Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Eagles Advance in MAC Tournament With 19-16 Win Over Ball State
5/20/2009 8:41:15 PM | Baseball
Skirving and Marshall each tally five RBI in the win.
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CHILLICOTHE
The No. 7 seeded Eagles move into the next round of MAC Tournament and will face the No. 6 Rockets of the
Skirving finished 4-for-6 with four runs scored and five RBI in the victory, while
Senior Aaron Powell (
Down one in the top of the eighth and after a walk to Marshall, sophomore Zack Leonard (Canton, Ohio-McKinley) put the Eagles back on top, as his two-run bomb over the left field wall allowed EMU to reclaim the lead, 15-14. Leonard finished the game 2-for-6 with one run scored and two RBI in the win. This marks Leonard's second timely homer for the Eagles against
After Leonard's homer, the Eagles tacked on five more runs to take a 19-14 lead, one they would not relinquish down the stretch.
In the first, Rhoad wasted no time getting the Eagles on the board, as the senior blasted Brendan Stines' fourth offering over the wall in center field to put EMU ahead, 1-0. The Eagles extended their lead later in the inning, as an RBI single up the middle by Skirving and a two-run double down the left field line by Marshall gave EMU a 4-0 lead after half an inning. The Eagles capitalized on a pair Ball State errors an inning later to tally four more runs and take a commanding 8-0 advantage.
The Cardinals came roaring back in the bottom of the third, as back-to-back home runs by Kory Benbow and Ryan Chenoweth, coupled with an RBI single by Ian Nielsen, limited the Eagles to an 8-6 lead.
Kolbrin Vitek gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth, as his three-run opposite field shot gave Ball State a 9-8 advantage and forced EMU head coach Jay Alexander to pull redshirt sophomore pitcher Corey Chaffins (New London, Ohio-New London) after 81 pitches. The Cardinals tacked on one more in the inning to make it a 10-8 game.
After loading the bases with no outs, junior Jim Guliver (
But the Cardinals pulled within one in the bottom half of the inning, as a two-run double down the left field line by Zach Dygert limited the Eagles to a 13-12 advantage.
After a two-out triple off the center field wall by Cody Elliott, Hazelbaker gave BSU back the lead with a two-run homer just over the center field wall to make it a 14-13 game.
After Leonard's two-run homer gave EMU a 15-14 lead, Gulliver tacked on another run for the Eagles, as his sac-fly to the gap in right center plated junior Aaron Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) to make it a 16-14 game. Skirving knocked in his fifth RBI of the game later in the inning with a single through the left side to plate Gerbus and make it a 17-14 game. Marshall continued his onslaught of the BSU pitching staff later in the inning, as his two-run single up the middle gave EMU a five-run lead, 19-14.
The EMU pitching staff managed to keep the lead for its offense in the final two innings, as the Eagles avoided a first round loss to move into the next round, where they face the
