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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics

Kressler_Mosher020422_DSC04257
Ryan Mosher
6
Winner Wilmington (Del.) WILM 6-3
5
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 9-7
Winner
Wilmington (Del.) WILM
6-3
6
Final
5
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB
9-7
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Wilmington (Del.) WILM 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 2 6 7 2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 13 4

W: D. Sheehan (2-2) L: Morse, Shelby (2-6)

1
Wilmington (Del.) WILM 6-4
7
Winner Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 10-7
Wilmington (Del.) WILM
6-4
1
Final
7
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB
10-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wilmington (Del.) WILM 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 3
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 0 3 3 0 1 0 X 7 8 1

W: Kinahan, Mallory (6-1) L: B. Koehler (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | Kyrin Mayfield | @k_mayfield97

Softball Takes No. 24 Wilmington to Extras in Game One; Overwhelms Wildcats in Game Two

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The tough opponents just keep coming as the Embry-Riddle softball team split a pair of games with No. 24 Wilmington on Tuesday at Radiology Associates Field, already the fourth different ranked opponent the Eagles have played this season. 

Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning in game one, ERAU fell to the Wildcats 6-5 in extra innings. However, the Blue and Gold battled back with a dominant 7-1 game-two victory. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Embry-Riddle outhit Wilmington 21-13. The two teams found success at times with two different offensive strategies. The Eagles (10-7) used powerful swings, with heads-up base running, in an attempt to maximize every at-bat. In total, ERAU recorded four doubles and a triple in the two games. At the same time, the Wildcats (6-4) went with a small-ball approach by relying on singles and sacrifice hits to advance and score runners. Eleven of Wilmington's 13 hits were singles. The Wildcats also managed to lay down five sac bunts, all of which occurred in the first game.   


GAME 1 | No. 24 Wilmington - 6, Embry-Riddle - 5 (8 Inn.) 

A combination of brains and brawn allowed the Eagles to jump out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning. Mahaliyah Sandridge started with a leadoff double and later swiped a bag. Mia Macchia then moved to second on a walk and stolen base. Sandridge managed to score the first run when Karina Ortiz-Munoz sent a ground ball to third. Up next, Delaney Morgan laid a bunt down, but Macchia distracted the Wildcat defense on third, which allowed Morgan to safely reach first and grab second while Wilmington wasn't looking. A Lauren Latoria single brought Macchia in to score, and Raissa Bianco capped off the outburst with a single to the shortstop to plate Morgan. 

After the Eagles sent Wilmington down in order in the second, an error put a Wildcat on base with one out in the third, but a popped bunt to Kelsey Kressler at third started a double play as Kressler then speared a throw to first because the runner did not tag up and was well off the bag. Ortiz-Munoz caught the throw, and the inning was over. 

Wilmington fought back in the third with a pair of runs in the fourth to close the gap to 3-2, but the Eagles' lead was increased in the bottom half of the inning when Sandridge recorded another double and ran home following an errant throw from the right fielder in an attempt to nail the junior out at third. 

Unfortunately, the Wildcats slowly ate into ERAU's advantage, scoring one run in both the fifth and sixth innings to tie the score. A leadoff double from Leah Oberkehr in the bottom of the sixth made it appear as though the Blue and Gold would retake the lead, but the following three Eagle hitters were unable to advance the freshman any further. 

Neither team could drum up any offense in the seventh, which sent the game into extra innings. A throwing error coupled with two singles gave Wilmington its first lead, 6-4, of the afternoon, but all hope was not lost. 

The Eagles got a two-out rally going with base knocks from Sandride, Macchia and Ortiz-Munoz. Sandridge crossed the plate on Ortiz-Munoz' hit, and a wild throw by the right fielder enabled Macchia, the potential tying run, to reach third. Morgan walked to load the bases, but the comeback fell short on a 4-3 groundout to end the game. 

Sandridge recorded her third three-hit game of the season after going 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs. Her two doubles were her 18th and 19th in her career, tied for the eighth most in program history with Kassidy Simmons and Katy Thompson. Macchia (2-for-4 with a run), Ortiz-Munoz (2-for-5 with two RBIs), and Latoria (2-for-5 with one RBI) also produced multi-hit efforts. The offenses' four doubles marked just the 23rd time in program history the Eagles produced four or more two-base hits. They helped ERAU reach a new single-game season-high hit total of 13. 

Kressler stayed busy at the hot corner, notching seven assists, the most by an Eagle this season. Despite a solid performance in the circle, Shelby Morse (2-6) received the loss after allowing six runs, only four of which were earned, on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts. 


GAME 2 | No. 24 Wilmington - 1, Embry-Riddle - 7

ERAU's offensive onslaught continued in game two. Though the Eagles didn't break into the scoring column in the first inning, they did plate a trio of runs in the second. Three consecutive singles from Emma Wood, Latoria and Kressler brought Wood around to score. Bianco then sent a ball right back to the pitcher, who overthrew the first baseman, allowing a pair of Eagles to come home for runs two and three.

Embry-Riddle doubled its score one frame later. Macchia started with a single and moved all the way to third on a double steal with Ortiz-Munoz, who reached base thanks to a hit-by-pitch. An error by the third baseman brought Macchia in to score, and then Ortiz-Munoz followed suit on a wild pitch. Kressler stepped in and unloaded on a pitch to deep left field, which landed over the head of the left fielder. The Melbourne, Florida, native stepped on the gas and raced all the way to third for a triple, her first of the season, while Wood easily touched home. 

Mallory Kinahan's no-hit bid was broken up in the fourth on a single to second base, but the Eagle defense made up for the allowed hit when the next batter grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, fielded by Sandridge, Bianco and Ortiz-Munoz. 

Bianco flashed the leather once again in the fifth with runners on the corners and no outs. She snagged a line drive out of the air and quickly threw to third to double up the runner who was off the bag. 

A sacrifice fly from Latoria in the fifth was deep enough to allow Morgan to tag up and score from third, and even though Wilmington did end the shutout with a run in the sixth, the 7-1 lead was more than enough of a cushion to hang on for the victory. 

Kressler (2-for-3 with one run and two RBIs) and Wood (2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI) had the hot bats in game two. It was Wood's second multi-hit performance of the season and Kressler's first. Macchia improved her hitting streak to eight games while Ortiz-Munoz pushed her reached-base streak to 15 contests in a row.

Mallory Kinahan (6-1) was dominant in the win, limiting the Wildcats to one run on six hits with no walks and a strikeout. The sophomore has only allowed two earned runs over her previous 19 innings of work. Also, Kinahan picked up her 15th complete game, moving her into a tie with Lisa Hop for the eighth most in a career in program history. 

The victory was ERAU's 20th against a ranked foe and third of the season. Eleven of those have come at home. 

The Eagles continue their 11-game homestand and Sunshine State Conference play with a three-game series against No. 3 Tampa. Game one is scheduled for Friday, March 3 at 6 p.m.
 
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