SAINT LEO, Fla. – A nine-run third inning, keyed by home runs off the bats of Troy Sieber and Mike Mann, lifted Saint Leo baseball to a 14-6 win over Embry-Riddle, in a non-conference matchup Friday night at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

Sieber belted a three-run homer to right field with one out in the bottom of the third, vaulting the Lions into a 4-1 lead.

After a walk issued to Zach Daley, Shane Williams plated Saint Leo's fifth run of the inning on a double into left field. That brought Mann up to bat and the junior catcher sent a shot beyond the left field fences to score Williams and put Saint Leo up 7-1.

Saint Leo plated three more runs on hits by Bryan Nunez, Derek Gibree, Lane Stancil and Chase Turner, giving the Lions a commanding 10-1 advantage by the end of the frame.

Embry-Riddle gained some momentum with a four-run uprising in the fifth on three hits, aided by a costly two-base error on a failed pickoff attempt at first with bases loaded. Tobias Moreno and Enderson Velasquez each had RBI singles in the inning, helping cut Saint Leo's lead to 10-5 midway through the fifth.

However Saint Leo manufactured three runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend its lead to 13-5, including an RBI single by Daley that extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

The Eagles tacked on a run in the seventh on Velasquez's base hit in the seventh to score Moreno, while the Lions scored their final run of the day in the eighth on Daley's double to right.

Mata had three hits, all doubles, and scored three runs for the Lions, while Mann went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in. Stancil also had three hits and crossed for three runs for Saint Leo, who improved to 19-13 with the victory.

Jordan Pendleton picked up the win after scattering seven hits and allowing four earned runs over five complete innings. Michael Dunnigan earned the save for his four-inning relief performance; he fanned five Embry-Riddle batters and allowed just one earned run on three hits.

Embry-Riddle starter Nick Dearing was tagged with the loss after yielding eight runs, all earned, on eight hits in two-and-two-thirds innings.

Saint Leo and Embry-Riddle are scheduled to complete their three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2, at 1:00 p.m. at Southard Stadium. Rain is expected in the forecast for Saturday; fans should check SaintLeoLions.com for any changes due to the expected inclement weather.

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