of the season, collecting four strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Cyr (4-2) got the win in 6.1 innings, allowing five unearned runs on seven hits with two walks and 12 Ks.

The top seven batters in the Eagle lineup collected a base hit with Cavender leading the way with three hits and three RBIs while Velasquez registered two hits with two RBIs.

Game 2 • ERAU 10, TU 3
The Eagles scored at least one run in each of the first three innings and continued to tack on runs throughout the game, coming away with a 10-3 win in the series finale.

Velasquez brought in the first run of the contest with a single to center in the first inning, scoring Cavender from third for a 1-0 lead. However, the lead was short lived as TU got three hits, including a double in the bottom of the first to claim a 2-1 advantage over the Blue and Gold.

Embry-Riddle knotted things up in the second when Kyle Zirbes came through with a two-out single to center, plating Matt Jacobs from second, and after a Moreno single to put runners on the corners, Cavender singled in the go-ahead run in the form of Zirbes and the Eagles never trailed again.

Corey Tufts delivered a perfect shutdown inning in the home second, striking out the side before Buchanan extended ERAU's lead to 4-2 with an RBI double in the third, pushing Velasquez home after he had singled up the middle to start the inning and moving second on a Joshua Garcia groundout.

Tufts got a nice double play in the bottom of the third and Cavender flashed some leather in the fourth as Tufts retired seven straight between the third and fifth innings.

A fielding error in the fifth allowed another Eagle run to score, making the tally 5-2, but both sides went scoreless in the sixth, despite TU having runners on second and third with one out in the sixth. Tufts got a weak pop up and then struck out the final batter of the frame to keep the momentum in the ERAU dugout.

Cody Bogart chased in Garcia with an RBI single in the seventh for a 6-2 ERAU cushion, but the Night Hawks chased Tufts from the game in the eighth after plating a run and putting a runner at first with two outs. Clayton Wagner walked the first batter he faced before a perfectly placed bunt went for a base hit to load the bases. Wagner got out of the jam thanks to a nice defensive play by Cavender as the shortstop ranged all the way to second base, throwing over to first for the final out of the inning.

Embry-Riddle blew things open in the ninth with a four-spot, including two coming in on a Cavender double as the Eagles went up 10-3.

Wagner worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to retire the next three batters to secure the win for Embry-Riddle and his first save of the 2015 season.

Tufts (6-3) worked 7.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts while Velasquez went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs and Cavender finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored.