Baseball Rallies Late, But Falls Short to Toledo, 9-6

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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – A late rally by the No. 7 Eastern Michigan University baseball team fell just short Friday night, May 22, as the No. 6 Rockets of the University of Toledo upended the Eagles, 9-6, in the 2009 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

The Eagles finish the season with a 25-35 record, the same amount of wins as last year's squad that finished 25-34. The No. 6 seed Rockets move into the MAC Tournament title game tomorrow at 1 p.m. where they face No. 4 Kent State University, who along with UT is also undefeated in tournament play.

Down 9-3 in the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles made it a three-run game after junior Jim Gulliver (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) belted a three-run bomb over the center field wall to make it a 9-6 game. But the UT pitching staff managed to hold on in the end to seal the victory and end EMU's 2009 season. Gulliver finished 2-for-5 with one run scored and three RBI in the loss. Gulliver's homer marks the 100^th by the Eagles this season – the most all-time by any EMU baseball team.

Senior Kyle Rhoad (Fostoria, Ohio-Elmwood) helped the Eagles draw first blood, as his sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the third to give EMU a 1-0 lead. Rhoad finishes his career as one of the best EMU players of all time, ranking third in stolen bases with 66 in his four years, all while setting the single season mark with 32 this season.

But the Rockets answered an inning later, as a towering solo blast over the wall in left center by Jim Vahalik made it a 1-1 game.

Sophomore Zack Leonard (Canton, Ohio-McKinley) helped the Eagles reclaim the lead in the bottom of the fourth, as his RBI double off the wall in center field plated junior Andrew Marshall (Mason, Mich.-Mason) to give EMU a 2-1 lead. Leonard finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and one stolen base to lead the Eagles. Leonard, the reigning MAC Tournament MVP, finished the tournament 8-for-16 (.500) with four runs scored, seven RBI and a pair of round-trippers.

But the Rockets would again have an answer for the Eagles, as another solo bomb, this time courtesy of Jared Hoying, helped the Rockets knot the game, 2-2.

Junior Todd Graves (St. Mary's, Ohio-St. Mary's Memorial) put the Eagles back on top in the bottom of the fifth after a Mike Inselmann pitch got away and drilled Graves in the back with the bases loaded, plating redshirt freshman Wally Gerbus (Fairfield, Ohio-Stephen T. Baden) and making it a 3-2 game.

The Eagles allowed the Rockets to reclaim the lead in the top of the sixth, as a walk and a hit batsman with the bases loaded in back-to-back plate appearances gave Toledo a 4-3 advantage. The Rockets added two more in the inning on a two-run Tim Krofcheck base hit to go ahead, 6-3.

The Rockets added two more in the top of the eighth, as an EMU error plated Krofcheck and Chris Dudcis to make it an 8-3 game. Toledo tallied one more in the inning to make it a 9-3 game.

Looking for a lifeline in the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles put a pair on base after a walk to freshman Johnny Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) and a base hit up the middle by Rhoad for Gulliver, who proceeded to belt a three-run shot over the center field wall to make it a 9-6 game. A two-out double off the center field wall by Graves off Ryan France forced UT head coach Cory Mee to replace France with Jeff Cinadr, who shut down the Eagles to propel the Rockets into the MAC Tournament championship game against Kent State.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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