Baseball Claims 11-5 Win Over Toledo

Box Score.

TOLEDO, Ohio – A five-run eighth inning made the difference Sunday afternoon, May 10, for the Eastern Michigan University baseball team, as the Eagles registered an 11-5 vctory over Mid-American Conference West Division leading University of Toledo at Scott Park Field to take two out of three games against the Rockets this weekend.

The Eagles improve to 20-32 (11-13 MAC) with the win, while the Rockets drop to 21-25 (14-10 MAC) with the loss.

Sophomore Matt Skirving (Midland, Mich.-H.H. Dow) led the charge for the Eagle offense, hitting his 15th home run of the season and finishing 3-for-5 with four RBI and one run scored in the win.

Senior Kyle Rhoad (Fostoria, Ohio-Elmwood) had a solid day for the Eagles, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases in the win. On the year, Rhoad has 30 stolen bases in 31 attempts. His two stolen bases today put him one shy of tying the EMU single season record held by Greg Howe and Brian Bixler.

Junior Jim Gulliver (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) continued his tear at the dish in game three, finishing 1-for-2 with three walks, three runs scored and a stolen base.

The Eagles wasted no time getting on the board, as an RBI groundout by Skirving and a sac-fly to center field by junior Todd Graves (St. Mary's, Ohio-St. Mary's Memorial) put EMU ahead, 2-0, in the top of the first.

The Rockets cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second on a solo homer by Dan Sherwood, but the Eagles kept their two-run lead in tact when an RBI groundout by junior Andrew Marshall (Mason, Mich.-Mason) made it a 3-1 game.

But the Rockets made it a tie game in the bottom of the third, as two-run homer over the right field wall by Jared Hoying made it a 3-3 game. An RBI single by Joe Corfman later in the inning gave Toledo its first lead of the day and put the Eagles down, 4-3.

Junior Aaron Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) made it a tie game in the top of the sixth, as his RBI groundout plated sophomore Zack Leonard (Canton, Ohio-McKinley) to make it a 4-4 game. Rhoad gave the Eagles the lead later in the inning, as his two-run double to right field scored freshman Brent Ohrman (Adrian, Mich.-Adrian) and senior Aaron Powell (Clarkston, Mich.-Clarkston) to put EMU ahead, 6-4.

The EMU offense broke the game open in the top of the eighth, as a three-run homer by Skirving, a sac-fly by Ohrman and run by redshirt freshman Wally Gerbus (Fairfield, Ohio-Stephen T. Baden) on a wild pitch gave the Eagles a commanding 11-4 lead.

A solid relief effort by senior Bobby Henderson (Milford, Mich.-Detroit Catholic Central) in the final three innings helped seal the series win for the Eagles, inching them closer to MAC Tournament contention. Henderson fanned four Rockets over three innings, yielding just one run on three hits.

Before wrapping up their regular season with a three-game set at home against Central Michigan University, May 14-16, the Eagles have a non-conference game against the Ohio State University Buckeyes, May 12, at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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