Busy Week Ahead for the Eagles

BUSY WEEK AHEAD FOR THE EAGLES: With five games scheduled this week, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team will have an opportunity to get themselves back above .500 and get a little breathing room in conference. On the docket are two non-conference road games, one against Kent State University and a make-up game versus the University of Notre Dame. Then, the Eagles come home to wrap up the week with a three-game series against Ball State University.
The Eagles face Kent State at All-Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio, Tuesday, April 30, at 5 p.m. Wednesday's tilt in South Bend against the Irish is slated for 5:35 p.m. This weekend's Mid-American Conference contests versus the Cardinals are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on May 3, 3 p.m. on May 4, and 1 p.m. on May 5.
All five games will also be broadcast on Eagle All-Access with the pregame show beginning 10 minutes prior to first pitch. Chad Bush and Greg Steiner will be on the call at EMUEagles.com/showcase.

21 FOR 20: Eastern Michigan recorded its 20th win of the season with a 7-3 win over Central Michigan, April 26. The victory makes it 21 straight seasons in which the Green and White has reached the 20-victory mark.
SYMMETRICAL RECORD: After tallying one victory and two losses in their series against the Central Michigan University Chippewas, the Eagles' record now stands at an even .500 overall as well as in Mid-American Conference play (20-20, 9-9 MAC). The Green and White are still holding on to second place in the MAC West Division with a one game lead over CMU, and are still on track to make the MAC tournament.

MEET ME IN AVON: Although they are conference rivals, Eastern Michigan and Kent State will meet for a second consecutive year in a neutral site, non-conference clash at All-Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The 5,000 person capacity stadium is regularly the home of the Frontier League's Lake Erie Crushers.
In last year's get-together in Avon, the Golden Flashes got the best of the Green and White, erasing a five run lead to eventually win in walk off fashion, 8-7. That game extended KSU's all-time series edge to 55-41. Coach Jay Alexander is 3-14 when facing the Navy Blue and Gold.
Fresh off of a sweep of Bowling Green, Kent State's (23-20, 12-6 MAC) pitching staff is leading the way for the Golden Flashes. KSU's ace, Taylor Williams has struck out 76 batters and currently has an ERA of 2.45.

AVON CALLING: For the first time in 2012, the MAC Tournament called a new venue – All-Pro Freight Stadium - home. From 2008-2011, V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio served as the host site of the event. EMU and KSU were the only two teams to celebrate a MAC Championship in Chilicothe as the Eagles captured the crown in 2008 and the Golden Flashes won the following three years. KSU again captured the 2012 tournament title with a 3-1 victory over Central Michigan.
EMU has played at the venue, located in Avon, Ohio, seven times since the park opened in 2009 and racked up a 3-4 record against Cleveland State, Kent State, Central Michigan and Miami. The CSU Vikings used the stadium as their home ballpark before discontinuing the program after the 2011 campaign.

KENT STATE'S CWS BID A FIRST SINCE EMU'S TRIP IN '76: In 2012, Kent State became the first team from the Mid-American Conference to reach college baseball's grand stage since the 1976 Eastern Michigan University squad earned runner-up honors that year.
   The 1976 Eagles steamrolled their opponents to the tune of a 46-16 record and a 12-3 ledger for first place in the MAC. That season, the Green and White featured a lineup full of major-league talent including the pitching duo of Bob Owchinko and Bob Welch. Owchinko and Welch alone combined for 23 wins against just six losses.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Eagles will travel roughly 250 miles from Avon, Ohio to South Bend, Ind. to play the streaking Irish in EMU's second game in 24 hours. Notre Dame (26-16, 7-8 Big East) has won four straight and seven of its last eight. The game was originally scheduled for April 10, but needed to be rescheduled due to excessive rain.
The Golden Domers, currently ranked 28th in the NCAA, are tough to beat at home; their record at Frank Eck Stadium this season is 14-3, winning those contests by an average of over four runs.
When examining outcomes while facing similar opponents, the comparison between these two clubs favors the Green and White. Notre Dame was stunned by the University of Michigan, 8-2, April 14, whereas Eastern had no issue producing runs to outpace the Wolverines, 15-10, nine days later on April 23.
On March 20, 2012, the Eagles' pitching staff kept the Irish bats silent for most of the game, recording 10-strikeouts. However a six-run seventh inning for Notre Dame turned a close two-run contest into an eight-run affair as the Fighting Irish topped Eastern 12-4. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 3-1.

HOME COOKING: Eastern will return home, where they are 8-4 in the comfy confines of Oestrike Stadium, for their annual series against the Ball State Cardinals. The Eagles will be looking to avenge dropping last season's series in Muncie, Ind., in which the Eagles were plagued by errors and fluky plays. In the rubber match April 22, 2012, the Eagles were an out away from winning their 10th MAC game of the season, but BSU's T.J. Weir singled in the tying run and Brandon Estep scored the game-winner on a wild pitch which was supposed to be the first pitch of an intentional walk from Joe Battistelli.
This season, Ball State (19-21, 8-11 MAC) is led by the offensive production of junior outfielder Sean Godfrey who has 52 hits, 37 runs, five homers, and is batting .331. The Cardinals' pitching staff is anchored by Scott Baker (9-1) who currently has a 1.65 ERA in 76.1 innings pitched.
Eastern Michigan leads the all time series 73-62-1. Both teams will be hungry for this series as Eastern will be looking to put some distance between themselves and third place Central Michigan while Ball State will be looking to climb their way into the MAC Tournament.

ALEXANDER NEARS 300 CAREER WINS: EMU Head Coach Jay Alexander (295-288) is six wins away from recording his 300th victory as the head man of a collegiate baseball program. Alexander is in his fifth season coaching the Eagles and has guided his teams to a record of 134-140 (.489). In six seasons at Wayne State, the 1996 graduate of the Division II school led the Warriors to a 161-148 (.521) ledger. The 41-year-old Alexander (3-30-72) became the first African-American head coach in EMU baseball history in 2009 when he took over for current Michigan State Head Coach Jake Boss, Jr.

HILL FINDING HIS STRIDE: Friday starter Brian Hill has shut down opponents in his last five outings, collecting quality starts and wins in each of them. Hill's season earned run average has dropped from 5.46 to a rotation-best 3.63 since the streak started. The redshirt senior southpaw has only allowed seven earned runs in 32.1 innings for a 1.95 ERA during his 5-0 stretch.

DISCIPLINE: Through 40 games, the Eagles have struck out 240 times (6.0 times per game) which ranks third-best in the MAC behind only Toledo and Ball State. 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).

EAGLES CROSSING THE PLATE: In MAC games this season, the Eagles have found success scoring runs. Daniel Russell and Sam Ott lead the conference in runs scored with 21 and 20, respectively. With only 18 MAC games played to this point, both Eagles are averaging over one run scored each game. As a team, Eastern is second in the league with 233 runs scored.

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: Sometimes turning double plays happen at the right time and are “just what the doctor ordered.” Eastern Michigan has turned 34 double plays this season, tied for second in the MAC. Toledo leads the conference in turning two, with 36 twin-killings.

SIMPSON TEARING IT UP IN MAC PLAY: Not only has Jamie Simpson made a smooth transition from first to third base during the 2013 MAC season, he has also reached base in 17-of-18 conference games so far.

RIGHT WHERE YOU'D EXPECT: Sam Ott continues to put together another top-notch season for the Green and White. Among MAC players, the redshirt junior outfielder is tops in the conference in runs scored (40) and doubles (17), second in total bases (84) , third in RBI (35) and fourth in hits (55). Ott's batting average of .346 ranks in the top-five among MAC players who have participated in more than 28 games.

CONTINUING THE TRIPLE TREND: Using a combination of speed and power, EMU leads the league with 18 triples on the season. The Green and White also boasts the top-two leaders in triples for MAC contests. Leadoff hitter Daniel Russell has four three-baggers in conference play while teammate Dae Bowden has collected three triples of his own.
Russell moved into a second-place tie in the EMU record books with his 15th-career triple against Buffalo, April 13. His three-bagger was the team-leading fifth on the year and tied his season-high from 2012. The senior from Grandville, Mich. is now just four triples away from tying Jeff Peck's 19 from 1968-70.
   The Eagles' knack for hitting the three-bagger has continued this year, as the squad ranked 19th nationally with according to the NCAA statistics for games prior to April 22. EMU hit two more triples in the April 24 game against Michigan to bring the season total to 18. Individually, Russell is sixth nationally in that category and just two behind leaders Chad Carroll from James Madison and Alex Bergman from LSU.

BEST TO BE AHEAD AFTER FOUR: When the Eagles have the lead after four innings this season, they have gone on to a 14-2 record. That mark improves to 16-1 after five, 16-2 after six and 17-1 after seven. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Green and White does most of its offensive damage in the fourth and fifth innings with run totals of 28 and 35, respectively.
   Conversely, the Eagles are 1-15 when trailing after four frames, 2-16 after five, 2-15 after six, 0-15 after seven and 1-16 after eight.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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