Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, March 16
Highland Heights, KY
Noon
Eastern Michigan University
8-9
15
at
9
Northern Kentucky
2-17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Eastern Michigan
1
0
0
2
9
2
1
0
0
15
20
0
Northern Kentucky
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
5
1
9
11
2
Baseball Topples Norse, Falls to Bulldogs in Doubleheader Split
3/16/2013 7:56:00 PM | Baseball
EMU moves to 8-10, winning streak stopped at five games
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University baseball team split a doubleheader Saturday, March 16, at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex, defeating Northern Kentucky University, 15-9, before falling to Butler University, 9-2.
In game one, the Eagles (8-10) overwhelmed the Norse (2-17) with 15 runs on 20 hits en route to a 15-9 victory. The 15-run output was the best for an EMU squad since defeating Western Michigan University, 15-14, April 6, 2012. Twenty hits were also the most since posting 19 against Niagara in a 15-1 win, March 17, 2012.
Eastern Michigan sputtered against Butler (7-9) game two, dropping a 9-2 decision to snap a five-game winning streak. EMU had just four hits in the night cap.
The Eagles wrap up the weekend with a second contest against the Bulldogs Sunday, March 17, at noon.
Game One
Eastern Michigan turned a close 3-0 contest into a blowout with a nine-run fifth inning. Two more runs in the sixth and another in the seventh made it a 15-3 game. NKU scored six runs over the final two innings to cut into the lead, but it was not nearly enough to prevent the Norse from dropping an 11th-straight contest.
Eleven EMU players registered at least one hit and six had multi-hit games. Daniel Russell (2-for-3) hit two of the Eagles' four home runs in the game and posted three RBI. John Rubino hit his first homer of the year while going 2-for-3 with a trio of RBI and Jamie Simpson teed off for his third of the year in a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance.
Sam Ott continued his dominance over opposing pitching, going 4-for-6 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored. The junior outfielder fell a home run short of the cycle while hitting his eighth double of the year and his fifth in as many games.
On the mound, Brian Hill (1-0) earned his first victory as an Eagle in six innings of work. Hill gave up three runs on five hits along with five strikeouts. Zane Birchler made his EMU debut Saturday, pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
Norse pitchers surrendered eight walks along with 20 hits. Brett Cisper fell to 0-3 on the year after allowing five earned runs over four innings. Cody Kuzniczci went 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBI, two runs scored and a home run.
The Green and White took the lead on the third pitch of the game as Russell sent a ball over the right field fence for his first homer of the season. The offense provided Hill some more breathing room in the fourth as Rubino used an RBI triple to score Mitchell McGeein and Nick Rotola followed with an RBI single to plate Rubino and make it a 3-0 game.
The face of the game changed in the top of the fifth as EMU scored nine times to take a commanding 12-0 lead. Fifteen Eagles batted in the inning and combined for four extra-base hits including Russell's second home run of the game, a two-run shot with one out. Ott also doubled in the inning and then tripled his second time at-bat, while Rubino played long ball for the first time this season.
NKU's offense struck for two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, but the Eagles matched those totals in the sixth and seventh to increase their lead to 15-3. Birchler pitched a scoreless seventh inning and gave way to Ben Dartnell in the eighth. The Norse tacked on five runs off of Dartnell to make it a 15-8 game and added another in the ninth off of Taylor Dimmerling, but it was far too little to post an upset.
Game Two
Butler got off to an 8-0 lead in game two before the Eagles scored a pair in the bottom of the eighth. The Bulldogs finished the game 9-2 winners thanks to a complete-game performance from Kyle Kramp (3-0).
EMU starter Paul Schaak did not fare as well against the BU offense despite striking out nine to set his career high. Schaak allowed eight runs (five earned) over 6.2 innings while dropping to 1-1 on the season. Brian Valente also pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up one run.
Ott went 1-for-4 while chipping in with EMU's lone RBI. Dae Bowden (1-for-3) and Rubino (1-for-4) also posted doubles for the Green and White.
Kramp went the distance in a four-hitter and was not charged with an earned run. He struck out three batters and walked one. The Butler offense put up 12 hits including three from Marcos Calderon (3-for-5). Claderon and Michael Fires (2-for-5; 4 RBI) each went yard for the Bulldogs.
The Eagles trailed by a 3-0 score until the sixth inning, when Fries sent a ball over the fence in right-center field for a three-run homerun to make it 6-0 for Butler.
After the Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the seventh, the Eagles cashed in on a pair of infield errors in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to six, 8-2. Rotola and Russell reached base on back-to-back miscues and came around to score later in the frame.
In the ninth, the Eagles put runners on the corners but failed to score.
In game one, the Eagles (8-10) overwhelmed the Norse (2-17) with 15 runs on 20 hits en route to a 15-9 victory. The 15-run output was the best for an EMU squad since defeating Western Michigan University, 15-14, April 6, 2012. Twenty hits were also the most since posting 19 against Niagara in a 15-1 win, March 17, 2012.
Eastern Michigan sputtered against Butler (7-9) game two, dropping a 9-2 decision to snap a five-game winning streak. EMU had just four hits in the night cap.
The Eagles wrap up the weekend with a second contest against the Bulldogs Sunday, March 17, at noon.
Game One
Eastern Michigan turned a close 3-0 contest into a blowout with a nine-run fifth inning. Two more runs in the sixth and another in the seventh made it a 15-3 game. NKU scored six runs over the final two innings to cut into the lead, but it was not nearly enough to prevent the Norse from dropping an 11th-straight contest.
Eleven EMU players registered at least one hit and six had multi-hit games. Daniel Russell (2-for-3) hit two of the Eagles' four home runs in the game and posted three RBI. John Rubino hit his first homer of the year while going 2-for-3 with a trio of RBI and Jamie Simpson teed off for his third of the year in a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance.
Sam Ott continued his dominance over opposing pitching, going 4-for-6 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored. The junior outfielder fell a home run short of the cycle while hitting his eighth double of the year and his fifth in as many games.
On the mound, Brian Hill (1-0) earned his first victory as an Eagle in six innings of work. Hill gave up three runs on five hits along with five strikeouts. Zane Birchler made his EMU debut Saturday, pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
Norse pitchers surrendered eight walks along with 20 hits. Brett Cisper fell to 0-3 on the year after allowing five earned runs over four innings. Cody Kuzniczci went 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBI, two runs scored and a home run.
The Green and White took the lead on the third pitch of the game as Russell sent a ball over the right field fence for his first homer of the season. The offense provided Hill some more breathing room in the fourth as Rubino used an RBI triple to score Mitchell McGeein and Nick Rotola followed with an RBI single to plate Rubino and make it a 3-0 game.
The face of the game changed in the top of the fifth as EMU scored nine times to take a commanding 12-0 lead. Fifteen Eagles batted in the inning and combined for four extra-base hits including Russell's second home run of the game, a two-run shot with one out. Ott also doubled in the inning and then tripled his second time at-bat, while Rubino played long ball for the first time this season.
NKU's offense struck for two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, but the Eagles matched those totals in the sixth and seventh to increase their lead to 15-3. Birchler pitched a scoreless seventh inning and gave way to Ben Dartnell in the eighth. The Norse tacked on five runs off of Dartnell to make it a 15-8 game and added another in the ninth off of Taylor Dimmerling, but it was far too little to post an upset.
Game Two
Butler got off to an 8-0 lead in game two before the Eagles scored a pair in the bottom of the eighth. The Bulldogs finished the game 9-2 winners thanks to a complete-game performance from Kyle Kramp (3-0).
EMU starter Paul Schaak did not fare as well against the BU offense despite striking out nine to set his career high. Schaak allowed eight runs (five earned) over 6.2 innings while dropping to 1-1 on the season. Brian Valente also pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up one run.
Ott went 1-for-4 while chipping in with EMU's lone RBI. Dae Bowden (1-for-3) and Rubino (1-for-4) also posted doubles for the Green and White.
Kramp went the distance in a four-hitter and was not charged with an earned run. He struck out three batters and walked one. The Butler offense put up 12 hits including three from Marcos Calderon (3-for-5). Claderon and Michael Fires (2-for-5; 4 RBI) each went yard for the Bulldogs.
The Eagles trailed by a 3-0 score until the sixth inning, when Fries sent a ball over the fence in right-center field for a three-run homerun to make it 6-0 for Butler.
After the Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the seventh, the Eagles cashed in on a pair of infield errors in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to six, 8-2. Rotola and Russell reached base on back-to-back miscues and came around to score later in the frame.
In the ninth, the Eagles put runners on the corners but failed to score.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hill, Brian (1-0)
L: CISPER (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Ott, Sam 1 ; Sonabend, Adam 1 ; McGeein, Mitchell 1 ; Williams, Austin 1
3B: Ott, Sam 1 ; Rubino, John 1
HR: Russell, Daniel 2 ; Simpson, Jamie 1 ; Rubino, John 1
RBI: Russell, Daniel 3 ; Ott, Sam 2 ; Martin, Jackson 1 ; Sonabend, Adam 1 ; Simpson, Jamie 2 ; Rubino, John 3 ; Rotola, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Russell, Daniel 2 ; Bowden, Dae 1 ; Wilson, Austin 1 ; Ott, Sam 2 ; Longo, Lee 1 ; Sonabend, Adam 1 ; Simpson, Jamie 2 ; McGeein, Mitchell 1 ; Rubino, John 2 ; Gill, Marquise 1 ; Sorise, Miles 1
HBP: Rotola, Nick 1
PO: Rotola, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: CLEMENT 1 ; VAGNIER 1
HR: KUZNICZCI 1
RBI: MYERS 1 ; KUZNICZCI 3 ; GREENE 1 ; SPURLIN 2 ; VAGNIER 1
SF: CLEMENT 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CLEMENT 1 ; MOREY 2 ; ASMAN 1 ; KUZNICZCI 2 ; HINZ 1 ; GREENE 1 ; VAGNIER 1
SB: MOREY 1 ; VAGNIER 1
HBP: KUZNICZCI 1 ; WOOD 1 ; SPURLIN 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
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