MIAMI SHORES, Florida - The Embry-Riddle baseball team needed all 11 runs and all 180 pitches thrown by its pitching staff on Friday night to defeat (RV) Barry 11-10 in the 2023 Sunshine State Conference opener. The Eagles (5-3, 1-0 SSC) never trailed in the contest, getting contributions up and down the lineup, including a trio of long balls, while Tyler Stufano gave the Blue and Gold a strong start, holding Barry (5-2, 0-1 SSC) to just two earned runs across 5.2 innings, striking out seven.

Embry-Riddle scored in each of the first eight frames, at one point leading 9-3, but the Bucs rallied for seven runs against the ERAU bullpen over the final three innings, bringing the tying and winning runs into scoring position in the ninth before Joe Balsam got the 27th out of the night to secure his second save of the year.

Jeremy Kennedy-Davis got the scoring started with a solo home run in the top of the first inning, his first of the season, and Stufano worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the frame to keep the Eagles up a run.

Noah Clymer doubled the Eagle lead in the second, manufacturing a run by drawing a walk, stealing second, moving to third on a ground out and then scoring on a wild pitch. The Bucs would get that run back in their half of the inning, making it a 2-1 game.

After a Kennedy-Davis RBI single in the third, the home team tied things up with back-to-back RBI hits off Stufano in the bottom of the inning, but the right hander kept the game tied by getting the final two outs of the frame, striking a pair of runners on the bases.

Embry-Riddle took the lead for good in the fourth when Zach Coldsnow smacked a two-run home bomb to right center, bringing in Clymer after he had reached on an error to start the inning.

ERAU tacked on an unearned run in the fifth while Stufano settled in against the Barry lineup, working a scoreless fourth, fifth, and sixth.

Before Stufano and Casey Keller combined for a quiet bottom of the sixth, the Eagles extended their lead to 8-3 on a sacrifice fly from Camden Traficante, scoring Coldsow, and an RBI single from Timo Aracena, plating Alex Britton with one out.

Josh Reynolds hit the third Blue and Gold homer of the evening in the seventh, a towering shot to left center, pushing the ERAU advantage to its largest of the game at 9-3. But the Bucs answered quickly, scoring three runs on three hits and an Eagle error in the bottom of the seventh inning, chasing both Keller and Gunnar Harrison from the contest before either could record an out. Balsam entered with the bases loaded and still no outs but managed to pull a Houdini, getting an infield fly and then a line out double play to end the threat and the inning and keep ERAU's lead at 9-6.

The visitors added two more insurance runs in the eighth, and then would need both. Aracena doubled, scoring Traficante after he reached on an error, then scored himself on a wild pitch and subsequent throwing error by the Barry catcher.

Balsam gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth frame before the Eagle offense was finally kept off the scoreboard in their half of the ninth, sending the game to the bottom of the inning with ERAU up 11-8.

A single and two straight hit batters loaded the bases with no outs before a deep foul out down the left field line brought in one run for the Bucs. A harmless groundout to short was the second out of the inning, but the hosts extended the game with a walk and then infield single, making it 11-10 with the bases loaded and two away. Balsam's 0-1 pitch to the cleanup hitter for Barry was hit softly toward third, but Balsam was able to jump off the mound immediately, pick up the ball and turn and fire quickly to first in time to preserve the Eagles' win.

Aracena and Britton both finished with three hits in the game, while Aracena, Kennedy-Davis and Coldsnow all registered two RBIs.

The Eagles and Bucs conclude their SSC series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.