Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, March 15
Florence, Ky.
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
Northern Kentucky
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Eagles Face Norse for the Second Straight Season
3/14/2014 12:58:00 PM | Baseball
EMU and Northern Kentucky will play a doubleheader, March 15, before wrapping up the series Sunday, March 16
Complete Notes
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After not meeting once prior to the 2013 season, the Eastern Michigan University and Northern Kentucky University baseball programs will meet for the second straight season, March 15-16. The three-game set was originally scheduled to be the Eagles' home opener at Oestrike Stadium. However, due to snow blanketing the Ypsilanti area, the non-conference slate has been moved down to Florence, Ky. EMU and NKU will play a twinbill Saturday, March 15, beginning at noon while the series finale will also start at noon Sunday, March 16.
DOUBLE DIP: Inclement weather has forced Eastern to play three unexpected doubleheaders thus far this season and the series with Northern Kentcuky will mark the fourth twinbill of the 2014 non-conference season. The Eagles boast a .500 mark in doubleheaders this year with a 3-3 record. EMU split with Austin Peay, Feb. 25, before dropping a pair of games at No. 30 Kentucky later that week, March 1. The last time the Green and White took the diamond, March 9, Head Coach Jay Alexander's squad swept a doubleheader down in Cincinnati. The Eagles first took down the host Bearcats, 5-4, and then continued their winning ways with an 11-5 thumping of Youngstown State.
NOTICING THE NORSE: Northern Kentucky enters the series sporting a 3-11 record while looking to snap a four-game losing skid. Kyle Colletta paces the Norse in batting average (.386), but it has been teammate Logan Spurlin who has been the primary leader at the dish. Spurlin is hitting at a .380 clip while leading the team in hits (19), doubles (6) and slugging percentage (.620). The sophomore catcher is also second on the team with nine RBI and two home runs. The Eagles will look to find success against the NKU arms as the Norse pitchers hold a combined ERA of 8.92.
LAST TIME WE MET: EMU and Northern Kentucky met on the diamond for the first time in history last year. The two were originally set to face off in Ypsilant as part of the Oestrike Classic, but the three-team tournament was moved to Northern Kentucky due to inclement weather. The change in scenary did not affect the Eagles as they took down the Norse in two games, March 15 and 16. In the first contest, it took extra innings for the Green and White to sneak by NKU, 2-1. EMU loaded the bases in the top of the 10th inning, when Sam Ott used an RBI groundout to plate John Rubino for the winning tally. The Eagles' pitching duo of Neil Butara and Ryan Lavoie combined to five-hit a struggling Norse squad.
After scoring just two runs in the first game, Eastern broke out the bats with 15 runs on 20 hits en route to a 15-9 victory in game two. EMU 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.
LEADERS OF THE MAC: Through the first three and a half weeks of the 2014 season, the EMU bats have proven to become a huge threat to opposing pitchers. Eastern leads the MAC in several hitting categories: runs (95), doubles (35), RBI (85), steals (29) and walks (64). Moreover, the Eagles rank second in the conference in on base percentage (.364) and hit by pitch (18). Individually, three Eagles top the MAC charts. Sam Ott leads the league in runs scored (15), and fellow co-captain John Rubino paces the conference with 17 RBI on the season. Lee Longo leads the MAC with nine doubles and 33 total bases while getting hit by a pitch six different times is second out of all MAC hitters.
MEET MIODUSZEWSKI: Head Coach Jay Alexander has a newcomer on his team this year, but this Eagle is already familiar with EMU Athletics having been a member of the football team during the 2012 season. Redshirt-freshman Michael Mioduszewski (pronounced met--uh-SHEFF-ski) has made the transition from the gridiron to the diamond quite smoothly, hitting at a team-best .429 clip while also pacing Eastern in slugging percentage (.857). Six of his nine hits have been doubles, and he also added his first career home run, March 8, part of a breakout weekend for the EMU left fielder.
Mioduszewski went 4-for-8 over three games, March 8-9, tallying four runs, three walks and two RBI. All four of his hits went for extra bases leading to an incredible slugging percentage of 1.250. Mioduszewski started his weekend off with a clutch pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth, March 8, to put the Eagles up by one over Youngstown State. It was the first home run in the baseball career for the former EMU football player. Mioduszewski paced the Eagles to a doubleheader sweep on Sunday, March 9, against Cincinnati and YSU. He notched three doubles on the afternoon while also scoring three times and knocking in another run as Eastern got back on the winning track.
LONGO LEADS THE WAY: First baseman Lee Longo has had an incredible start to his final season as an Eagle. As of March 10, 2014, Longo is second in the nation in doubles with nine, just one shy of the country leader. Overall, the two-time MAC West Player of the Week paces a team that is seventh in the country in doubles per game (2.50). Not only does Longo's doubles rank second in the country, but he also is one of the team leaders in nearly every batting category.
IRON MAN OTT: EMU looks to have its own Cal Ripken Jr. as one Eagle has emerged as a baseball iron man. Since the end of his redshirt-freshman season in 2011, Sam Ott has started every game for Head Coach Jay Alexander. The Canton, Mich. native started the last 18 games of the 2011 season while starting all 110 games his sophomore and junior campaigns. He got in the lineup for all 56 games in 2012 primarily as the designated hitter while he had 54 starts in 2013 with the majority of them coming in right field. To kick off the 2014 slate, Ott has started all 14 games in right field to total 142 straight starts and counting for the EMU redshirt-senior.
Ott is one-of-26 NCAA Division I baseball players that boats an active streak of over 100 starts. His 142 consecutive starts rank ninth in that category behind: Ryan Lindemuth, William & Mary (185), Justin Glass, Cincinnati (183), Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina (183), Jordan Betts, Duke (181), Ethan Gross, Memphis (167), Ross Kivett, Kansas State (166), Nick Favatella, Rutgers (157) and John Howell, Binghamton (152).
WEATHER CAUSES CHANGES: Weather has wreaked havoc on the early baseball season as the Green and White has had to make several changes to the original schedule. First, unplayable field conditions at UT Martin forced the three-game series to be moved to a neutral site in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 21-23. Two days later, Feb. 25, the Eagles faced Austin Peay in a doubleheader that was supposed to be two games on back-to-back days. Remaining in the south, EMU was scheduled to play three games over three days against No. 30 Kentucky. While the three games were played, the series finale was moved up one day, making the two teams play a doubleheader Saturday March 1. The two-game set against Morehead State, scheduled March 4-5, was called off due to snow covering the field as well as the three-game series at Evansville, March 7-9. However, EMU did find a place to play for the weekend, traveling down to Cincinnati to face Youngstown State in two games as well as the host Bearcats on one occasion.
NOTABLE STREAKS: Two-time MAC West Player of the Week Lee Longo extended his streak to 23-straight games of reaching base, dating back to last season. Catcher Adam Sonabend has the next longest streak with 11 in-a-row as the team co-captain is one of the conference leaders in walks. Teammate Mitchell McGeein also has found a way to get on base in the past 10 contests.
FIELDING WOES: While the EMU bats have been on fire to begin the season, the same cannot be said for the Eagles' gloves. Through 14 games, Eastern has committed 30 errors that have led to 27 unearned runs by EMU pitching. In back-to-back Sunday contests, errors in the eighth inning have propelled the opposition ahead, leading to losses for the Green and White. Clemson scored three runs on EMU miscues, Feb. 16, while UT Martin followed with a pair of runs on Eastern errors, Feb. 23. However, the miscues did not come back to haunt the Eagles as much this past weekend in Cincinnati, March 8-9. In three games, opponents only scored one run that was the benefactor of an EMU error.
LEFT FIELD PLATOON: While Head Coach Jay Alexander has been comfortable with the majority of his starting lineup this season, there is one position where changes have been made frequently. Four different Eagles have started in left field through the first 11 games of the season. Dae Bowden and Michael Mioduszewski lead the platoon with five starts apiece. While he has been the team's primary designated hitter, Adam Dennison has made three starts in left field while teammate Jackson Martin earned a start against UT Martin, Feb. 22.
TIME FOR MACTION: While the Eagles will have to keep an eye on the weather next week, they are scheduled to play four games against Mid-American Conference opponents. The Green and White will travel to Bowling Green State University, March 18, for a 3:05 p.m. contest that will not count as a conference matchup. However, EMU will open MAC play at the University of Akron, March 19-21. The series will begin Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m. as the final two weekend games are set for 1 p.m.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After not meeting once prior to the 2013 season, the Eastern Michigan University and Northern Kentucky University baseball programs will meet for the second straight season, March 15-16. The three-game set was originally scheduled to be the Eagles' home opener at Oestrike Stadium. However, due to snow blanketing the Ypsilanti area, the non-conference slate has been moved down to Florence, Ky. EMU and NKU will play a twinbill Saturday, March 15, beginning at noon while the series finale will also start at noon Sunday, March 16.
DOUBLE DIP: Inclement weather has forced Eastern to play three unexpected doubleheaders thus far this season and the series with Northern Kentcuky will mark the fourth twinbill of the 2014 non-conference season. The Eagles boast a .500 mark in doubleheaders this year with a 3-3 record. EMU split with Austin Peay, Feb. 25, before dropping a pair of games at No. 30 Kentucky later that week, March 1. The last time the Green and White took the diamond, March 9, Head Coach Jay Alexander's squad swept a doubleheader down in Cincinnati. The Eagles first took down the host Bearcats, 5-4, and then continued their winning ways with an 11-5 thumping of Youngstown State.
NOTICING THE NORSE: Northern Kentucky enters the series sporting a 3-11 record while looking to snap a four-game losing skid. Kyle Colletta paces the Norse in batting average (.386), but it has been teammate Logan Spurlin who has been the primary leader at the dish. Spurlin is hitting at a .380 clip while leading the team in hits (19), doubles (6) and slugging percentage (.620). The sophomore catcher is also second on the team with nine RBI and two home runs. The Eagles will look to find success against the NKU arms as the Norse pitchers hold a combined ERA of 8.92.
LAST TIME WE MET: EMU and Northern Kentucky met on the diamond for the first time in history last year. The two were originally set to face off in Ypsilant as part of the Oestrike Classic, but the three-team tournament was moved to Northern Kentucky due to inclement weather. The change in scenary did not affect the Eagles as they took down the Norse in two games, March 15 and 16. In the first contest, it took extra innings for the Green and White to sneak by NKU, 2-1. EMU loaded the bases in the top of the 10th inning, when Sam Ott used an RBI groundout to plate John Rubino for the winning tally. The Eagles' pitching duo of Neil Butara and Ryan Lavoie combined to five-hit a struggling Norse squad.
After scoring just two runs in the first game, Eastern broke out the bats with 15 runs on 20 hits en route to a 15-9 victory in game two. EMU 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.
LEADERS OF THE MAC: Through the first three and a half weeks of the 2014 season, the EMU bats have proven to become a huge threat to opposing pitchers. Eastern leads the MAC in several hitting categories: runs (95), doubles (35), RBI (85), steals (29) and walks (64). Moreover, the Eagles rank second in the conference in on base percentage (.364) and hit by pitch (18). Individually, three Eagles top the MAC charts. Sam Ott leads the league in runs scored (15), and fellow co-captain John Rubino paces the conference with 17 RBI on the season. Lee Longo leads the MAC with nine doubles and 33 total bases while getting hit by a pitch six different times is second out of all MAC hitters.
MEET MIODUSZEWSKI: Head Coach Jay Alexander has a newcomer on his team this year, but this Eagle is already familiar with EMU Athletics having been a member of the football team during the 2012 season. Redshirt-freshman Michael Mioduszewski (pronounced met--uh-SHEFF-ski) has made the transition from the gridiron to the diamond quite smoothly, hitting at a team-best .429 clip while also pacing Eastern in slugging percentage (.857). Six of his nine hits have been doubles, and he also added his first career home run, March 8, part of a breakout weekend for the EMU left fielder.
Mioduszewski went 4-for-8 over three games, March 8-9, tallying four runs, three walks and two RBI. All four of his hits went for extra bases leading to an incredible slugging percentage of 1.250. Mioduszewski started his weekend off with a clutch pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth, March 8, to put the Eagles up by one over Youngstown State. It was the first home run in the baseball career for the former EMU football player. Mioduszewski paced the Eagles to a doubleheader sweep on Sunday, March 9, against Cincinnati and YSU. He notched three doubles on the afternoon while also scoring three times and knocking in another run as Eastern got back on the winning track.
LONGO LEADS THE WAY: First baseman Lee Longo has had an incredible start to his final season as an Eagle. As of March 10, 2014, Longo is second in the nation in doubles with nine, just one shy of the country leader. Overall, the two-time MAC West Player of the Week paces a team that is seventh in the country in doubles per game (2.50). Not only does Longo's doubles rank second in the country, but he also is one of the team leaders in nearly every batting category.
IRON MAN OTT: EMU looks to have its own Cal Ripken Jr. as one Eagle has emerged as a baseball iron man. Since the end of his redshirt-freshman season in 2011, Sam Ott has started every game for Head Coach Jay Alexander. The Canton, Mich. native started the last 18 games of the 2011 season while starting all 110 games his sophomore and junior campaigns. He got in the lineup for all 56 games in 2012 primarily as the designated hitter while he had 54 starts in 2013 with the majority of them coming in right field. To kick off the 2014 slate, Ott has started all 14 games in right field to total 142 straight starts and counting for the EMU redshirt-senior.
Ott is one-of-26 NCAA Division I baseball players that boats an active streak of over 100 starts. His 142 consecutive starts rank ninth in that category behind: Ryan Lindemuth, William & Mary (185), Justin Glass, Cincinnati (183), Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina (183), Jordan Betts, Duke (181), Ethan Gross, Memphis (167), Ross Kivett, Kansas State (166), Nick Favatella, Rutgers (157) and John Howell, Binghamton (152).
WEATHER CAUSES CHANGES: Weather has wreaked havoc on the early baseball season as the Green and White has had to make several changes to the original schedule. First, unplayable field conditions at UT Martin forced the three-game series to be moved to a neutral site in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 21-23. Two days later, Feb. 25, the Eagles faced Austin Peay in a doubleheader that was supposed to be two games on back-to-back days. Remaining in the south, EMU was scheduled to play three games over three days against No. 30 Kentucky. While the three games were played, the series finale was moved up one day, making the two teams play a doubleheader Saturday March 1. The two-game set against Morehead State, scheduled March 4-5, was called off due to snow covering the field as well as the three-game series at Evansville, March 7-9. However, EMU did find a place to play for the weekend, traveling down to Cincinnati to face Youngstown State in two games as well as the host Bearcats on one occasion.
NOTABLE STREAKS: Two-time MAC West Player of the Week Lee Longo extended his streak to 23-straight games of reaching base, dating back to last season. Catcher Adam Sonabend has the next longest streak with 11 in-a-row as the team co-captain is one of the conference leaders in walks. Teammate Mitchell McGeein also has found a way to get on base in the past 10 contests.
FIELDING WOES: While the EMU bats have been on fire to begin the season, the same cannot be said for the Eagles' gloves. Through 14 games, Eastern has committed 30 errors that have led to 27 unearned runs by EMU pitching. In back-to-back Sunday contests, errors in the eighth inning have propelled the opposition ahead, leading to losses for the Green and White. Clemson scored three runs on EMU miscues, Feb. 16, while UT Martin followed with a pair of runs on Eastern errors, Feb. 23. However, the miscues did not come back to haunt the Eagles as much this past weekend in Cincinnati, March 8-9. In three games, opponents only scored one run that was the benefactor of an EMU error.
LEFT FIELD PLATOON: While Head Coach Jay Alexander has been comfortable with the majority of his starting lineup this season, there is one position where changes have been made frequently. Four different Eagles have started in left field through the first 11 games of the season. Dae Bowden and Michael Mioduszewski lead the platoon with five starts apiece. While he has been the team's primary designated hitter, Adam Dennison has made three starts in left field while teammate Jackson Martin earned a start against UT Martin, Feb. 22.
TIME FOR MACTION: While the Eagles will have to keep an eye on the weather next week, they are scheduled to play four games against Mid-American Conference opponents. The Green and White will travel to Bowling Green State University, March 18, for a 3:05 p.m. contest that will not count as a conference matchup. However, EMU will open MAC play at the University of Akron, March 19-21. The series will begin Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m. as the final two weekend games are set for 1 p.m.
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