DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Stetson Nelson got the better of a pitchers' duel on Tuesday afternoon in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round - Daytona Beach Bracket as the senior lefty pitched a complete game shutout against Bryan (Tenn.) in both teams' first game of the 45-team event. Nelson allowed the Lions (42-17) just three hits while walking two and striking out thee on 109 pitches as the Eagles (37-17) took down BC, 3-0. Embry-Riddle scored once in the third and added two insurance runs in the seventh, but they were not needed as Nelson collected his fourth complete game, outdueling Bryan's ace Kenny Knudsen.

ERAU advances to take on the winner of Tuesday's night game between Auburn Montgomery and Rio Grande, and will play tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Bryan falls to the loser's bracket and will square off against Southeastern tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. in an elimination contest.

Nelson set the tone for the day in the first inning by going three-up, three-down against a Bryan team that came into the national tournament hitting .320 as a team.

Knudsen gave up a leadoff single to Tobias Moreno in the bottom of the first, but two straight fielder's choices resulted in two outs before Enderson Velasquez doubled to put runners on the corners. Joshua Garcia flew out to right to end the threat for the Eagles.

A fielding error allowed Langston Calhoun to reach first to start the second, but a nice 6-4-3 double play cut down the runner at second before Nelson got the final out of the inning via a fly out.

Knudsen worked around a leadoff walk in the last of the second, before Nelson returned the favor in the third, working around a two-out single.

The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard in the last of the third after Moreno again singled to start the frame, moving to third on a failed pickoff attempt by Knudsen and scoring when Jake Cavender grounded out to first, giving ERAU a 1-0 lead.

BC threatened with two runners in the fourth, but Cavender started a beautiful double play to end the inning by diving to his left behind second, flipping the ball to Garcia before the Eagle second baseman fired it to first for the 6-4-3 twin killing.

Both pitchers settled in from the fourth onwards,, and despite the home team loading the bases in the sixth, Knudsen retired Moreno to end the inning as ERAU clung to a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles got some insurance in the seventh after Cavender and Liam Goodall singled and walked, respectively, to start the inning, and after a sac bunt from Velasquez, Garcia lined out to right to bring in Cavender before Matt Jacobs doubled off the fence in left to bring in Goodall for a 3-0 Eagle cushion.

Nelson surrendered a two-out walk in the eighth, but retired the Joey Underwood to end the inning before facing the minimum in the ninth to preserve the shutout.

Nelson (9-4) went all nine innings en route to the win while Knudsen (12-2) suffered just his second loss of the season, tossing eight innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits.

Moreno finished 2-for-4 with a run scored while Cavender, Garcia and Jacobs each had an RBI.

Nelson's 124.0 innings of work this season are the second-most in a single-season in program history, behind only Ausitn Quinn's 129.0 innings in 2010.