SAINT LEO, Fla. – For the second consecutive weekend, the Embry-Riddle baseball team upset a to-10 opponent, this time taking down the No. 7 Saint Leo Lions, 15-7, in game two of a Saturday doubleheader. The Eagles (15-9, 4-4 SSC) dropped game one, though nearly staging a comeback against SLU (23-4, 8-3 SSC)

Saturday Top Performers:

• Chase Bruno: 6-for-9, 6RBI, 4R, 2 2B, HR, BB
• Camden Traficante: 2-for-6, 5RBI, R, 2B, BB
• Alex Britton: 3-for-9, 3RBI, 4R
• Dillon Lifrieri: 3-for-10, RBI, 2R, HR
• Timo Aracena: 1-for-4, 4RBI, HR 
• Dillon Moran: 6.0IP, 7H, 3ER, 3K, 3BB

Game 1
Despite a nine-run deficit against the No. 7 team in the country, the Eagles battled back in the first game of the doubleheader. 
 
The Lions used six runs in the second inning and three more in the fourth to find themselves up 9-0 with more than half the game to go.
 
The Eagles clawed back in, however, starting in the sixth. After Alex Britton drew a one-out walk, Chase Bruno singled through the left side, putting runners on first and second. The pair of runners moved up in the next at bat on a wild pitch, so with two in scoring position, Camden Traficante ripped a double to left center to plate both Eagles finally denting the scoreboard.
 
Down 9-2, ERAU got itself back within three in the top of the seventh inning. After Dylan Brazil reached on a fielder's choice resulting in out number two of the inning, Britton poked a single through the right side, scoring Dillon Lifrieri from second and pushing the speedy Brazil to third. Next, Bruno smacked a double to left center scoring two more followed by another Traficante RBI, as he singled to plate Bruno, making it now 9-6 Lions.
 
But a leadoff walk came around to score in the home half of the seventh, and the Eagles mustered just one hit over the final two frames as SLU escaped with the 10-6 win.
 
Game 2
The second Saturday contest was a different story, however. ERAU put together a 15-hit campaign at the plate in front of a solid performance from Dillon Moran on the hill. For his part, Moran went 6.0 innings to pick up his third win of the year. He allowed seven hits – only four after the first inning – for three earned runs, with three walks and three strikeouts.
 
Bruno led things off with a bang, sending a deep shot to left to put the Eagles up early, 1-0. But the Lions did their worst damage on Moran in the home half. They gathered two runs on three hits, but left three on base as Moran escaped the inning with limited damage.
 
After Matthew Coker led off the second with a walk, Jeremy Kennedy-Davis singled through the right side to move Coker to second. Then Dylan Brazil reached on an error – the Lions had five errors, four were directly attributed to Brazil's speed getting to first – which scored Coker to tie things back up at 2-2.
 
After a single walk in the second, Moran didn't allow a Saint Leo hit for eight consecutive batters, allowing the Eagles to pounce in the fourth. With one out, Lifrieri sent a moonshot to left field to make it 3-2. Kennedy-Davis worked a walk in the next at bat, then after Brazil reached on another error, Britton singled to third to load the bases. Bruno sent a screaming double down the right field line, plating both Brazil and Kennedy-Davis. Then Traficante flew out to right to bring Britton home on a sacrifice fly, making it 6-2 ERAU.
 
Saint Leo grabbed a run back off a homer left center in the bottom of the fifth, but the Eagles scratched one across in the top of the sixth. Brazil again reached on an infield error, eventually coming across on another Traficante sac fly.
 
Brought in as a pinch runner in the seventh, Elias Campbell was the eighth Eagle run. He came around on a Kennedy-Davis fielder's choice, making it 8-3 heading to the seventh inning stretch. Joe Balsam came on in relief of Moran, allowing just a leadoff hit, but no further damage, striking out the last batter to move to the eighth.
 
Wanting to put things out of reach, the Eagles bats came alive again. With one out and one on, Tyler Castelli singled through the right side, moving Traficante to second. Two batters later, Timo Aracena ripped a hole in the atmosphere with a three-run homer to deep right, making it 11-3.
 
The Lions grabbed all three runs back in the next inning, however, scoring all three on two hits and an error. But in the top of the ninth, ERAU finished things off with four runs on three hits and one SLU error. Brazil reached on the error, then Britton and Bruno each singled home a run. Castelli and Aracena each added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to extend the lead to 15-6. 
 
Keagan Perez, whose brother pitches for Saint Leo and appeared in game one, allowed just one run, an RBI double, over his 2.0 innings of work. He gave up just three hits and struck out the final batter of the game to preserve the 15-7 victory.
 
The Eagles and Lions will meet to decide the series Sunday at 1 p.m.