MONTGOMERY, Alabama - A seven-run fifth inning doomed the Embry-Riddle baseball team on Friday night in Montgomery as the Eagles dropped their series opener at Auburn Montgomery, 10-9. The Eagles (1-3) led 5-2 before a disastrous bottom of the fifth, but ERAU made things interesting late, scoring three in the eighth to cut the AUM (2-3) lead to one before the Warhawks got out of the jam and ERAU never threatened in the ninth.

Zach Coldsnow opened the scoring with a three-run blast in the first inning, scoring Max Law and Andrew Martinez after they both walked.

AUM got one run back in the bottom of the first off of Eagle starter Garrett Goodall, but the visitors responded by stealing a run in the third when Garrett Bogart touched home on a throwing error by the AUM catcher.

Leading 5-2 going into the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back singles against Goodall started the AUM rally and it would last for 12 total batters and three ERAU pitchers before the Eagles recorded three outs. When the dust settled, AUM had taken a commanding 9-5 lead.

The Blue and Gold got a run back in the top of the sixth on an Alex Britton single to score Nick Hoffman, but AUM took it right back with a solo homer in the next half-inning.

Both teams went quietly in the seventh, moving the contest to the eighth which began with two straight walks from Hoffman and Britton. Law singled to load the bases with one out before Josh Reynolds singled in a run, followed by a Coldsnow hit by pitch that forced in a run, and a Robert Post pinch hit walk to make it 10-9. AUM went to their closer and he got AJ Marinello to ground out back to the mound to strand three Eagles and keep a one-run Warhawk lead.

Garner Spoljaric faced the minimum in the home eighth, but so did the AUM closer in the Eagle ninth, punctuating the AUM win with a strikeout of Kevin Vittoria.

Coldsnow finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs, while both Law and Reynolds had two hits.

Casey Keller (0-1) took the loss for ERAU.

The two teams will meet up tomorrow for game two of the three-game series beginning at 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT).