BOCA RATON, Fla. – Though the Fighting Knights of Lynn made it interesting with three runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Embry-Riddle baseball team held on and secured a series-opening win over their conference foes, 9-8.
 
The Eagles (18-12, 6-7 SSC) used a massive seven-run third inning and an excellent day on the mound from Dillon Moran to earn the win. Moran finished with 7.0 innings of work, yielding five runs on six hits and three walks to a season-best 11 strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Chase Bruno, AJ Marinello and Timo Aracena all collected multiple base knocks and runs batted in, while Alex Britton scored twice and had a pair of RBI on a 1-for-3 day. Bruno finished a team-best 3-for-5, including going 2-for-2 in the big third inning.
 
It was Lynn that got things started in the bottom of the first with an RBI double to make it 1-0 after one. In the top half of the second, Britton singled to left, bringing around Marinello to knot things at 1-1. 
 
Then the Eagles opened things up an inning later. Matthew Coker led things off with a double to deep left center, then moved to third in the next at bat when Bruno connected on his first hit of the inning. Camden Traficante drew a hit by pitch next to load the bases, then Marinello pulled one into left to score two quickly. After Marinello stole second base, Drew Clymer sent another Eagle single to right, scoring Traficante. Aracena and Britton drew back-to-back walks, the latter of which scored ERAU's third of the inning. After a pitching change, Cameron Martinez grounded into a double play, but Clymer scored on the play to extend the lead, then Bruno collected his second base hit in the frame, scoring both Dylan Brazil and Britton to push things to 8-1 early in the game. 
 
Moran recorded the first of two innings striking out the side, but the Fighting Knights were able to capitalize with a couple of base runners before Sean Dougherty connected on a three-run homer to make things 8-4.
 
Moran and the Eagles settled in once again, but Lynn scratched another across in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double. Though the Eagles' bats went quiet for a couple innings, Moran again struck out the side in the sixth in a 1-2-3 inning to move to the seventh.
 
ERAU pushed the lead up one more after Martinez nabbed his second RBI of the day with a single scoring Britton, making it 9-5. Once again, Moran sat the Knights down in order in the bottom of the seventh, and registered his 11^th punchout of the day in the process.
 
Max Meyer, last week's SSC Pitcher of the Week, came on in the eighth for the final two innings. Lynn managed just a single in the eighth, but touched Meyer up for three runs on two hits in the game's final inning. But Meyer did well to close the door on a potential comeback forcing a game-ending fly out of Doughterty to end things and preserve the victory,
 
The Eagles and Fighting Knights will do battle once again Saturday at 1 p.m.