Baseball Completes Sweep of Niagara with 12-5 Win

Box Score.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)— The Eastern Michigan University baseball team completed a three-game sweep over Niagara University Sunday afternoon, March 18, with a 12-5 win at Oestrike Stadium. The Eagles completed the series having scored a total of 46 runs on 45 hits.

Eastern Michigan (6-12) increased its winning streak to three games on a day when the pitching was just as effective as the hitting. Four Eagles notched multi-RBI games, while EMU's five pitchers combined for nine strikeouts.

After getting the day off Saturday, Bo Kinder returned to the top of the batting order and went 2-for-4 with his team-best sixth double, two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Brent Ohrman stole his seventh bag of the season and hit 1-for-3 with two RBI. Tucker Rubino batted in three runs including the game-winner and went 1-for-2 with a walk, and Sam Ott was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI.

Lee Longo posted a 2-for-5 performance Sunday to cap off a phenomenal 10-for-14 (.714) weekend.

In his second start of the season, Ryan Lavoie (1-1) picked up his first win after tossing five innings. The freshman struck out five Niagara batters and allowed three earned runs on seven hits while walking two.

For Niagara, starter Jim Fort (1-1) threw 107 pitches over five and one-third innings while surrendering nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits.

Eight Purple Eagles had at least one hit in the game. Clean-up slugger Ryan McCauley led the way once again for Niagara with a 2-for-4 performance which included a home run.

Niagara plated a pair of runs to open the scoring in the second inning. McCauley's solo blast to right field led off the frame for the Purple Eagles.

A Rubino sacrifice fly and a Williams infield single tied the score in the bottom half of the second. Jamie Simpson also hit his second double of the year in that inning.

After the Purple Eagles regained the lead, 3-2, in the third, the Green and White sent eight men to the plate in the bottom of the inning and scored four times to charge ahead, 6-3. Rubino came up big again, doubling down the left field line to score Simpson and Ben Magsig for the final tallies of the frame.

Lavoie kept the Niagara bats quiet until the bullpen was called in to do the same in the sixth inning. Brian Valente pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth, and Collin Taylor got a double-play ball to work his way out of a mini jam in the seventh.

With the EMU pitching staff taking care of its responsibilities, the offense racked up six additional runs with four in the sixth and two in the seventh for a commanding 12-3 edge. Kinder smacked a one-out double in the sixth and eventually cam around to score on an Ott two-bagger. In the seventh, the Eagles benefited from a trio of walks and a hit batsman to score both runs without recording a hit.

In the eighth, Joe Battistelli struck out two of the four batters he faced. Finally, Ben Dartnell gave up two runs in the ninth, but was charged for neither score as defensive errors were to blame.

The Eagles will make a quick trip down to South Bend, Ind. to face the University of Notre Dame Tuesday, March 20, before returning home to begin Mid-American Conference play against Miami University, March 23-24.

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Team Stats

Bo Kinder

Lee Longo

Austin Williams

Brent Ohrman

Eastern Michigan Athletics