Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, April 23
Kalamazoo, Mich.
Noon
Eastern Michigan University
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Western Michigan
EMU Baseball Travels to Kalamazoo This Weekend
4/21/2011 6:54:05 PM | Baseball
The EMU baseball team will travel to Kalamazoo for a three-game set this weekend.
Game Notes (.pdf)
Live Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will play a three-game series at Western Michigan University this weekend, April 22-24, in what will be the Eagles' first Mid-American Conference West Division series of 2011. Game one on Friday is slated for 3 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The Eagles (21-15, 6-6 MAC) are coming off a mid-week win over Michigan and look to bounce back from dropping two out of three to Akron in their previous MAC series. Meanwhile, Western Michigan (18-18, 7-5 MAC), which was picked to finish last in the MAC West has surprised everyone this season with a hot start in conference play despite dropping 2-of-3 to Miami on the road last weekend.
PITCHING PROBABLES:
Friday, April 22 (3 p.m.)
EMU: Robert Wendzicki, LHP (2-4, 4.13 ERA)
WMU: Brian Stroud, RHP (5-3, 3.12 ERA)
Saturday, April 23 (3 p.m.)
EMU: Corey Chaffins, RHP (4-3, 5.00 ERA)
WMU: Casey Webber, LHP (3-2, 2.48 ERA)
Sunday, April 24 (1 p.m.)
EMU: Steve Weber, RHP (4-3, 4.18 ERA)
WMU: Steve Laudicina, LHP (4-2, 3.31 ERA)
--
THE SERIES: The Eagles and Broncos will meet for the 151st time when the two teams meet for game one of their three-game MAC West Division series in Kalamazoo this Friday, April 22. The Broncos hold the slim 79-71 series advantage all-time, but the Eagles have won 11 of the last 13 meetings dating back to 2007, including five of the last six on the road.
THE COACHES: EMU Head Coach Jay Alexander enters Friday's contest with a 234-230 career record, including a 73-82 mark in three seasons with the Eagles. Western Michigan Head Coach Billy Gernon is in his first year at the helm after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at Michigan Staff following nine seasons as the head coach at IPFW.
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Eastern Michigan University baseball team captured a stunning come-from-behind victory from the Michigan Wolverines Wed., April 20, with a three-run ninth inning to defeat the hosts, 3-1, in their season series finale. The Eagles end up taking two-of-three games from the Wolverines this season to win their first season series from their Washtenaw County rival for the first time since sweeping a pair of meetings in 1993.
With the bases loaded and one out in a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth inning, Tucker Rubino put a ball in play that could have ended the game as the Wolverines failed to turn a double play. In the process, two runs scored to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead, one they would not relinquish as the sophomore reliever, Kristian Calibuso, struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.
Five Eagles recorded a hit in the contest as a collaborated effort by the Michigan pitching staff kept the EMU offense at bay, at least until the ninth, when the Eagles tallied three hits in their comeback effort. Calibuso earned his first victory as an Eagle, pitching the final inning and a third for EMU.
ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles are slated to take on Jake Boss and the Michigan State Spartans in a back-to-back mid-week home-and-home series Tuesday-Wednesday, April 26-27. EMU will travel to East Lansing for a 3:05 p.m. start in the first leg of the series prior to hosting the Spartans at Oestrike Stadium in the 6 p.m. finale on Wednesday.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan University, picked to finish sixth in the MAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll, is 18-18 entering the weekend with a strong 7-5 mark in league play. The Broncos have won four of their last six games, but dropped two out of three to Miami last weekend.
Offensively, the Broncos rank ninth in the MAC with a .253 team batting average. Jack Scanlon leads the squad with a .297 (41-for-138) clip with nine doubles, a homerun, 26 RBI and 21 runs scored.
WMU ranks fourth in the league as a pitching staff, posting a 3.72 ERA as a team and is third in the league with 248 (7.2/9 inn.) strikeouts. Saturday starter, Casey Webber, leads the team with a 2.48 ERA and carries a 3-2 overall record with a team-high 56 strikeouts over 54.1 innings pitched. Team ace, Brian Stroud, leads the squad in wins with a 5-3 mark while posting a 3.12 ERA over 60.2 innings pitched.
HAIL TO THE WASHTENAW COUNTY VICTORS: The Eagles took the season series from the University of Michigan with a 3-1 road victory Wednesday, April 20. It was the first time the Eagles had captured the season series since 1993 when EMU swept U-M in two meetings. The Eagles outscored the Wolverines 13-8 in three games this season.
APRIL SWOON: Since reaching a season-high water mark of eight games above .500 (18-10) on April 3, the Eagles have gone just 3-5 after getting swept by Kent State on the road and dropping two-of-three to Akron at home. The Eagles picked up a pair of road wins against Cleveland State and Michigan during that stretch to stay six games above the even mark at 21-15, but their 6-6 mark in conference play puts them last in the MAC West, albeit just two games behind Toledo and Northern Illinois for first place.
LEONARD SEEKING HITS CROWN: Senior infielder Zack Leonard enters the Western Michigan series needing just two hits to tie Derrick Peterson's ('04) all-time hits record at EMU. Leonard's 272 career hits also rank him 10th among NCAA Division I active career hit leaders.
THAT'S CHAFFINS WITH A 'K': Senior right-hander Corey Chaffins is just five strikeouts shy of tying Jeff Fisher ('07) for second place on the all-time list at EMU with 261 career Ks. Chaffins, who has registered 49 strikeouts so far this season, is 13th among all NCAA Division I active career strikeout leaders with 256 punch outs.
LEADING OFF WITH BATTISTON: Senior outfielder Ken Battiston has started 25 games in the leadoff spot for the Eagles. Aside from the team's record being just 15-10, his numbers at the plate are more impressive. Leading the team with a .378 (51-for-135) batting average, his numbers against righties (.375) and lefties (.387) are nearly identical. Leading off an inning, he is 23-for-57 in reaching base, but as a producer, he is 15-for-31 (.484) with runners in scoring position, 16-for-41 (.390) when there are two outs in an inning, and he has a .633 (38-for-60) success rate in advancing runners.
Live Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will play a three-game series at Western Michigan University this weekend, April 22-24, in what will be the Eagles' first Mid-American Conference West Division series of 2011. Game one on Friday is slated for 3 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The Eagles (21-15, 6-6 MAC) are coming off a mid-week win over Michigan and look to bounce back from dropping two out of three to Akron in their previous MAC series. Meanwhile, Western Michigan (18-18, 7-5 MAC), which was picked to finish last in the MAC West has surprised everyone this season with a hot start in conference play despite dropping 2-of-3 to Miami on the road last weekend.
PITCHING PROBABLES:
Friday, April 22 (3 p.m.)
EMU: Robert Wendzicki, LHP (2-4, 4.13 ERA)
WMU: Brian Stroud, RHP (5-3, 3.12 ERA)
Saturday, April 23 (3 p.m.)
EMU: Corey Chaffins, RHP (4-3, 5.00 ERA)
WMU: Casey Webber, LHP (3-2, 2.48 ERA)
Sunday, April 24 (1 p.m.)
EMU: Steve Weber, RHP (4-3, 4.18 ERA)
WMU: Steve Laudicina, LHP (4-2, 3.31 ERA)
--
THE SERIES: The Eagles and Broncos will meet for the 151st time when the two teams meet for game one of their three-game MAC West Division series in Kalamazoo this Friday, April 22. The Broncos hold the slim 79-71 series advantage all-time, but the Eagles have won 11 of the last 13 meetings dating back to 2007, including five of the last six on the road.
THE COACHES: EMU Head Coach Jay Alexander enters Friday's contest with a 234-230 career record, including a 73-82 mark in three seasons with the Eagles. Western Michigan Head Coach Billy Gernon is in his first year at the helm after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at Michigan Staff following nine seasons as the head coach at IPFW.
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Eastern Michigan University baseball team captured a stunning come-from-behind victory from the Michigan Wolverines Wed., April 20, with a three-run ninth inning to defeat the hosts, 3-1, in their season series finale. The Eagles end up taking two-of-three games from the Wolverines this season to win their first season series from their Washtenaw County rival for the first time since sweeping a pair of meetings in 1993.
With the bases loaded and one out in a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth inning, Tucker Rubino put a ball in play that could have ended the game as the Wolverines failed to turn a double play. In the process, two runs scored to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead, one they would not relinquish as the sophomore reliever, Kristian Calibuso, struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.
Five Eagles recorded a hit in the contest as a collaborated effort by the Michigan pitching staff kept the EMU offense at bay, at least until the ninth, when the Eagles tallied three hits in their comeback effort. Calibuso earned his first victory as an Eagle, pitching the final inning and a third for EMU.
ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles are slated to take on Jake Boss and the Michigan State Spartans in a back-to-back mid-week home-and-home series Tuesday-Wednesday, April 26-27. EMU will travel to East Lansing for a 3:05 p.m. start in the first leg of the series prior to hosting the Spartans at Oestrike Stadium in the 6 p.m. finale on Wednesday.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan University, picked to finish sixth in the MAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll, is 18-18 entering the weekend with a strong 7-5 mark in league play. The Broncos have won four of their last six games, but dropped two out of three to Miami last weekend.
Offensively, the Broncos rank ninth in the MAC with a .253 team batting average. Jack Scanlon leads the squad with a .297 (41-for-138) clip with nine doubles, a homerun, 26 RBI and 21 runs scored.
WMU ranks fourth in the league as a pitching staff, posting a 3.72 ERA as a team and is third in the league with 248 (7.2/9 inn.) strikeouts. Saturday starter, Casey Webber, leads the team with a 2.48 ERA and carries a 3-2 overall record with a team-high 56 strikeouts over 54.1 innings pitched. Team ace, Brian Stroud, leads the squad in wins with a 5-3 mark while posting a 3.12 ERA over 60.2 innings pitched.
HAIL TO THE WASHTENAW COUNTY VICTORS: The Eagles took the season series from the University of Michigan with a 3-1 road victory Wednesday, April 20. It was the first time the Eagles had captured the season series since 1993 when EMU swept U-M in two meetings. The Eagles outscored the Wolverines 13-8 in three games this season.
APRIL SWOON: Since reaching a season-high water mark of eight games above .500 (18-10) on April 3, the Eagles have gone just 3-5 after getting swept by Kent State on the road and dropping two-of-three to Akron at home. The Eagles picked up a pair of road wins against Cleveland State and Michigan during that stretch to stay six games above the even mark at 21-15, but their 6-6 mark in conference play puts them last in the MAC West, albeit just two games behind Toledo and Northern Illinois for first place.
LEONARD SEEKING HITS CROWN: Senior infielder Zack Leonard enters the Western Michigan series needing just two hits to tie Derrick Peterson's ('04) all-time hits record at EMU. Leonard's 272 career hits also rank him 10th among NCAA Division I active career hit leaders.
THAT'S CHAFFINS WITH A 'K': Senior right-hander Corey Chaffins is just five strikeouts shy of tying Jeff Fisher ('07) for second place on the all-time list at EMU with 261 career Ks. Chaffins, who has registered 49 strikeouts so far this season, is 13th among all NCAA Division I active career strikeout leaders with 256 punch outs.
LEADING OFF WITH BATTISTON: Senior outfielder Ken Battiston has started 25 games in the leadoff spot for the Eagles. Aside from the team's record being just 15-10, his numbers at the plate are more impressive. Leading the team with a .378 (51-for-135) batting average, his numbers against righties (.375) and lefties (.387) are nearly identical. Leading off an inning, he is 23-for-57 in reaching base, but as a producer, he is 15-for-31 (.484) with runners in scoring position, 16-for-41 (.390) when there are two outs in an inning, and he has a .633 (38-for-60) success rate in advancing runners.
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