DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a back-and-forth contest at Sliwa Stadium Tuesday night, the Embry-Riddle baseball team used five runs in the third and four more in the seventh to pull away from Edward Waters, 11-7. The Eagles (5-3) used 14 hits on the night to secure the win over the Tigers (4-3) in the front end of a split-series between the two sides. ERAU and EWU will meet again in April.
 
Both Alex Britton and Drew Clymer found success at the plate with three hits apiece, the latter of whom missed hitting for the cycle by a home run. Chase Bruno, however, did connect on a long ball in the seventh, the second home run for the Eagles on the year.
 
On the mound, EWU used a de facto bullpen day, throwing 10 pitchers at ERAU, none of whom lasted longer than an inning. On the Blue & Gold side, the middle and late relief of Joe Balsam and Max Meyer shut down the Tigers completely, combining for nine strikeouts between them in just six innings of work. Meyer picked up the win and moves to 3-0 to start his Eagle career. Keagan Perez made his first start on the hill for the Blue & Gold this season, going 2.0IP yielding five hits and one earned run with a strikeout. Isaiah Eberheart saw three batters in the seventh in his third appearance of the year.
 
It was the Tigers who dented the scoreboard first off Perez in the opening frame, collecting an early sacrifice fly to go up 1-0. In the bottom of the inning, Zach Coldsnow repaid the favor, sending a deep sac fly to left to even the ledger.
 
In the second and third, EWU added three more in precarious ways, using two ERAU errors to make it a 4-1 game early. But the home half of the third proved fruitful for the Eagles in a big way. Dillon Lifrieri drew his team-best ninth walk of the year to open things up, and the floodgates opened. Traficante added his ninth walk of the season in the next at bat, then Coldsnow powered a single to right to load the bases for Jeremy Kennedy-Davis. The Eagle catcher then sent a screamer to center field, plating Traficante and Lifrieri, before Timo Aracena laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up a station with one out. Soon after, Clymer boomed a triple down the right field line to score two more, and Bruno sent him across on a sacrifice fly to deep center. After the busy frame, the Eagles held a 6-4 advantage.
 
Before Meyer began to work the hill, ERAU added what seemed like an insurance run in the sixth, as Lifrieri plated Dylan Brazil to make it 7-4. But the Tigers tied things up in the seventh off Meyer as Thompson singled with the bases loaded, but all three runners moved across the plate due to an ERAU error, making it 7-7.
 
But Clymer sent a loud double to center in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Aracena, then Bruno collected his home run, sending a moonshot across campus, moving the Eagles' lead to 10-7. Lifrieri earned his second RBI of the evening later in the frame, sending a sac fly to right, scoring Britton to make it 11-7.
 
Meyer dominated the final innings to collect the victory for Embry-Riddle, overpowering the Tigers' offense in the end.
ERAU will enjoy nine days off before heading to 2023 national runner up and SSC foe Rollins for a three game set in Winter Park starting Feb. 23.