SANFORD, Fla. - For six innings on Saturday night the Embry-Riddle baseball team was held mostly in check by Tiffin's Aaron George, but the Eagles broke through in the seventh and piled on in the eighth, scoring 12 runs in their last two at-bats to claim a 13-5 come-from-behind win at Sanford Memorial Stadium. The Eagles (8-10) trailed 5-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, but the Blue and Gold exploded for a dozen runs against six Dragon (5-6) pitchers to claim their second consecutive win.
The first three innings were owned by the Dragons as the Ohio-based team took advantage of three Eagle errors to score five total runs (four unearned) against Eagle starter
Kyle Marsh to take a 5-0 lead.
George, the Tiffin starter, kept the Eagles guessing with his off-speed pitch repertoire, allowing just two hits to ERAU through the first four innings.
After Marsh threw a scoreless fourth,
Daniel Agramont entered to start the fifth and he worked around a leadoff single to strike out the side, keeping the Eagle deficit to 5-0.
Kyle Guttveg gave the Eagles some life in the bottom of the fifth, hitting his first homer of the season, a solo shot to left, to get the Blue and Gold on the scoreboard.
Agramont stranded a runner at third in the sixth to keep the momentum in the ERAU dugout, but the Eagles came up empty in the bottom of the inning.
The Dragons threatened in the seventh, putting runners on the corners with one out, but Agramont coaxed a ground ball to second that
Jake Malone,
Jordan Hicks and
Justin Franklin combined on to turn an inning-ending double play.
The Eagles finally got things rolling after the seventh inning stretch, starting with Franklin getting hit by a George pitch before Malone collected an infield single. Hicks drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases and chase George from the game. Cody Orr did not fair much better when he came in in relief of George, issuing a bases-loaded walk to Guttveg to drive in the second Eagle run of the night.
Marsh came through with a big two-run single to left, making it a one-run game before Max Dakin was called upon to try and get out of the inning with the lead.
Luis Olivier walked to again load the bases and
Zach Howard stepped to the plate. Howard and Dakin did battle for 10 minutes as Howard saw nine pitches, fouling off five while working a full count before Howard rifled a pitch to left, tying the game at 5-5. The Eagles took the lead when Marsh scampered home on a wild pitch during Franklin's at-bat as ERAU went ahead for the first time in the contest.
Agramont stranded the tying run at second in the top of the eighth and his team blew the game open with a seven-run rally in the bottom of the frame.
Alex Dodd brought in two runs with a single up the middle, scoring Hicks and Guttveg after the pair walked an singled to start the inning, and ERAU kept going as Marsh, Howard, Franklin and Hicks all collected RBIs, including a two-run double from Franklin and a Hicks triple, making it 13-5.
Aidan Brady took over for Agramont in the ninth and worked a 1-2-3 inning for the Eagle victory.
Agramont (2-1) got the win in relief, throwing four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Marsh finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs, while Guttveg, Dodd, Howard and Franklin all registered two hits and two RBIs on the night.
Embry-Riddle plays host to Purdue Northwest on Tuesday, March 13 for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
