Softball Looks to Remain Hot as NIU Comes to Town

Softball vs. Northern Illinois
Date	Friday, April 20 - 3 p.m. \| Saturday, April 21 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Varsity Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Listen	Eagle All-Access (FREE)
Twitter	@EMUSoftball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University softball team returns to action this weekend, April 20-21, for a three-game Mid-American Conference West Division set against Northern Illinois University. The series gets underway with a single game Friday at 3 p.m., before the two teams take part in a double dip Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
   Eastern Michigan enters the weekend having won five of its last eight games. Most recently, EMU shutout Central Michigan in a doubleheader, 6-0 and 3-0, April 13 at Varsity Field. Meanwhile, NIU has lost six straight, including a pair of games to MAC West-leading Toledo, April 13.
   Live stats will be available for all of EMU's games and can be found on the softball schedule page. Additionally, fans can follow the action through Twitter by following the team's account, @EMUSoftball.

AKLES DOES IT AGAIN!: For the second week in-a-row, Amanda Akles was named MAC West Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday, April 17. Akles pieced together another fantastic week at the plate, going 5-for-10 with a double, three home runs, and nine RBI's. She is just the second player to earn the award twice in the same season since 2014, while the league's announcement marked the third time Akles has reeled in the honor in her career.

ALL-TIME AGAINST NIU: Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois have met 66 times ahead of this weekend's series, with NIU owning a 41-25 edge over EMU all-time. Currently, the Huskies are riding an eight-game win streak over the Eagles, including a sweep of last year's three-game series at NIU.
   Eastern's last win over Northern Illinois came on April 20, 2014, at Varsity Field when EMU walked-off with a 4-3 victory in eight innings. Abi Clark led the way, going 2-for-3 with two RBI's, a run scored, and a home run. One of Clark's two RBI's came in the bottom of the eighth when she singled to left to score Amanda Stanton for the game-winning run. Alyssa Huntley earned the win, shutting down the Huskies in the top half of the eighth to set Clark up for the late game heroics.

GETTING BETTER WITH AGE: Trisha Trujillo has been a pivotal piece to EMU's pitching staff since stepping foot in Ypsilanti, but she has saved her best for her senior season. Trujillo picked up a win and a save last week, April 10-13, while owning a 2.21 ERA over a five-game span. The Whittier, Calif. native's impressive week was capped by the first save of her career, only to be out-done by a complete game shutout against Central Michigan.
   For the season, Trujillo has already set a career-high in strikeouts with 63, a mark that is nearly 20 above her previous career-best, while also holding the opposition to its lowest batting average of her career (.298).

KEEPIN' IT CLEAN: Eastern Michigan's pitching held Central Michigan without a run in a doubleheader Friday, April 13. The Eagles claimed game one 3-0, before finishing the sweep with a 6-0 victory in the nightcap. Not only did EMU register its first shutout of the season, the Green and White also posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2016. That season, the Eagles blanked Ball State in the first two games of a three-game series at Varsity Field.

KNOCKING OFF THE CHIPS: With a pair of wins over Central Michigan, April 13, Eastern Michigan won a series against CMU for the first time since 2009. Prior to Saturday's DH sweep, the Eagles were just 3-13 against the Chippewas since 2010.

PITCHING COMES UP BIG: Even with a limited staff, EMU's pitchers came up clutch in five games last week, April 10-13. Heading into a crucial MAC West series against in-state foe Central Michigan, the Eagles were without the services of Nicolle Miranda. Senior Trisha Trujillo and freshman Kiara Hurley shouldered the pitching duties and did not disappoint though, as the duo combined for a pair of shutouts. Hurley went 6.2 innings in the series opener, before handing things over to Trujillo to wrap up a 3-0 win. Then, Trujillo returned to the circle and went the distance in a complete game shutout to secure a 6-0 victory and series win.
   All together, Trujillo and Hurley held the CMU batters to a .173 batting average with just nine hits and six strikeouts.

THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE: Junior Amanda Akles finds herself amid one of the best offensive streaks the Eagles have ever seen. Akles has 11 hits, seven of which of have been homers, in her last 18 at bats, with 15 RBI's and eight intentional walks. Currently, the La Habra, Calif. native is on an eight-game reached base streak dating back to March 31.

MAC ATTACK: Amanda Akles has proven to be a nightmare for MAC pitchers as she has had a proven track of blasting dingers. Akles, who currently has 21 home runs for her three-year career, has registered 14 in conference play alone. The junior's four against Miami is her most against a single conference opponent, while she has also pounded out multiple homers against Akron (3), Kent State (2), Toledo (2), and Bowling Green (2) during her career.

WINNING THE SERIES: The Green and White claimed its second MAC series of the season, tying its mark from the 2016 campaign, with a pair of shutout wins against Central Michigan, April 13. The sweep came just one weekend after EMU took two out of three from Miami for its first MAC series win in nearly two years. EMU's performance against MU marked the Green and White's first league series win since sweeping Ball State, April 15-16, 2016.

MOVING ON UP: With three more home runs last week, April 11-13, junior Amanda Akles moved her season HR total to nine, tied for eighth-most in EMU single-season history. She has recorded 23 round-trippers in her career, good for sixth, and needs just one more dinger to tie Lauren Clark and Nellie Coquillard for fifth-most in EMU's laurels.

ON DECK: After playing host to the Huskies, the Eagles take a break from league play and hit the road for a midweek game against the Spartans of Michigan State. First pitch from Secchia Stadium in East Lansing is slated for 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Akles

Kiara Hurley

Nicolle Miranda

Trisha Trujillo

Eastern Michigan Athletics