BOCA RATON, Florida - The Embry-Riddle baseball team didn't forget their bats in Daytona Beach on Friday, as the Eagles overpowered Lynn, 15-7 in the two teams' Sunshine State Conference series opener. The Eagles (16-17, 5-11 SSC) scored the final eight runs of the game, including a massive seven-run ninth, to defeat Lynn (22-14, 9-10 SSC) on its home field.

ERAU out-hit the Fighting Knights 18-9, taking advantage of three crucial Lynn errors to score four unearned runs in the middle of the contest. The Eagles used just two pitchers in Garrett Goodall and J.C. Carrell, with the latter being magnificent in relief, getting the win in four innings, allowing just one hit and no runs on just 50 total pitches.

On the offensive side, the top and bottom of the Eagle order delivered, led by Zach Coldsnow, Jeremy Kennedy-Davis and Robert Post who all had three hits and multiple RBIs, while Andrew Martinez, Nick Hoffman, and Daniel Trillo all had two hits and two runs scored for the Blue and Gold.

The scoring started early with the Eagles taking a 3-0 lead before the Fighting Knights even came to the plate. Kennedy-Davis, Post and Garrett Bogart all collected RBIs in the frame to put the visitors up early.

After four runs for Lynn gave them the lead after three, the fourth inning belonged to the Eagles thanks to a two-out error that led to four ERAU runs, including a two-run homer from Coldsnow.

The Fighting Knights hit a pair of home runs in the fifth, tying the game. 

Carrell took over in the bottom of the sixth in the 7-7 contest, working around a one-out single to send the game to the seventh where neither team scored.
 
Kevin Vittoria scored the game-winning run in the eighth when he singled, moved around the bases on a sac bunt and then an error before touching home on a wild pitch.

The Eagles really put the game out of reach in their half of the ninth though, with the first four batters reaching safely before Vittoria collected a sac fly for the first out of the inning, making it 11-7 after RBIs from Post and Josh Reynolds. Hoffman smacked a two-run homer in the next at-bat, and Kennedy-Davis accounted for the final two runs of the day with a double, putting ERAU up 15-7.

Carrell faced just four batters in the bottom of the ninth, never really facing much of a challenge to secure the Eagles' 16th win of the year.

The two teams meet back up on Saturday for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.