Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Kent State
Rivals EMU, Kent State to Clash in Elimination Game Today
5/28/2011 9:32:27 AM | Baseball
The winner of today's game moves on to face Miami at 4 p.m. in the tournament championship.
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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team is set for a rematch with the No. 25 Kent State Golden Flashes in more ways than one. The Eagles and Flashes will meet for the third time in the 2011 Mid-American Conference Tournament, today, May 28, at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. First pitch is slated for Noon ET. The winner will advance to the championship game to face Miami at 4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan (37-21) and Kent State (41-15) have met twice in the tournament already, splitting both meetings with KSU taking the first game, 5-4, before EMU upset the top-seeded Flashes, 4-2, to keep its season alive last night. Today's contest marks the second straight season that the two teams will meet to decide who plays for the championship.
Last year, the seventh-seeded Eagles upset the No. 2 seed Flashes in their opening round game, 12-4. EMU then won their second game to move one win shy of advancing to the tournament championship game. However, Kent State defeated them twice and became the first team in tournament history to lose its first game before rattling off five wins in a row en route to a title.
Also, this will be the 10th time that the Eagles and Flashes will hook up in the MAC Tournament since 2006 with the Flashes winning six of the nine meetings to date. The most notable win for EMU was a 12-4 victory in the 2008 Championship Game.
The Eagles avenged six straight losses to the Flashes dating back to the 2010 MAC tournament with their 4-2 win Friday night. Steve Weber (North Royalton, Ohio-North Royalton) out-pitched KSU's Ryan Mace to extend the Eagles' season and setup the elimination game today.
Robert Wendzicki (Brook Park, Ohio-Midpark) is the probable starter for Eastern Michigan and will face off against fellow southpaw Andrew Chafin of Kent State. The two met earlier this season when Chafin out-dueled the EMU senior to a 4-2 win in Kent, Ohio back on April 8. Wendzicki (6-5) went the distance, allowing four runs on 10 hits while Chafin (6-1) struck out 13 batters and scattered seven hits over eight and two-thirds.
Wendzicki already has a win to his credit in the 2011 MAC Tournament, defeating Northern Illinois, 4-2, surrendering nine hits while striking out seven over eight and two-thirds innings. Chafin will be making his first start of the tournament.
Fans can listen to today's broadcast for just $1. Chad Bush will handle the play-by-play duties while Greg Steiner and Luke Pattarozzi will serve as the analysts. Fans can access the live broadcast by logging on to http://www.emueagles.com/showcase. First pitch is schedule for Noon ET with the pre-game show preceding it at 11:40 a.m.
