Eagles to Face Michigan State and Lawrence Tech in Midweek Action

Baseball vs Michigan State (14-21, 6-5 B1G) & Lawrence Tech (23-17, 11-10 WHAC)
Date	Tuesday-Wednesday, April 24-25
Venue	Comerica Park \| Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	MSUSpartans.com \| EMUEagles.com
Radio	Eagle All-Access (Tues. Only)
Comerica Tickets	$5 Adult \| $3 Youth/Senior (55+)
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

DETROIT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team begins a five-game week with a pair of non-conference contests beginning with Michigan State University at Comerica Park, Tuesday, April 24, followed by hosting Lawrence Tech, Wednesday, April 25, at Oestrike Stadium. First pitch against the Spartans is set for 6:35 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. start time against the Blue Devils.
The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also follow the game through live stats, as well as through the airwaves of Eagle All-Access on Tuesday with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner on the call. Links can be found on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

ALL-TIME VS. THE SPARTANS: EMU and MSU have met 137 times since 1949, with MSU holding the series lead 77-58-2. The Eagles and Spartans split the season series last year, with each team winning their home game. The teams are also 3-3 in their last six meetings dating back to 2015.

ALL-TIME VS. THE BLUE DEVILS: EMU and Lawrence Tech have met just twice in their respective histories, with EMU owning a 2-0 record. The two have not met since 1950, however, despite being just 38 miles apart.

EMU/MSU CONNECTIONS: There may not be another baseball program in the country that EMU and MSU are more connected to than each other when it comes to the two coaching staffs. Starting with EMU, interim head coach Eric Roof and pitching coach A.J. Achter are MSU alums, as both were stand-out baseball players for the Spartans, Roof from 2007-09 and Achter from 2008-10. On the other side, two MSU coaches are former EMU head coaches, with head coach Jake Boss Jr. leading the Eagles in 2008, Eastern's last time winning the MAC title, while pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde was EMU's bench boss from 2015-17. Additionally, MSU's volunteer assistant, Jordan Keur, was Eastern's volunteer in 2015 under Van Ameyde.

BROTHERLY LOVE: Tuesday will also see the matchup between freshman Luke McGuire, the projected starting pitcher for EMU, and his older brother, Zack McGuire, who is a senior infielder for the Spartans. Both attended Adlai E. Stevenson High School.

OWINGS OWNING THE DISH: Sophomore Zachary Owings has been one of Eastern's top bats so far this season, as he leads the team with a .364 batting average, which ranks second in the MAC and 95th in the country. He has two separate ten-game hitting streaks this year, and has also recorded a hit in 23-of-28 games.

MR. DO IT ALL: Junior Max Schuemann has been a five-tool threat for the Eagles this season, showing production in all aspects of the game. He has started all 33 games for the Eagles, 32 at shortstop, and leads EMU in hits, runs, RBIs, doubles, total bases, and steals. He is also second in home runs, as well as in batting, slugging, and on-base percentages. His steals are second in the MAC, while his hits and doubles are third, total bases are fifth, runs eighth, and batting average and slugging are 11th. In the field, Schuemann has 107 assists, good for second in the MAC, while he has helped to turn 19 double plays, good for 11th in the conference.

EAGLES HEATING UP ON THE MOUND: Since entering conference play, EMU's pitching staff has been lights out against its competition. As a staff, EMU holds a 2.96 ERA in MAC-only games, which is tied for the league lead with Kent State. In addition, EMU starting pitchers Luke DeVenney and Justin McMurtrey have ERAs of 1.59 and 2.04, respectively, in their first five MAC starts, which ranks third and fifth in the league. Junior reliever Mitchell Sparks owns a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 MAC innings, good for fourth-best.

DEVENNEY DEVELOPING ON THE HILL: Despite being a senior, Luke DeVenney is in just his second season as a pitcher at EMU. After being a primary bullpen/midweek pitcher in 2017, DeVenney has found his way into the weekend rotation in 2018. He has been fantastic this season, leading the team in ERA (2.81) and IPs (57.2), while striking out the second-most batters (39). His ERA ranks seventh in the conference.

FOR THE GREATER GOOD: When EMU gets runners on base, almost no other team is more unselfish when it comes to advancing them an extra base. Thus far this season, EMU is 17th in the nation and second in the MAC with 33 sacrifice bunts. In addition, sophomore Devin Hager is 13th in the country with 10 sac bunts.

ZOOM ZOOM: In each of the last three seasons, EMU has finished in the top-60 nationally in stolen bases, including third in the NCAA in 2016 and 11th in 2015. This season, Eastern is near the top once again, as it has swiped 68 bags, good for 19th in the country and first in the MAC.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Junior Mitchell Sparks has been rewarded for having the most appearances for EMU this season as he has tallied a team-leading six wins in 16 games. His six wins are third in the MAC and 36th in the nation, just two behind the national leaders.

JUST CALL HIM MR. APRIL: Freshman Jared Kauffman has been a clutch machine so far in the month of April, as the freshman has two game-winning hits under his belt. The first came with a walk-off single to defeat Ball State, April 7. He followed that up with a game-winning, two-run double in the top of the tenth to come back and defeat Ohio on the road, April 13.

ALL-TIME AT OESTRIKE: 2018 marks the 48th season at the friendly confines of Oestrike Stadium since its opening in 1971. In its long-standing history, EMU holds a 528-376-2 record at the stadium. Of the 47 previous seasons, 34 have resulted in winning home records for Eastern.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles return to conference play this weekend, April 27-29, when they play host to the Western Michigan Broncos. The series at Oestrike Stadium is set to begin with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday.

Eagles to Face Michigan State and Lawrence Tech in Midweek Action

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Players Mentioned

Luke DeVenney

Devin Hager

Jared Kauffman

Luke McGuire

Justin McMurtrey

Zachary Owings

Max Schuemann

Mitchell Sparks

Eastern Michigan Athletics