SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle baseball team punched its ticket to the NCAA II South Region on Sunday and will continue its ride in the postseason after a Thursday night win over Delta State, 4-2. The No. 3 seeded Eagles (32-19) will square off with No. 7 seed West Florida (33-21) on Friday.
 
Dillon Moran earned the start and showed out in his postseason debut, earning the win – which is ERAU's first ever in NCAA Regional action. Moran, an All-Conference and All-Region hurler, tossed 7.1 innings of five-hit ball, allowing just two walks to eight strikeouts. The eight punches move his season total to 103 in 93.2 innings of work.
 
At the plate, both Alex Britton and Timo Aracena picked up two hits apiece, Britton with a run and RBI, Aracena with two runs scored. Both Chase Bruno and Camden Traficante picked up RBIs as the middle infielding duo continues to shine.
 
Things got off to a precarious start for Moran in the top of the first, issuing back-to-back walks to open the game up. After a strikeout and a fielder's choice, he got the final batter to line out to Dillon Lifrieri in left to end the early threat. 
 
The Eagles pounced in the bottom half of the inning, led by Britton's infield single to get things going. Britton advanced into scoring position on a passed ball in the next at bat, then a Bruno single through the left side put runners at the corners. Traficante was doubled up in the next at bat, but Britton was able to come home to give the Blue & Gold the 1-0 lead. 
 
Though things started sour for Moran, the Eagle ace set down the Statesmen in order in the second and third, collecting three strikeouts in that stretch. By then, the Eagles added two more in the bottom of the third. 
 
Aracena ripped his first of two leadoff doubles, followed by a Jeremy Kennedy-Davis walk to put a pair of baserunners on. Britton then chopped a perfect bunt to move both Eagles into scoring position for Bruno. The Eagle second baseman sent a shot out to center that stayed in the park, but allowed Aracena to cross the plate. Next, Traficante collected his lone single, sending a screamer to second base for an infield base knock to plate Kennedy-Davis to make it 3-0.
 
DSU countered with their first hit of the night in the top of the fourth, but Moran punched out two more batters and forced a fly out to end the inning unscathed yet again. 
 
Aracena nabbed his second double in the bottom of the fifth, before Kennedy-Davis laid down a great bunt to move the Aracena to just 90 feet away, From there, Britton flew out to deep left, plating Aracena to make it 4-0.
 
Moran got two more Statesmen to go down swinging in the sixth before getting through the seventh 1-2-3. In the eighth, however, a one-out, back-to-back single and double put things in a dicey situation, but in stepped Joe Balsam to preserve the then-shutout. Balsam came out with just one out and proceeded to strike out the next two swinging to end the threat and keep the 4-0 lead after the top of the eighth. 
 
An errant throw from Balsam to first base in the ninth gave way to two unearned runs coming across to make things interesting, but a great snag from Tyler Castelli at first base ended things in the Blue & Gold's favor just as quickly.
 
With the win, the first postseason win in ERAU's NCAA II era, the Eagles will advance in the winner's bracket in Saint Leo, and will take on West Florida at 6 p.m. on Friday for a chance to keep playing the double-elimination round.