VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Embry-Riddle softball team dropped a tough doubleheader to No. 8 Valdosta State on Thursday at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park. The Eagles (6-5) allowed a combined nine home runs in the pair of games to a hard-hitting Blazer (9-2) squad that was averaging the most long balls per game in the NCAA II at 1.9. 


GAME 1 | Embry-Riddle - 2, No. 8 Valdosta State - 7

The Blazers showed just how powerful of a team they are when the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first blasted a ball to left center field that bounced off the top of the fence and over for a solo shot. The Eagles remained poised defensively and turned a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Valdosta State did the exact same thing to start the second inning when a Blazer batter homered to straightaway center, putting Embry-Riddle behind 2-0. VSU then tacked on another in the third frame.

Still hitless, the Eagles were looking for any kind of production at the plate. It was a tall task trying to piece something together offensively against VSU's ace, Samantha Richards, who had a minuscule 0.99 WHIP entering the series. However, ERAU found what it was searching for in the fourth when Emma Wood singled with one out. Karina Ortiz-Munoz then stepped in and extended her swing as far as she could to reach a pitch on the right side of the strike zone. The junior made solid contact and blasted the ball into the woods beyond right field for her second home run of the season to bring the Eagles within one run at 3-2. 

The home runs kept coming when the Blazers knocked another pitch out of the park in the fifth. In the sixth, Embry-Riddle did its best to keep the deficit at just two runs. Raissa Bianco lunged to her left to make an incredible diving stop at third and rob VSU of a hit. Unfortunately, the Blazers added three runs after that play and pushed the Eagles behind 7-2. 

Ortiz-Munoz supplied all the scoring, going 1-for-3 with a run and a season-high two RBIs. Her third-career home run moved her into a tie for the 10th-most all-time in program history. Wood, Mia Macchia, and Kelsey Kressler also notched hits in the game. Shelby Morse (1-4) started in the circle and was tagged with the loss after lasting 5.2 innings and allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks. She also picked up a pair of strikeouts. Ava Domenici also made a pitching appearance. She got the final out of the sixth after allowing a hit. Additionally, Serenity Jaenichen made her way into the starting lineup for the first time in 2023.


GAME 2 | Embry-Riddle - 2, No. 8 Valdosta State - 11 (6 Innings)

Embry-Riddle performed much better offensively to begin game two. The first two Eagles reached base, although a double play during the following at-bat would leave ERAU with just a runner on second and two outs. Thankfully, Delaney Morgan came up clutch with a base hit up the middle to bring Wood home for the opening run. In the bottom half of the inning, Morgan made another impact play, this time in the field. She sprinted after a weak fly ball to shallow right field and slid to grab the ball inches before it would have touched the grass. 

A home run by the Blazers in the next inning tied things up, but the Eagles quickly jumped back in front in the top of the third. Mahaliyah Sandridge led off with a double that bounced all the way to the left field fence. Wood then sent a chopper over the first baseman into right, and Sandridge sped all the way home to regain the lead 2-1. 

ERAU continued to threaten with two runners in scoring position and just one out, but VSU put their game-one starter, Richards, back in the game and the Eagles were unable to add any additional runs. 

Sadly, the lead didn't last long as the Blazers used three home runs in the bottom of the third to make the score 7-2 in favor of the home team. From there on out, Embry-Riddle struggled to manufacture runs while Valdosta State added four more throughout the game, capping off with a walk-off two-run home run in the sixth to end the contest via the mercy rule.

Morgan and Wood were the primary offensive threats in game two. Morgan was a perfect 2-for-2 with an RBI while Wood went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, her first multi-hit performance of the season. 

Mallory Kinahan (3-1) received the loss after tossing three innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits and no walks. She also notched two strikeouts. Wood took over in the circle in the fourth inning. The freshman gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. 

In the field, Ortiz-Munoz tallied 11 total putouts on the night, giving her 309 for her career which moved her from ninth to seventh on the program's career putouts list. Ortiz-Munoz also increased her reached-base streak to a team-best nine games.

Also of note, Seneca Sowers received her first action of the year with a pinch-hit opportunity in the sixth inning. 

There's no rest for the Eagles as the team heads to Columbus, Georgia, for the NFCA DII Leadoff Classic on Friday and Saturday. ERAU begins the tournament with a rematch against RV Wingate at 3 p.m. and then a meeting with Le Moyne at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 4-3 earlier in the year at the Panther Invitational thanks to a come-from-behind four-run seventh inning. This will be the first-ever meeting between Embry-Riddle and Le Moyne.