CLERMONT, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle softball team eliminated No. 20 Thomas from The Sun Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon with a 7-1 victory, and the Eagles appeared poised to knock out No. 17 South Carolina Beaufort in the nightcap before the Sand Sharks mounted a furious comeback with four runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to win the game, 6-5, ending ERAU's season. The Blue and Gold finish the year with a 25-21 mark, setting a new program record for wins in a season.
Game 1 - ERAU 7, TU 1
Despite not scoring a single run in either regular season game against Thomas, the Eagles looked full of confidence from the first pitch of the game, batting around in the top of the first and scoring four runs. Kailah Rain led off with a single and Raquelli Bianco and Taylor Cowan followed with singles to load the bases. Talia Barraco kept the hit parade going, singling in Rain to open the scoring. Victoria Reed drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0 and Robi Zimmerman drove in Barraco and Cowan with a two-run single to put the Eagles up 4-0.
Bianco kept the Night Hawks offense in check through the first four innings, allowing ERAU to maintain its four-run lead. The Eagles added two more runs in the fifth on bases-loaded walks issued to Zimmerman and Rae Heuer, increasing the Eagle lead to 6-0.
TU got on the board in the bottom of the fifth but Bianco limited the damage to just one run, keeping the Eagles in front by a comfortable 6-1 margin.
Rain gave the Blue and Gold an insurance run in the seven with a two-out RBI single and Bianco pitched around a pair of singles in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 7-1 win for Embry-Riddle.
Bianco (16-8) got the complete game win, allowing one run on nine hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. Barraco went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI while Zimmerman was 1-for-3 with three RBIs and Rain was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
Ashley Sikes (15-7) took the loss, giving up seven runs on 12 hits in 5.1 innings, walking one and striking out two. Alex VanWagner went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored and Carmen Nadal went 1-for-1 with two walks and an RBI.
Game 2 - USCB 6, ERAU 5 (8 inn.)
The Blue and Gold continued its string of starting strong, scoring in the top of the first for the third straight game. Rain led off with a double to left and came around to score two batters later on a Cowan RBI double, giving ERAU a 1-0 lead.
Mariaha Sanborn tied things up with a solo home run in the second, which would be the only scoring until the fifth.
Heuer opened the fifth with a solid single up the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt laid down by Rain. Bianco followed with a base hit to move Heuer to third, and Cowan delivered a two-out RBI single to center to score Heuer. Cowan's hit was misplayed by the center fielder, which allowed Bianco to score and Cowan to advance all the way to third base. Barraco made it a 4-1 game with a base hit to drive in Cowan with the third and final run of the inning.
The score remained 4-1 until the seventh, when the Eagles tacked on another run to make it 5-1.
The Sand Sharks mounted a furious comeback in the bottom of the seventh, stringing together five hits and taking advantage of a costly Eagle error to score four times, tying the game at 5-5.
After Embry-Riddle went down in order in the eighth, USCB used two singles and another ERAU miscue to push across the game-winning run. Maddie Byrd delivered the walk-off single over the head of Cowan in left field with one out and the bases loaded, allowing Missy Hughes to score the winning run.
Bianco (16-9), who pitched every inning of the tournament for the Blue and Gold, took the complete game loss, allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits, walking two and striking out three. She was also 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored at the plate, while Cowan was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored, and Barraco was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year Kristy Cook (22-4) got the complete game win, giving up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Taylor Triplett was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while Sanborn was 1-for-3 with a solo homer and Sammi Shaffren was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
The Eagles conclude their final NAIA season with an overall record of 25-21. Embry-Riddle finished fourth in The Sun Conference with an 8-8 league record and end the tournament as the fourth-place finishing team as well.
