MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Forced to play a doubleheader because of impending weekend weather, the Embry-Riddle baseball team split Saturday with Auburn Montgomery. The Eagles (4-2) took game one, 4-2, while the Warhawks (2-4) took the second game, 7-6, on Friday at AUM's Baseball Complex.
 
Game 1
The Eagles scored twice in the opening frame to put the Warhawks on their heels early. Chase Bruno reached on an error, and after a Camden Traficante single to left, found himself on third. With runners at the corners, Dillon Lifrieri reached on a fielder's choice that moved the runners up, then Zach Coldsnow sent a deep shot to right to get Traficante across, making it 2-0.
 
With Dillon Moran on the mound, the Eagles flashed the leather behind him. Moran worked for 6.0 innings giving up just one run on six hits, two walks and a strikeout. The Friday starter got 10 Warhawks to fly out to ERAU's experienced outfield, and six to ground out, mostly to the left side of the field.
 
Neither side saw more than one baserunner apiece until the bottom of the fifth when AUM plated its first of the day, not before Jeremy Kennedy-Davis sniped a runner taking off from first for his caught stealing second of the year.
 
The Warhawks tied things up in the bottom of the seventh inning after Max Meyer came on in relief. A tough single up the middle out of reach of both Traficante and Bruno gave way to Meyer's only blemish. He pitched well down the stretch, going 3.0 innings giving up just three hits, the one run on no walks and two strikeouts to earn the win.
 
The eighth inning was big for the Eagles, who scraped together a pair of runs off the bat of Lifrieri. Alex Britton led the inning off with a big double to right, and advanced ahead to third during Bruno's at bat on a wild pitch. Later, Traficante was intentionally walked, subsequently stealing second. Lifrieri then sent a shot to left field that was able to score both Eagles, making it 4-2. ERAU held firm down the stretch. Meyer rung up a pair in the eighth and got AUM to go 1-2-3 in the ninth to seal the victory.
 
Game 2
In reverse order, Auburn Montgomery was the first to dent the ledger in game two. After starter John Barone did well to get to gound out and pop up, the Warhawks used a walk followed by back-to-back home runs to take an early 3-0 advantage.
 
AUM added two more in the bottom of the second, deepening the hole the Eagles found themselves in. After two more scoreless frames for both sides, the Blue & Gold struck for the first time in the top of the fifth.
 
Robert Post, earning the start at first base, poked one through the left side to start things off. After Alex Imposimato, doing the catching in game two, was hit by a pitch, Dylan Brazil nearly beat out an infield single, but advanced both runners ahead. Britton grounded to first, but again everyone moved ahead and Post crossed home. Bruno then ripped a single up the middle to score Imposimato, making it 5-2. 
 
The Eagles scored a run in the seventh (Post coming home on a wild pitch) and in the eighth, when Traficante boomed a double, during which Bruno scored on an errant throw from right field.
 
Down a run heading into the ninth, the Eagles attacked. AJ Marinello drew a leadoff walk, then Brazil worked a walk after squaring up three times. With two on, Bruno singled up the middle again, a repeat from the fifth inning, that scored Elias Campbell, who came on to pinch run for Marinello. Then Lifrieri sent a deep sacrifice fly to center to put the Eagles up, 6-5.
 
But AUM used two hits and an ERAU error to walk things off, 7-6, in the bottom of the ninth.
 
The two teams will square off Saturday afternoon in a rubber match to decide the series.