WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 13, 2026) - Baseball extended their winning streak to 14 games in dramatic fashion, using a two-out, ninth-inning rally to defeat Embry-Riddle 5-4 on Friday. The Tars now stand at 16-4 on the year with a 7-0 record against SSC foes. The Eagles drop to 9-8, 4-3 SSC.
Embry-Riddle struck early against starter
Noah Greenseid, sending three singles to the outfield that resulted in a run. Rollins got the run back, and the go-ahead as well, in the bottom of the second.
With one out,
Jimmy Thies ripped a single up the middle. Two batters later, a
Jayden Brown single put Thies on third. Next up was
Stephen Deans, who planted a line drive in the left-center gap that plated Thies.
Mauri Bejarano followed with a rope to left, bringing in Brown for a 2-1 lead.
Greenseid was in a tight spot in the top of the third with runners on second and third and no one out. However, the Notre Dame transfer buckled down, getting a huge strikeout followed by a fly out to center to quell the threat.
Greenseid then struck out the side in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the bottom of the fifth, he received an insurance run when an errant pick off attempt from the Eagles' catcher sailed into left, allowing
Joey Rubin to score.
The Eagles clawed their way back into the game, plating one in the sixth on a groundout to the pitcher, making it 3-2.
JR Struk entered the game in the seventh, and found himself in a pickle. He faced runners on second and third with nobody out. Facing the Eagles' designated hitter, he froze Aidan Cron with a fastball for a strikeout, and then escaped the jam unscathed on a lineout double play.
Embry-Riddle shutdown the Tars in the seventh, and made their move in the eighth. With two outs, they doubled and drew a walk. The next batter chopped a ball to third base that was fielded cleanly by Thies. He raced to third and looked to step on the bag before the runner got there; however, the runner was called safe, and the next batter for ERAU instantly ripped a single to left that plated two, giving them a 4-3 lead.
Ryan Taylor fired a clean ninth inning, setting up the Tars for a dramatic finish. Things looked bleak when the first two hitters were put out. But then
Matthew Mateo ripped a single to keep the game going.
Mason Elrod was called on to pinch-hit, and he also walked. The next batter was Thies, who ... walked. The bases were now loaded for
Connor O'Sullivan. On a 1-2 count, the first baseman smoked a ball to the left field wall, scoring Mateo and
Ethan Beal to give the Tars a 5-4 win.
Mateo had three hits to lead the offense. O'Sullivan was the RBI leader with two. Embry-Riddle actually outhit the Tars, 12-9. Greenseid took a no-decision, but struck out eight over six innings. Taylor got the win in relief, his first of the season.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 14 to close out the series. First pitch of game one is scheduled for noon from Alfond Stadium.
