Ohrman's Second Four-Hit Day Helps EMU to 13-9 Win Over WMU

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)— The offensive melee that has become the Eastern Michigan University versus Western Michigan University series showed little let up in the Eagles' 13-9, series-clinching victory over the Broncos Saturday, April 7. The Green and White received another impressive offensive display from Brent Ohrman and feasted on four Western Michigan errors.

The Eagles (12-18; 5-3 MAC) lost a 4-3 edge when the Broncos (14-13; 5-2 MAC) pushed across a pair of runs in the fourth. Eastern Michigan regained the lead for good with four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. WMU scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, but reliever Jordan Glover proved to be the solution to stopping the renegade Western offense as he earned his first save of the season while hurling four innings of one-run, three-hit baseball.

Head Coach Jay Alexander's squad is now within a half game of the Broncos for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division and can leap past its cross-state rival with a win Sunday afternoon in the series finale.

Ohrman (4-for-5) notched four hits for a second-consecutive game for the Eagles and scored five runs while stealing a base for the 14th time this season. He is now 8-for-10 in the series and extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games while becoming the first Eagle to have more than three hits in multiple contests this season.

The Broncos followed up a 22-hit game Friday with 18 knocks Saturday. However, they also committed four costly errors which resulted in six unearned runs. The Eagles pounded out 12 hits and had three miscues on the afternoon.

Starting pitcher Steve Weber evened his season record at 3-3 after tossing five innings in a winning bid. The junior righty gave up seven runs on 14 hits, but received ample offensive support.

Ohrman was not the only EMU player to post a strong showing as Sam Ott worked three walks and scored four runs in a 2-for-4 outing. The bottom half of the Eagles' lineup accounted for all of the run production Saturday. Jamie Simpson (1-for-4) knocked in a game-high three baserunners, while Matt Hitt (1-for-3), Bo Kinder (0-for-1) and Tucker Rubino (2-for-4) drove in two apiece.

Simpson and Daniel Russell (2-for-5) each tripled in the contest to give the Eagles a MAC-leading 17 three baggers on the season.

Steve Laudicina (3-2) struck out four batters in 4.1 innings for the Broncos, but also walked four and gave up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits. Reliever Monty Porter was touched up for a second straight outing, surrendering four runs (two earned).

The EMU pitching staff tamed the bats of Ryan McMillin and Patrick Duncan, who each went 1-for-4 with an RBI apiece after being nearly unstoppable Friday. All nine hitters in the WMU lineup registered a hit, with six Broncos recording two and Zach Thoma going 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI.

Ohrman doubled with one out in the opening inning before advancing to third base and then scoring on two separate Laudicina balks to give EMU the early edge.

Western took a 3-1 lead with a trio of tallies in the second inning. Caleb Canton pushed across the first run with an RBI double and Dan Shutes and Thoma posted run-scoring singles.

EMU rallied for a three-spot of its own in the third to regain a slim 4-3 advantage. Hitt brought around Ohrman for the first run. The inning was prolonged when WMU's third baseman dropped a ball in four territory. After Simpson sacrificed Ott to tie the score, Hitt gained the lead for the visitors when he swiped home plate. Both Ott's and Hitt's runs were scored unearned.

In the fifth, the Broncos took the lead once again with a pair of runs. The Eagles did not let WMU enjoy that advantage for long, as Ohrman, Hitt, Ott and Simpson all crossed home plate to make it an 8-5 game for EMU. The inning was highlighted by Simpson's two-RBI triple.

After Western Michigan plated a single run in the bottom of the fifth, the two clubs traded three-run efforts in the sixth. More sloppy defensive play by the Broncos allowed a routine sacrifice fly by Hitt to become a situation in which two runs came in to score as the senior catcher ended up on third base. Hitt received an RBI when Ohrman scored and Ott came across on the error. Kinder's sacrifice fly with one out plated Hitt, unearned, to make it an 11-6 contest.

A five-run lead was cut to a pair when McMillin and Duncan registered an RBI apiece and Duncan stole home as Theo Piccirilli was keeping the EMU infield occupied in a rundown between first and second base.

Another pair of errors by the Broncos in the eighth contributed to two more Eastern Michigan runs and put the final score at 13-9. Glover tamed the WMU bats through the final three innings, retiring the side in order in the seventh and giving up just a leadoff walk in the ninth.

The Eagles will try for the sweep in this three-game set Sunday afternoon, April 8, at 1 p.m.

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Team Stats

Brent Ohrman

Sam Ott

Tucker Rubino

Daniel Russell

Eastern Michigan Athletics