DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle softball team took both ends of a doubleheader against Florida Tech on Saturday. The Eagles improve their season record to 7-10 and the Panthers drop to 10-11.
GAME ONE - ERAU 4, FIT 3
The Eagles began the game with two unearned runs in the first inning when an FIT error put
Kendall Funk on base and brought in
Anna Battison and
Maggie Scott.
Kassidy Simons faced the minimum through the first three innings but the Panthers managed to score a run in the fourth to cut the Eagles' lead to 2-1.
In the fifth inning,
Eryn Chester reached first with a single, was advanced by Battison's sacrifice bunt and was driven in by Simons' double to build the Eagle lead to 3-1.
FIT knotted the game in the sixth inning with two runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, Chester singled and then Battison reached on an error that allowed Chester to come home with the game-winning run.
Simons pitched the first five innings and gave up three runs off of three hits and struck out six.
Ilona Andringa (5-4) earned the win after pitching the final two innings and gave up only two hits and had four strikeouts. Chester finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored while Battison was 1-for-1 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.
GAME TWO - ERAU 6, FIT 1
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a solo home run. Following the home run, the Eagle pitching staff allowed just four Panthers to reach base over the final 5.2 innings.
The Blue and Gold put runners on in every inning but did not push through a run until the fifth when Scott's long single brought Chester home from second and put runners on the corners. Funk followed with a base hit that scored Simons, giving ERAU a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth inning, Scott knocked in
Hannah Thomas and then with the bases loaded, Funk smacked a triple to clear the bases that put the Eagles up 6-1.
After a three-up, three-down seventh inning, the Eagles sealed their 6-1 victory over Florida Tech.
Andringa (6-4) earned the win, pitching five innings and giving up three hits and one run with seven strikeouts. Simons got her first save of the season tossing a perfect final two innings with one strikeout. Chester went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Funk finished 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs.
