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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics

Ortiz-Munoz_020324_594A4613
Cornnell Chu
0
Saginaw Valley SVSU 4-4
5
Winner Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 10-7
Saginaw Valley SVSU
4-4
0
Final
5
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB
10-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Saginaw Valley SVSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 0 0 3 0 1 1 X 5 10 1

W: Kinahan, Mallory (3-2) L: A. Muench (1-2)

1
Wilmington (Del.) WU 3-4
2
Winner Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 11-7
Wilmington (Del.) WU
3-4
1
Final
2
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB
11-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Wilmington (Del.) WU 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 0
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 11 2

W: Morse, Shelby (3-3) L: K. Gunkel (2-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | Kyrin Mayfield | @k_mayfield97

Softball Upsets No. 11 Wilmington 2-1 in Extras, Shuts Out Saginaw Valley State 5-0

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A combination of stout pitching, impeccable defense, and timely hitting allowed the Embry-Riddle softball team to pick up two valuable wins on Saturday at Radiology Associates Field. The Eagles shut out Saginaw Valley State 5-0 to start the day, the team's third shutout win of the season, and followed it up with a 2-1 upset victory over No. 11 Wilmington in the ninth inning. 

Embry-Riddle (11-7) pitching held opponents to just one run over 16 total innings while the offense amassed seven runs and 21 hits. Karina Ortiz-Munoz, Kerry O'Sullivan, and Raissa Bianco tallied four hits each over the two games while the two starting pitchers, Mallory Kinahan and Shelby Morse, gave up one unearned run over 15 combined innings.


Embry-Riddle - 5, Saginaw Valley State - 0

The visitors threatened to score in each of the first five innings, but the Eagle defense didn't break, stranding multiple Cardinals (4-4) on base on three occasions. With two runners in scoring position and only one out in the first, shortstop O'Sullivan kept SVSU off the board by fielding a ground ball and slinging it home to Isabelle Bonn to tag a runner attempting to score. 

ERAU was then in position to strike first in the bottom of the inning when Lauren Latoria singled to second and Ortiz-Munoz doubled to left center to put two on with two outs, but a pop-up kept the contest scoreless. 

Yet again, Saginaw Valley had a pair of runners on with two outs in the second, but starting pitcher Kinahan caught the next batter window shopping to preserve the tie. 

The Eagles got something going in the bottom of the third. Latoria walked and Ortiz-Munoz slapped her second double of the game down the left field line to put two on. Delaney Morgan perfectly laid down a sacrifice squeeze bunt that rolled halfway down the first base line to allow Kinahan to score the opening run. Two batters later, Bonn picked the perfect time to pick up her first hit and RBIs of the season, sending a single to center to plate Ortiz-Munoz and Morgan for a 3-0 Eagle lead.

Embry-Riddle's defense shined in the fifth with multiple big plays. After two singles started the frame, O'Sullivan fielded a ground ball, applied the tag to the runner advancing to third, and threw to first for a 6-3 double play. Almost immediately after, the Cardinals singled to Mia Macchia in left. The veteran charged toward the ball, picked it up, and used her cannon to nail a runner at home attempting to score for the final out of the inning. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Morgan sent a moonshot over the left field fence for her second home run of the season and fourth of her career, moving her into a tie for the ninth most all-time. 

Another insurance run was added in the sixth when an Addison Orr single to right brought Bianco in for a fifth unanswered run. 

It was fitting for the game to then end on a top-notch defensive play. Bianco corralled a grounder, tagged the runner sprinting to second, and threw to first for a game-ending double play in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. 

Ortiz-Munoz was the lone Eagle with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run to become the fourth member of the Blue and Gold this year to notch a pair of two-baggers in a single game. Morgan added two runs and two RBIs with a 1-for-2 mark, and Bonn finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs. 

Kinahan (W, 3-2) continues to resemble last year's form, tossing six scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Emma Wood closed the game out in the circle with a one-hit seventh frame. It was her 26th career win, moving the junior into a tie for the fifth most in a career. 


Embry-Riddle - 2, No. 11 Wilmington - 1

The second game of the day was all about defense. It took three-and-a-half innings before a team broke into the run column. Ortiz-Munoz used her fourth double of the day to get into scoring position with two outs. Wood found some space in right field to push Ortiz-Munoz home, making the game 1-0 Eagles. 

Wilmington (3-4) never even reached third base until the seventh inning when a fielding error put the leadoff batter on. Two bunt singles then loaded the bases with no outs, and a wild pitch tied the game. Thankfully, a lineout and groundout with two on limited the Wildcats to just a single run. 

Base knocks by O'Sullivan and Bianco gave Embry-Riddle hope for a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh, but a groundout sent the game to extras, a first for the Eagles this season. 

Trouble was brewing in the top of the ninth. A leadoff single to right and a stolen base quickly had the go-ahead run on second with nobody out. A sac bunt advanced the runner to third, but Morse induced a strike-three whiff for the second out and then got the next batter to ground out to leave the runner on third.

Orr stepped in to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth and found a gap in left field. Kelsey Kressler came in to run and moved to third on an O'Sullivan single and Bianco groundout. Looking for her first hit of the game, Macchia waited for the perfect time to earn it by sending a line drive just out of the reach of the outstretched arm of Wilmington's shortstop and into left for her third-career walk-off hit as Kressler scored the winning run. 

It marked the program's 23rd win against a ranked opponent, seventh win over a top-11 team, 31st walk-off victory, and 14th extra-inning win. 

A pair of Eagles earned their first career triple-hit games as O'Sullivan went 3-for-4 and Bianco finished 3-for-5. Ortiz-Munoz once again produced two doubles, giving her four on the day and 23 in her career, which is tied for the seventh most all-time. 

Morse (W, 3-3) pitched a complete game to become just the eighth Eagle to throw for nine or more innings in a single contest. She allowed one run, which was unearned, on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts. 

In the field, Kressler's six assists on the day tied her for third on the all-time list with 169 in her career. 

It's a busy week next week for Embry-Riddle as the Eagles are slated to play six games in three days starting with a pair of contests on Tuesday, March 5. ERAU is scheduled to battle Lander at 4 p.m. and Assumption at 6 p.m.
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