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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Athletics

Bain_Morse_050724_K2A7469
Austin Dohl-Pantaleo
4
King (Tenn.) KING 13-7
9
Winner Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 15-8
King (Tenn.) KING
13-7
4
Final
9
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB
15-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
King (Tenn.) KING 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 12 3
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 2 1 2 0 1 3 X 9 11 0

W: Morse, Shelby (5-3) L: M. Duncan (4-2) S: Wood, Emma (2)

0
King (Tenn.) KING 13-8
3
Winner Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 16-8
King (Tenn.) KING
13-8
0
Final
3
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB
16-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
King (Tenn.) KING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) ERAUSB 1 0 1 1 0 0 X 3 4 0

W: Kinahan, Mallory (5-2) L: N. Counts (3-3)

Game Recap: Softball | | Kyrin Mayfield | @k_mayfield97

Softball Calls Checkmate in 9-4, 3-0 Sweep of King

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle softball team pushed its winning streak to five games with a 9-4, 3-0 doubleheader sweep over King on Thursday at Radiology Associates Field. It was the first ever meeting between the two programs, and it capped off a stretch of six games in three days for the Blue and Gold (16-8). 

The offense stayed hot in game one, recording double digit hits (11) for the fourth straight contest while the defense was the focal point in game two, holding the Tornado (13-8) scoreless with just four hits.


GAME 1 | Embry-Riddle - 9, King - 4

A leadoff triple combined with a walk and a stolen base had the first two Tornadoes on with no outs. However, starting pitcher Shelby Morse and the ERAU defense did a fantastic job of stranding the two runners with a pop up, strikeout and groundout. 

Though recording hits is effective, it's not always necessary to score as Embry-Riddle proved in the bottom half of the inning. Raissa Bianco reached on a fielding error by the pitcher and stole second. A ball-four wild pitch put Emma Wood on base and moved Bianco to third. The moment Wood reached first she caught the defense sleeping and sprinted to second. 

A second errant pitch allowed Bianco to score and moved Wood to third. With two outs, Katriana Bain launched a ball to right for a sac fly to score Wood, giving the Eagles two runs despite not recording a hit.

Fast-forward to the bottom of the second, and Embry-Riddle added a third run when Kerry O'Sullivan singled to left and Bianco drilled a fly ball to center that the fielder allowed to pop out of her glove. 

Morse got back to work in the third, striking out back-to-back batters to end the inning. Then the bats got right back to work. Delaney Morgan singled to third and advanced to second on a fielding error by the third baseman on a ball put in play by Karina Ortiz-Munoz. Both runners moved over 60 feet on a flyout, and Lauren Latoria allowed Morgan to touch home on her groundout. Morse followed with a single up the middle to plate Ortiz-Munoz, and the Eagles possessed a 5-0 advantage. 

The top of the fifth saw Morgan make an outstanding sliding catch in center field. Then Morse started the bottom of the inning with a bang, literally. She smashed a pitch off the light pole past the left field fence for her first career home run. 

However, the 6-0 lead was trimmed to 6-4 in the top of the sixth. King started the frame with four straight singles and a triple to score four times. Mia Macchia prevented an additional runner from scoring when she nailed a Tornado at home from left field. With one out and a runner on third, O'Sullivan caught a line drive and doubled the Tornado up by throwing the baserunner out at third for a double play. 

The home team fought back in the bottom of the sixth. Morgan notched a leadoff double and Ortiz-Munoz was beamed by a pitch. That set up Bain for a two-RBI double to make it an 8-4 game. The scoring concluded when pinch runner Parker Ray touched home on Syndey Linn's single through the right side. 

Nine different Eagles tallied a hit led by Morse's 2-for-3 outing with two RBIs and a run. Morgan also earned a pair of hits in two at-bats with two runs. Ortiz-Munoz scored twice during her 1-for-3 day at the plate, and Bain (1-for-2) tied her career high in RBIs with three.

Bianco led the way on the basepaths with two of the team's four stolen bases.

In the circle, Morse earned win number five on the year, allowing four runs over 5.1 innings with a season-high four strikeouts. Wood picked up her second save of the season, becoming just the third pitcher in program history to achieve two or more saves in a season. She tossed the final 1.2 innings and gave up no runs with two hits and a strikeout. 


GAME 2 | Embry-Riddle - 3, King - 0

Game two was more tame than the first. Fresh off her no-hitter, Mallory Kinahan appeared as if she would throw back-to-back no-no's as the junior retired the first seven batters in order with three strikeouts. ERAU developed a strategic plan to score first in the first inning. Morgan sent a two-out triple to right and Ortiz-Munoz followed with a walk. Ortiz-Munoz acted as if she was going to steal second but stopped in between the bases to draw the attention of the defense. As King forced her back to first base, Morgan took off for home and successfully stole the base to bump the Blue and Gold up 1-0. 

Wood received a base on balls in the third. Leah Oberkehr entered as a pinch runner and promptly stole second and third. Morgan was then able to put a ball in play toward third base, and Oberkehr touched home to double the Eagles' run total. 

A Bain single and Latoria triple scored a third run for the home team in the fourth, and Embry-Riddle was able to hold on from there for the team's fifth shutout of the season. 

Morgan went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI, Latoria was 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Bain and Ortiz-Munoz each were 1-for-2 while Oberkehr added a pair of stolen bases. 

Kinahan (W, 5-2) went end-to-end for her ninth career shutout. She pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed only four hits and two walks, and fanned five batters. This week, the Sayville, New York product allowed no runs over 17.1 innings with 15 strikeouts. Additionally, she now sits at 170 career strikeouts, moving up to seventh on the all-time list. 

Ortiz-Munoz jumped into a tie for eighth in career games started with her 114th and 115th starts today. She also moved up into ninth for games played in a career with 117. Morgan swiped her 19th and 20th bases of her career, moving her into a tie for eighth all-time. She also hit her fifth triple of 2024, tied for the second most in a season by an Eagle. It was also the sixth of her career, which tied for the sixth most in the history of the program. 

The 15-game homestand concludes on Tuesday, March 12 with a doubleheader against the University of Virginia at Wise at 4 p.m.
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