Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Kent State
Eagles Set for MAC Tournament Opener Versus Kent State
5/25/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
EMU and KSU meet for the first time in the MAC Tournament since the 2008 championship game
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – For the second year in a row, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team (25-30, 13-14 MAC) enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament with the No. 7 seed, as the Eagles are scheduled to open up play at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio versus the MAC East champions and No. 2 seed Golden Flashes from Kent State University (34-22, 18-9 MAC). First pitch is slated for Wednesday, May 26, at 4 p.m.
LISTEN TO THE MAC TOURNAMENT LIVE: Each of EMU's games in the tournament will be broadcast on Eagle All-Access. Fans can access the live broadcast by clicking here. A MAC baseball tournament subscription package is being offered for a discounted rate of $6.95 to allow fans to tune in for every EMU contest. Chad Bush will provide the play-by-play with Greg Steiner and Dan Wyar serving as the analysts. The production is a combined effort between the EMU Media Relations Office and SIDEARM Sports.
PITCHING PROBABLES: Sophomore right-hander Kendall Lewis (6-4, 4.13 ERA) will start on the mound for the Eagles in the MAC Tournament opener, while left-hander Kyle Hallock (6-4, 5.50 ERA) will get the nod for the Golden Flashes. The last time Lewis pitched against KSU was in game two versus KSU, April 10, where the Eagles captured an 8-6 win. Lewis went five innings to earn the victory, giving up five runs on 11 hits. The last time the Eagles faced Hallock was the series finale at Oestrike Stadium, April 11. Hallock pitched seven scoreless innings to earn the win, giving up three hits and three walks.
EMU VERSUS KSU: The Golden Flashes lead the all-time series, 47-39, and have won five out of the last six meetings versus the Eagles. The two teams met for a three-game set earlier this season at Oestrike Stadium, with the Golden Flashes taking two out of three games. After dropping the series opener, 16-1, versus KSU, the Eagles rebounded for an 8-6 win in game two before dropping the series finale, 5-0. The last time EMU and KSU met in MAC Tournament play was the 2008 championship game when the Eagles came away with a 12-4 victory to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional in Ann Arbor.
THE COACHES: EMU's Jay Alexander enters Wednesday's game with a 211-213 career record, including a 50-65 mark in his second season with the Eagles. Kent State's Scott Stricklin enters Wednesday's contest with a 217-125 career record.
BORN TO SCORE RUNS: Last year in the MAC Tournament, the Eagles tallied 44 runs in four games, averaging 11-runs per contest. In EMU's first round game over Ball State, they a tournament-high 19 runs en route to a 19-16 victory over the MAC West champion Cardinals. Eastern Michigan's 44 runs are the most scored by any EMU team in MAC Tournament play.
ROUND TRIPPING: Last year, EMU tallied 11 total home runs in the MAC Tournament. Then senior Kyle Rhoad blasted a team-high four homers, including three in EMU's 13-4 victory over the Ohio Bobcats. Zack Leonard, a MAC All-Tournament selection along with Rhoad, hit a pair of homers along with teammate Jim Gulliver. Seniors Andrew Marshall, Todd Graves, and Aaron Crooks each hit one homer in the 2009 MAC Tournament.
A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME: In Kendall Lewis' final start of the season last year, the true freshman went seven and one-thirds innings to pick up the victory versus a high-octane Ohio Bobcats lineup in the Eagles' third game of the MAC Tournament. Lewis gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits in the victory, holding OU to just a pair of extra base hits. One of those extra base hits was a home run by 2009 MAC Player of the Year Marc Krauss in his final collegiate at-bat. Krauss was a second round selection in the 2009 MLB Draft. This season, Lewis has gone seven or more innings in four starts.
LEONARD LOVES CHILLICOTHE: In two years of MAC Tournament play at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio, Zack Leonard is batting .444 (16-for-36) with four home runs, four doubles, nine runs scored, and 18 RBI. In 2008, Leonard was named the MAC Tournament MVP after leading the Eagles to the title and a NCAA Regional appearance. Last year, he was a MAC All-Tournament selection. In two years of MAC Tournament competition, Leonard has a .889 slugging percentage.
REMAINING '08 CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS: The Eagles have just three players on this year's squad that helped the team capture the 2008 MAC Tournament title. Senior Andrew Marshall and juniors Zack Leonard and Rob Wendzicki are the only three players who played during the 2008 MAC Tournament.
MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: In 10 total appearances in the MAC Tournament, Eastern Michigan has a 23-12 (.657) record. EMU has won the tournament four times: 2008, 2003, 1982, and 1981. In total, Eastern Michigan has out-scored opponents, 288-221, all-time in the MAC Tournament, averaging 8.2 runs per-game.
OVER THE .300 MARK: Last year, the Eagles had six starters hit over .300 in the MAC Tournament, including Zack Leonard (.500), Kyle Rhoad (.375), Andrew Marshall (.375), Matt Skirving (.368), Todd Graves (.333) and Wally Gerbus (.308).
FREE PASSES: Last year, the Eagles out-walked opponents, 23-16, in the MAC Tournament. Current seniors Andrew Marshall and Todd Graves led the way with five walks apiece.
FIVE IN-A-ROW: The 2010 season marks the fifth year in-a-row the Eagles have earned a bid to the MAC Tournament. Over the last five years, EMU has an 8-6 record in the tournament.
A COMPLETE PERFORMANCE: The last complete game shutout in MAC Tournament play was by EMU hurler Ryan Ford on May 29, 2004, versus Miami. Ford went all nine innings in a 2-0 win, giving up just three hits and striking out seven, while walking no RedHawks.
MOTOWN MOHAWKS: Much like the Detroit Tigers, the Eagles will all be sporting a fresh new hairstyle at the 2010 MAC Tournament in Chillicothe, Ohio, as all of the EMU players have cut their hair into Mohawks.
EAGLES AND PAINTS: Senior Andrew Marshall and junior Zack Leonard spent most of last summer at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio, as both EMU players also played for the Chillicothe Paints of the Prospect League. Marshall was named a Prospect League All-Star last summer in the league's inaugural All-Star Game.
