TAMPA – The No. 20 Embry-Riddle Eagles have their eyes set on Cary, N.C., and made it one step further on Friday night, taking down No. 1 Tampa at UT Baseball Stadium, 15-9. The Eagles (35-20) are one win away from continuing their postseason journey and will play a double header against the Spartans (46-8) on Saturday to close out the Super Regional.
The 15 runs scored by ERAU were the most on a Spartan squad this season – besting the Eagles' own mark of 14 earlier this season – en route to the Blue & Gold's first win in Tampa since 2012. ERAU drew 10 walks on the evening, ties the most a UT team has allowed since 2018.
Almost everyone got in on the offensive action, with eight of the nine starters recording a hit, run or RBI in the victory.
Alex Britton and
Chase Bruno set the tempo for the soaring Eagles, each with a four-RBI, three-run performance as the top of the lineup was blistering. In the cleanup spot,
Tyler Castelli punched home three RBI and scored another. At the bottom of the order,
Timo Aracena and
Jeremy Kennedy-Davis each were active on the base paths. Aracena crossed the plate three times on three hits, while the Eagle backstop, Kennedy-Davis walked four times and came around to score four times.
On the hill, the Eagles' staff put together a very strong showing to hold the nation's No. 1 team at bay all evening.
Keagan Perez earned the Friday start and held things down for more than five innings, striking out two and walking three; he yielded five runs, but between the second and fifth innings, Perez only allowed two hits, each of which were nullified by tremendous double plays started by
Camden Traficante. Perez picked up the important win, his third on the season and second in a row in the postseason. He threw a career-high 95 pitches on the night.
In relief
Max Meyer was stellar, striking out five and walking just one in 2.0 strong innings of work. In his first inning, a bases clearing triple seemingly allowed Tampa some leverage, but Meyer struck out the next three on just 10 pitches to slam the door.
Jacob Hoppe and
John Barone combined to work the final two innings. Hoppe uncharacteristically gave up three runs, but Baron worked hard in the final 1.2 innings, striking out two and giving up just one run on one hit and a walk to seal the deal.
ERAU did what is does best on Friday, piecing together a 15-hit day. Castelli started things off in the top of the first, driving in Bruno for an early lead. Though Tampa rallied for two in the home half, the Eagles' bats stayed hot and never looked back.
Britton secured the first of two two-RBI doubles in the second allowing ERAU to regain the lead. Bruno singled home Britton in the next at bat to make it 4-2 after an inning and a half. In the fourth inning, Castelli ripped his own two-RBI double down the right field line, then
Dillon Lifrieri blooped in a single to no-man's land to plate the Eagle first baseman, making it 7-2.
In the fifth, Bruno got in on the two-RBI double action as well, plating Kennedy-Davis and Aracena to extend the lead once again, before a wild pitch allowed a third run to come home in the inning, making it 10-2 at this point.
An inning later, Britton rocked his second two-RBI double, this time plating Kennedy-Davis and Aracena.
AJ Marinello added another with a sacrifice fly, giving ERAU a monstrous 13-2 advantage.
UT struck in the sixth, thanks to a homer and the bases-clearing triple, erasing the three-run Eagle half inning before. But ERAU stayed hot into the seventh, as Bruno sacrificed his at bat with a deep fly to center, before Kennedy-Davis scored in the next at bat on a wild pitch to make it a 10-run game once again, at 15-5.
As the No. 1 team does, Tampa mounted a large comeback with a pair of two-run home runs in the eighth inning, making things very interesting at 15-9. But Barone and company shut things down to secure the all-important Game 1 win.
The Eagles and Spartans will battle tomorrow for a spot in the 2024 Baseball Championships in Cary, N.C. ERAU needs to win one to advance for the first time in program history.
