WINTER PARK, Fla. – Thanks to a monster, four-run top half of the 12^th inning, the Embry-Riddle baseball team came away with a series-opening win at Rollins on Friday night. The Eagles (6-3, 1-0 SSC) earned its fourth consecutive win over the Tars (5-5, 0-1 SSC).
 
ERAU got some good offensive production out of Chase Bruno (3-for-6, 2R) and Camden Traficante (3-for-6, 2R, 2RBI), while catcher Jeremy Kennedy-Davis' (2-for 6, 1R, 3RBI) two-run home run in the seventh, his first of the year and ninth of his career, also propelled the Blue & Gold to victory.
 
Though the game went 12 frames, the Eagles used only three pitchers, all of whom found success with efficiency. Dillon Moran, went 5.1IP, 5H, 5ER, 2B, 5K, while Max Meyer (3.2IP, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) and Joe Balsam (3.0IP, 0R, 2K) kept the Tars in check in relief.
 
After both sides went two scoreless innings, the Eagles struck first in the top of the third. Earning his first start at the hot corner this season, Matthew Coker drew a leadoff walk and advanced two batters later when Alex Britton singled to left. With two on, Chase Bruno drew another walk before Camden Traficante reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Coker from third.
 
But the Tars used a pair of home runs, a three-run shot in the third and a solo homer in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead after four. But the Eagles would not go away, scoring two more in the top of the fifth.
 
Britton drew another Eagle leadoff walk, then Bruno sent a deep double to the wall, putting two in scoring position with no outs. Traficante then found a hole on the right side, plating Britton; Bruno hustled hard from second and was able to score thanks to hesitation from the second baseman trying to keep Traficante at first, quickly making it a 4-3 game.
 
Though Rollins got another run across in the sixth, charged to Moran after Meyer came on in relief, the Blue & Gold tore open the ledger in the bottom of the seventh. Jeremy-Kennedy Davis connected on his first homer of the year. Before the ERAU backstop arrived at the plate, it was Traficante who once again got things going. He doubled to right center, advanced in the next AB on a wild pitch, then came around to score on a Dillon Lifrieri ground out. From there, Coldsnow singled to right, then JKD smashed the leather off the ball in the next few pitches, making it 6-5 Eagles.
 
Though Meyer worked efficiently in relief, Rollins was able to tie up the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI double to right field for Nathan Tinder, forcing the Eagles into extra innings for the first time this season.
 
Joe Balsam came on in relief to start extra innings and sat down the Tars, 1-2-3, to keep things evened up and moving along. The Tars threatened to win it in the 11^th, with runners on the corners, but Balsam got the last out to pop up to short, after which Traficante made a great play to end the inning. 
 
Into the 12^th, the Eagles pounced again. This time Josh Reynolds, who came on as a pinch hitter, smacked a double that bounced off the wall to give ERAU an early runner in scoring position. From there, Coker laid down a perfect bunt down the left field line that moved Reynolds to third, and in the next at bat, Brazil sent a long fly to left field to plate Reynolds and move Coker to second. Britton then moved Coker to third before Bruno reached on an error by the third baseman on a tough hop making it 8-6. The Eagles felt like adding two more and did just that after Lifrieri scored Bruno on a big-time double, then a drawn walk for Kennedy-Davis made it 10-6 in quick succession.
 
With the cushion of a four-run lead, Balsam finished things off with two strikeouts in the bottom of the 12^th to secure the win.
 
The Eagles remain in Winter Park for two more against the Tars, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.