GLENDALE, ARIZ. – After spending the last couple weeks battling on the road, the Embry-Riddle baseball team was rewarded for a hard effort on Tuesday night. The Eagles defeated Arizona Christian 5-3, earning a great win heading into conference play this weekend.

Both teams scored its first run in the third inning, and the Eagles took advantage of a passed ball that put a runner in scoring position. After Owen Cain led off the frame with a single, he advanced to second base on a passed ball on a strikeout, and then Miles Murphy drove him home.

The Eagles scored its most runs in one frame during the fourth, as three came around to score and give ERAU a 4-1 lead. Luke Jepsen continued his tear to start the season, doubling home a pair of runs before scoring himself on an Owen Cain single.

Murphy scored the lone run for the Eagles in the ninth inning to give the team a 5-1 lead, getting home on yet another Firestorm error. Murphy tripled down the right field line, and then came home when a quick pickoff attempt from the ACU's catcher, Joe Terlizzi, was thrown down the left field line.

Embry-Riddle would need all of its insurance runs, as Arizona Christian threatened in the ninth. The Firestorm scored a pair of runs, but Jonah Montes locked up the victory as he bounced back from a home run and a double to get the final three outs in succession.

Cain, Jepsen and Murphy all flexed two-hit games, accounting for six of the Eagles' nine knocks. Jepsen and Murphy each had extra base hits, and Calvin Solie also contributed a double in the ninth inning.

In typical midweek fashion, Embry-Riddle pitched nine different players on Tuesday, and all were effective. The staff combined for ten strikeouts, four different pitchers had multi-strikeout innings, and Noah Tschopp earned all three outs via the strikeout for his inning in the fourth.

Embry-Riddle will now hit the road to start conference play, as they will visit La Sierra for a four-game series. The first two games of the opening Cal Pac weekend are scheduled for Friday, February 24 from Riverside, Calif.