DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
Corey Tufts struck out 10 and tossed his first complete game of 2016 with a 5-3 win over Florida Memorial on a chilly Friday night at Sliwa Stadium. The Eagles (3-1) took the series opener from the Lions (0-2) with just six hits as
Jonathan Camp scored three of the team's five runs while Tufts improved to 2-0 on the year, by allowing just five hits and without issuing a walk.
The senior right-hander from Clermont left two Lions on base in the top of the first before his FMU counterpart, Ruben Sanchez, breezed through the first three Eagles he faced as the game moved to the second without a score. But after Tufts set down Florida Memorial in order in the second his team gave him a 1-0 lead when
Kyle Zirbes reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, bringing home Camp from third. But that was all the hosts would get in the inning, and both starters settled in from there, posting scoreless innings until the home-half of the fifth.
Logan Malphurs, who finished 2-for-3, singled to start the frame, and after stealing second, scored when
Liam Goodall drove a pitch down the left field line for a double. Goodall then swiped third, and when the throw from the catcher sailed high, the Eagle senior touched home for a 3-0 Blue and Gold lead. Camp would score what would prove to be the winning run a few batters later, crossing the plate after a
Joshua Garcia single and subsequent throwing error from the Lion catcher, making it 4-0 in favor of Embry-Riddle.
Tufts delivered two straight 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh, but ran into some trouble in the eighth when Florida Memorial trimmed the ERAU lead to 4-3 thanks to a hit batter and three base hits in the frame. After a Giancarlo Garlobo soft single to center scored the third run of the inning, Tufts was able to pick him off as he tried to steal second base and two pitches later struck out Kevin Gonzalez to end the inning with the lead intact.
ERAU got an insurance run in the last of the eighth when Camp scored from second on a Garcia fly ball to right that was caught by the right fielder, but dropped on the transfer, allowing Camp to come all the way around, making it 5-3 Embry-Riddle.
Tufts faced the minimum in the ninth, fanning the first two Lion batters before a weak ground ball to second from Brian Gonzalez ended the contest.
Tufts threw just 103 pitches in the complete game effort while Sanchez (0-1) was tagged with the loss in six innings of work. Christian Benhart tossed the final two frames for Florida Memorial.
Camp scored three times for the Eagles while both Garcia and Malphurs collected a pair of hits and Goodall and Zirbes grabbed an RBI each.
The Eagles and Lions meet for a doubleheader tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. Both games are slated as seven inning contests.
