ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle softball team participated in the first half of Flagler's mini-tournament on Saturday.
After a strong 11-3 win against Flagler, the Eagles lost a heartbreaker in the bottom of the seventh against Newberry (6-1), 5-4.
Flagler took advantage of three Eagle errors to get out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. ERAU (2-4) capitalized on Flagler (3-5) miscues in the second to answer back in a big way. Two Saint errors set the table for a
Callie Rodriguez double that put the Eagles on the board. ERAU would plate another run via a Flagler error before
Maggie Scott cleared the bases with an RBI triple. The Blue and Gold took a 5-3 lead and never looked back.
Lisa Hop was the starter in the circle for game one. After the troublesome first inning, she would not allow another hit by the Saints until the seventh inning. The Eagles would continue to provide run support. A bases-loaded walk increased ERAU's lead to 6-3 in the third.
In the top of the fifth,
Savannah Brockenbrough launched her first collegiate home run over the centerfield fence to tack on another run for the Eagles. A
Jamie Mead RBI single and a fielder's choice would make the score 9-3 at the end of the sixth inning. The Blue and Gold continued to pile on in the seventh.
Lia Johnson's RBI double and
Katy Thompson's RBI single increased the lead to 11-3.
Hop allowed a walk and a double in the seventh, but she kept them stranded on the bases. Hop earned her first win of the season, pitching all seven innings and striking out nine Flagler batters.
Rodriguez lead the Eagle offense with 2 RBIs and two runs. Johnson tallied three runs, a hit and an RBI. Mead added two runs and an RBI of her own.
In game two, the Eagles got to play with a lead.
Mariana Pereira's RBI single put ERAU ahead 1-0 in the third inning. In the fourth inning,
Meritxell Blesa drove in Reanne Drayton with an RBI single of her own to increase the lead to 2-0.
Jayla Jackson got off to a hot start in the circle. She did not allow a hit until the fourth inning. Even then, she was able to work out of a jam with two runners on base to preserve her shutout going into the fifth.
With two outs and two runners on base in the top of the fifth, the Eagles looked to add to their lead. Brockenbrough's groundball to third was fielded cleanly, but the first baseman could not handle the throw, allowing Pereira to score. Drayton followed with a single to left field to set up Rodriguez's RBI single which increased the lead to 4-0.
The Wolves refused to go away. Two runs scored on three hits in the bottom of the fifth, cut the ERAU lead in half. Newberry was held scoreless in the sixth, but it would not go away quietly in the final frame.
After two quick outs, an error by the Eagles extended the inning. A single gave the Wolves runners on first and second. Another single loaded the bases, but an errant throw into the infield allowed the runners to advance and Newberry's third run of the game to score. Hop was tasked with facing the last Newberry batter. The Wolves were down to their last strike, but a 2 RBI double would capture a 5-4 walk-off win for Newberry.
Pereira, Drayton and Blesa had two hits each. Jackson finished with 6.2 innings pitched. She gave up just two earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.
The Eagles will compete in the second half of the tournament on Sunday. A rematch against Newberry will start at 1:30 p.m. followed by a matchup with Flagler at 4 p.m.
