Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, April 12
Oestrike Stadium
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Buffalo
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles Battle Buffalo at Oestrike Stadium, April 12-14
4/11/2013 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
EMU is 12-3 all-time against UB
Complete Release (.pdf)
Listen Live
Live Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team plays the first of back-to-back home series against Mid-American Conference opponents Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, versus the University at Buffalo. The series opener Friday has been moved back from a noon start to a 3 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's game will still begin at 3 p.m., while Sunday's finale starts at 1 p.m.
After three weekends of MAC play, the Eagles (14-16; 4-5 MAC) are tied for third place in the West Division and tied for sixth overall in the conference. The upstart Bulls made a surprise appearance in the 2012 MAC Tournament and have fought their way to a 6-3 start (16-13 overall) to conference play this year.
LISTEN FOR FREE ONLINE: A free audio broadcast of this weekend's series with the University at Buffalo, April 12-14, will be streamed on Eagle All-Access (EMUEagles.com/showcase). Veteran play-by-play voice Chad Bush will join analyst Greg Steiner to cover the action Friday and Saturday, while Sean Hostetter and Chris Puzzuoli will call Sunday's finale.
BULL RUSH: Eastern Michigan and Buffalo have only played 15 games against each other dating back to March 31, 2006, when the Green and White won, 10-0. The Eagles own a 12-3 advantage in the all-time series and the cross-divisional opponents have faced off each year since 2010.
Buffalo has proven to be one of the most improved squads from a season ago. Although they ranked second in the MAC with a .299 team batting average in 2012, the Bulls' pitching staff finished 11th of 12. This year, UB boasts a MAC-best 3.83 team ERA. The offense is led by slugger Jason Kanzler, whose seven home runs leads all hitters in the conference.
HOW THE EAGLES STACK UP: When the most recent MAC composite statistics were released, April 9, the Eagles were third in the conference in batting average (.270) behind only Toledo (.288) and Kent State (.273). A team ERA of 4.84 is seventh, while the squad's .959 fielding percentage is tied for sixth.
In MAC games, the Eagles have a .280 batting average for the fourth-best mark in the conference. The pitching has struggled a bit with a 5.06 ERA (11th) and a .945 fielding percentage ranks last.
DISCIPLINE: Through 30 games, the Eagles have struck out 174 times (5.8 times per game) which ranks fourth-best in the MAC. EMU teams have proven their knack for plate discipline over the last two years as the 2012 team posted the second-lowest strikeout total (337).
WINNING STREAKS ON THE LINE: Starting pitchers Brian Hill (3-1) and Paul Schaak (3-1) have each won their last two starts. Against Bowling Green, Hill picked up the victory in 5.2 innings of work while allowing only three unearned runs. Schaak worked five innings against the Falcons and struck out five while allowing three earned runs. Hill is slated to start Satruday's game against Buffalo's Anthony Magovney, while Schaak will oppose Mike Burke Sunday.
UNLUCKY IRISH: EMU's game with the University of Notre Dame, originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, at Frank Eck Stadium has been postponed due to the rain. UND and EMU will now play Wednesday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m. in South Bend, Ind.
CAREER DAY FOR JOHNNY: Shortstop John Rubino set a career-high for hits in a game and posted two RBI as well on a 4-for-6 afternoon as the Eagles defeated Bowling Green, 11-6, Saturday, April 6. Rubino followed that game up with a 2-for-5 performance in Sunday's series-clinching 13-6 victory. He finished the weekend 6-for-14 (.429).
STINGING THE BALL: The Eagles roughed up a Bowling Green pitching staff which entered the weekend third in the MAC with a team ERA of 3.89. Falcons pitching surrendered 28 runs on 38 hits as EMU hitters batted a robust .322 for the series. Bowling Green's 12 errors did not help matters, leading to nine unearned EMU tallies. Lee Longo was especially brutal to opposing pitching, batting an even .500 (6-for-12) with a home run, double and five RBI.
BRONCOS ON THE HORIZON: Next weekend, April 19-21, Oestrike Stadium will be the site of a series between two West Division rivals, EMU and Western Michigan. The Eagles swept a road series from the Broncos last year and hope to continue that winning trend while trying to secure a MAC Tournament berth for an eighth straight year.
Listen Live
Live Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team plays the first of back-to-back home series against Mid-American Conference opponents Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, versus the University at Buffalo. The series opener Friday has been moved back from a noon start to a 3 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's game will still begin at 3 p.m., while Sunday's finale starts at 1 p.m.
After three weekends of MAC play, the Eagles (14-16; 4-5 MAC) are tied for third place in the West Division and tied for sixth overall in the conference. The upstart Bulls made a surprise appearance in the 2012 MAC Tournament and have fought their way to a 6-3 start (16-13 overall) to conference play this year.
LISTEN FOR FREE ONLINE: A free audio broadcast of this weekend's series with the University at Buffalo, April 12-14, will be streamed on Eagle All-Access (EMUEagles.com/showcase). Veteran play-by-play voice Chad Bush will join analyst Greg Steiner to cover the action Friday and Saturday, while Sean Hostetter and Chris Puzzuoli will call Sunday's finale.
BULL RUSH: Eastern Michigan and Buffalo have only played 15 games against each other dating back to March 31, 2006, when the Green and White won, 10-0. The Eagles own a 12-3 advantage in the all-time series and the cross-divisional opponents have faced off each year since 2010.
Buffalo has proven to be one of the most improved squads from a season ago. Although they ranked second in the MAC with a .299 team batting average in 2012, the Bulls' pitching staff finished 11th of 12. This year, UB boasts a MAC-best 3.83 team ERA. The offense is led by slugger Jason Kanzler, whose seven home runs leads all hitters in the conference.
HOW THE EAGLES STACK UP: When the most recent MAC composite statistics were released, April 9, the Eagles were third in the conference in batting average (.270) behind only Toledo (.288) and Kent State (.273). A team ERA of 4.84 is seventh, while the squad's .959 fielding percentage is tied for sixth.
In MAC games, the Eagles have a .280 batting average for the fourth-best mark in the conference. The pitching has struggled a bit with a 5.06 ERA (11th) and a .945 fielding percentage ranks last.
DISCIPLINE: Through 30 games, the Eagles have struck out 174 times (5.8 times per game) which ranks fourth-best in the MAC. EMU teams have proven their knack for plate discipline over the last two years as the 2012 team posted the second-lowest strikeout total (337).
WINNING STREAKS ON THE LINE: Starting pitchers Brian Hill (3-1) and Paul Schaak (3-1) have each won their last two starts. Against Bowling Green, Hill picked up the victory in 5.2 innings of work while allowing only three unearned runs. Schaak worked five innings against the Falcons and struck out five while allowing three earned runs. Hill is slated to start Satruday's game against Buffalo's Anthony Magovney, while Schaak will oppose Mike Burke Sunday.
UNLUCKY IRISH: EMU's game with the University of Notre Dame, originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, at Frank Eck Stadium has been postponed due to the rain. UND and EMU will now play Wednesday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m. in South Bend, Ind.
CAREER DAY FOR JOHNNY: Shortstop John Rubino set a career-high for hits in a game and posted two RBI as well on a 4-for-6 afternoon as the Eagles defeated Bowling Green, 11-6, Saturday, April 6. Rubino followed that game up with a 2-for-5 performance in Sunday's series-clinching 13-6 victory. He finished the weekend 6-for-14 (.429).
STINGING THE BALL: The Eagles roughed up a Bowling Green pitching staff which entered the weekend third in the MAC with a team ERA of 3.89. Falcons pitching surrendered 28 runs on 38 hits as EMU hitters batted a robust .322 for the series. Bowling Green's 12 errors did not help matters, leading to nine unearned EMU tallies. Lee Longo was especially brutal to opposing pitching, batting an even .500 (6-for-12) with a home run, double and five RBI.
BRONCOS ON THE HORIZON: Next weekend, April 19-21, Oestrike Stadium will be the site of a series between two West Division rivals, EMU and Western Michigan. The Eagles swept a road series from the Broncos last year and hope to continue that winning trend while trying to secure a MAC Tournament berth for an eighth straight year.
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