Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
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North Florida (at Spring Hill College)
Eagles Finish 1-1 on Final Day in Alabama
2/28/2010 10:41:30 PM | Baseball
EMU tops North Florida, but loses in heartbreaking fashion to South Alabama
Game 1 Box score (EMU vs. North Florida)
Game 2 Box score (EMU at South Alabama)
MOBILE, Ala. (EMUEagles.com) – After beginning Sunday morning, Feb. 28, with a 10-8 win over the University of North Florida Ospreys, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team closed its trip to Mobile, Ala. with a heartbreaking 15-14 loss to the University of South Alabama Jaguars in the night cap at Stanky Field. The win against UNF and loss to USA puts the Eagles' record at 2-4 this season.
Down 11 at one point in the contest, the Jaguars made a seemingly improbable comeback a reality to tie the game in the eighth inning, as a 14-7 game became a 14-14 game after several USA hits and EMU errors. South Alabama completed the 11-run come-from-behind win in the bottom of the ninth, as a walk-off RBI single by Overstreet sealed the Eagles' fate.
Junior pitcher Corey Chaffins (New London, Ohio-New London) just missed earning his second win of the season, as he picked up a no decision after going seven innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on 10 hits and one walk, while striking out three Jaguars.
After holding on to an 11-0 lead in the fourth inning, the Eagles found themselves in 14-7 dogfight going into the eighth. But seven runs by the Jaguars evaporated that lead completely, as a two-out three-run home run by Sean Laird put the finishing touches on the inning, making it a 14-all game going into the ninth inning.
The Eagles threatened an inning later with back-to-back base hits to start the inning by senior Todd Graves (St. Marys, Ohio-St. Marys Memorial) and junior Zack Leonard (Canton, Ohio-McKinley), but costly mistakes on the base paths led to a pair of outs, keeping the score knotted at 14-14 going into the bottom of the ninth, where USA completed the comeback to escape Stanky Field with the win.
Freshman Daniel Russell (Grandville, Mich.-Grandville) went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored in game two, while senior Aaron Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) and junior Ken Battiston (West Milton, Ohio-Milton Union) both tallied three hits for the Eagles in game two.
The Green and White scored in every inning except the seventh and ninth, tallying a season-best 16 hits in the game two loss.
EMU got off to a strong start in game two, scoring eight runs in the first three innings to take an 8-0 advantage. The Eagles would score three more in the top of the fourth to go ahead, 11-0, but the Jaguars put up five runs in the bottom half of the inning to limit the damage and limit the Eagles' lead to 11-5. South Alabama took over from that point on, out-scoring the Eagles 10-3 in the final six innings to escape with the win.
In game one with the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth, the Ospreys' Casey Medlen hit sophomore Wally Gerbus (Fairfield, Ohio-Stephen T. Baden) to give the Eagles a base runner with two outs. Back-to-back base hits by redshirt sophomore transfer Ben Magsig (Okemos, Mich.-Okemos-Lansing C.C.) and Battiston scored Gerbus, giving
North Florida managed to put two runs on the board in the top of the ninth, but a solid relief effort by freshmen Taylor Dimmering (Perrysburg, Ohio-Perrysburg) and Brett Cisper (Loveland, Ohio-Moeller) helped the Eagles win the game down the stretch.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Collin Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio-Lakota West) picked up the win in relief for the Eagles, while Casey Medlen took the loss for the Ospreys.
Leonard led the Eagles at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI, while senior Andrew Marshall (Mason, Mich.-Mason) had three RBI for the Eagles in the win.
Battiston also collected a pair of hits for the Eagles in game one, while Graves went 1-for-3 with two RBI in the victory.
EMU is back in action Tuesday and Wednesday, March 2-3, when they take on the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in Little Rock, Ark. It marks the first ever meeting between the two squads.
