Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Oakland
Baseball Downs Oakland, 9-8, with Third Consecutive Walk-off Victory
3/29/2006 6:27:33 PM | Baseball
The win is EMU's fifth consecutive and third straight walk-off decision
YPSILANTI, Mich.
– With the game tied 8-8 in the bottom of ninth inning, senior Isaiah Gainforth singled through the right side to score sophomore Jeff Hehr giving the Eagles a 9-8 victory over Oakland University in NCAA baseball action here Wednesday afternoon at Oestrike Stadium. The win is EMU’s fifth consecutive and third straight walk-off decision for the Green and White, which improves to 9-11 on the season.Gainforth led the Eagles with his best effort of the season from the plate. The Unionville, Mich. native went 3-for-5 with a team-high four RBI. Freshman Kevin Wammes (1-2) picked up his first win of the season on the mound. Kevin Carkeek led Oakland (1-19), going 1-for-5 with one run scored and four RBI which came off of a grand-slam home run.
EMU took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning as Gainforth drove in Hehr on a grounder. However, the lead would not last long as Carkeek hit his grand-slam home run over the left field wall off EMU’s Jeff Robinson, giving the Golden Grizzlies a 4-1 lead in the top of the third. Eastern responded in the bottom half of the third as the lineup batted through, scoring four runs on five hits to take a 5-4 lead.
Oakland tied the score, 5-5, in the fifth on a Tim Doig RBI single. The Eagles once again responded, taking a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Gainforth RBI single scoring Aaron Powell.
The Golden Grizzlies added three runs on three hits in the top of the seventh inning to take an 8-6 lead. The Eagles started their rally in the top of the eight as Powell scored on an error by the OU shortstop with the bases loaded and Steve Bradshaw was walked scoring Trumaine Riley to tie the score at 8-8.
Gainforth rose to the occasion in the bottom of the ninth as he knocked in Hehr on a walk-off RBI single giving the Eagles the 9-8 victory.
Eastern continues its home stand with the first of a three-game series against Buffalo at Oestrike Stadium beginning Friday, March 31, at 3 p.m.
