DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle softball team improved to 6-0 on Saturday, defeating St. Thomas in a doubleheader, 2-1 and 10-2. The Eagles won a pitching duel in the opener as Robi Zimmerman picked up her third win of the season, scattering five hits and allowing just one run before Kassidy Simons picked up her first collegiate save. In the day's second game, the Eagles jumped out to a 5-2 lead after one inning before ending the game early via a run-rule, 10-2 victory in five innings.

Game 1 - ERAU 2, STU 1
The Bobcats scored their only run of the contest in the first inning on an RBI sacrifice bunt. However, Zimmerman minimized the damage by leaving two STU runners with a stirkeout of Carson Catasus.

Jessica Castiglione was in the circle for STU, and proved to be effective against the Eagles' offense, but ERAU was able to tie things up in the second when Gabriela Obia registered an infield single with runners at second and third with two outs, chasing in Simons from third for the first Blue and Gold run of the afternoon.

Zimmerman settled in after giving up the lone run in the first frame, setting down the Bobcats in order in the third, and her offense gave her a lead in the last of the fourth when Kailah Rain beat out an infield single with Rae Heuer at third and Natalie Morales at second, allowing Heuer to score the go-ahead run for a 2-1 lead.

Simons relieved Zimmerman in the fifth and the freshman faced just three batters before sending the game to the home-half of the inning, and worked around a leadoff single in the sixth by inducing three straight ground balls to retire the side.

Simons once again faced the minimum in the seventh, getting three ground balls from the Bobcat batters to secure the 2-1 victory for the Eagles.

Zimmerman (3-0) got the win in four innings of work while Simons earned the save. Zimmerman also went 3-for-3 at the plate as both Rain and Obia collected RBIs.

Game 2 - ERAU 10, STU 2 (5 inn.)
In the finale, the Eagles found themselves down 2-0 after half an inning of play, but brought their bats to bear on the Bobcats pitchers, pushing across five runs in the first and four more in the fourth before a walkoff single from Haleigh Lewis gave ERAU the mercy-rule win.

Three straight STU hits off Raquelli Bianco in the first resulted in a pair of runs, but Anna Battison started things off for the Eagles in the bottom of the frame, singling on a bunt before stealing second an moving to third on a sacrifice bunt from Rain. After Bianco walked the Bobcats switched pitchers and Simons brought in both runners with a ground-rule double to left center, later scoring when Lewis doubled her in for a 3-2 lead. Obia's single moved Lewis to third and Heuer to second after Heuer walked and Natalie Morales doubled to deep right-center to account for the final two runs of the inning and a 5-2 Eagle cushion.

Neither team could score in the second or third, but after Bianco delivered a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, the Eagles pounded out six hits and pushed across four more runs, as Zimmerman, Simons, Lewis and Mckenzee Quinn all recorded RBIs for a 9-2 Eagle advantage.

Bianco ent three-up, three-down in the fifth and after two outs were made in the bottom of the inning, Zimmerman reached on an error before Simons was hit by a pitch and Lewis delivered the walk-off single up the middle, scoring Zimmerman from second for the 10-2 final.

Bianco (3-0) tossed the complete five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts in the circle. ERAU had 13 hits, as Simons and Lewis each had three base knocks and three RBIs. Bianco, Zimmerman and Simons each scored twice as well.

The Eagles face their first NCAA II opponent next weekend when they host Saint Leo Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19-20, starting with a single game Friday night at 6 p.m. and a twin bill set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.