PENSACOLA, Fla. – The 21st-ranked UWF baseball team had 12 hits and got a strong outing from
Tyler Dowdy on the mound for an 11-5 win over Embry-Riddle at Jim Spooner Field on Sunday.
UWF (14-9) scored three in the third to take control and then five in the seventh to put the game out of reach as the Argonauts improved to 9-5 at home this season.
Dowdy (4-2) worked into the eighth inning and struck out five while allowing four runs on 10 hits.
Jacob Estes was on the mound for the final 1.2 frames and struck out three of the seven batters he faced.
Freshman
Brady Browning made his third start of the weekend and was 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI, one run and a walk while hitting in the three spot. He went 4-for-8 with four RBI, three doubles and three runs in the series.
Cullan O'Shea,
Dean Hotz and
Mark Townsend also had two hits on Sunday, with Townsend and
Josh Prizina hitting home runs. Every Argo scored in the game, led by Prizina and
Trent Jeffcoat who crossed home twice each. Jeffcoat drew a career-high four walks and stole a base.
"I'm really proud of the way the guys responded today," UWF head coach
Mike Jeffcoat said. "Loading the bases in the first inning and not getting a run in. That's how its going to be and they are going to be tested, and they responded in the next inning or two. We just swung the bat up and down the lineup with better situational hitting today."
UWF finished with six extra-base hits and drew nine walks.
The Eagles scored in the first when Alex Britton tripled to right center and came home when the relay to third got away from the Argos.
UWF took the lead with a pair of runs in the third. O'Shea led off with a double to right and scored on a Browning sacrifice that was thrown into the bullpen. Browning advanced on a sacrifice and scored on
Preston Moore's infield single. Moore added to the run total, scoring from third on Townsend's bases loaded sacrifice fly.
An inning later, Jeffcoat walked, moved to second on a sac bunt, another 90 feet on a wild pitch and scored on a Browning double to the wall in center.
The Eagles cut the lead in half in the fifth when Max Law hit a solo home run onto the party deck in left field.
Prizina did Law one better and delivered a solo blast over the party deck for a 5-2 lead. It was Prizina's second homer of the season.
In the top of the sixth, Andrew Martinez hit a 1-out home run over the wall in right center to give the Eagles their third run of the day.
Hotz doubled into the left field corner and scored
Alden Davis from second, extending the UWF advantage to 6-3 in the seventh. They added two more runs on a bases loaded walk and a hit batter. Browning drove in two on an inside-out double to right center.
The Eagles got one back with a solo home run by Jeremy Kennedy-Davis, but the Argos answered with a Townsend solo shot in the bottom of the eighth.
Garner Spoljaric (2-1) took the loss for Embry-Riddle (12-13) after allowing three runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings.
UWF will continue non-conference play on Wednesday with a neutral site game against Wisconsin-Whitewater at Blue Wahoos Stadium in downtown Pensacola. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and tickets are $10. Fans are encouraged to utilize the Blue Wahoos ticketless system by purchasing tickets online at GoArgos.com/wahoos.
