Eastern Suffers 10-2 Setback at Home to Kent State

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In the first Mid-American Conference game at Oestrike Stadium for the 2014 season, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team suffered a 10-2 setback at the hands of defending conference regular season champion Kent State University, Friday, March 28. The Eagles (9-12, 0-4 MAC) were held to just four hits and a pair of runs, while the Golden Flashes (13-9, 3-1 MAC) racked up 15 hits to reach their double-digit run total.

Leadoff hitter John Rubino got the Eagles on the board with an RBI groundout in the third. Freshman John Montgomery smacked a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the ninth to knock in the first run of his career. Dae Bowden also picked up a pinch hit in the ninth as Michael Mioduszewski and Adam Dennison recorded the other base hits for the Green and White. EMU ace Jake Andrews (2-3) took the loss after lasting three innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, but the runs were unearned due to his own error in the top of the third.

Kent State was led at the plate by center fielder Alex Miklos who put together a 3-for 4 performance with a run and a RBI. Four other Golden Flashes recorded multi-hit games, but the EMU pitching staff held one of the nation's best hitters, Zarley Zalewski, in check. Coming in with a .463 batting average that ranked fifth in the country, Zalewski was held to going just 1-for-5 at the dish. The Eastern arms also escaped a few jams as the Golden Flashes left 14 men on base. On the mound, freshman Eric Lauer (6-1) earned his sixth win of the season, allowing just one run on one hit in six innings of work.

The Golden Flashes started the scoring with two runs in the top of the third, taking advantage of a crucial error. As the leadoff hitter singled, Miklos put down a bunt to try to advance the runner. Miklos, sprinting down the line, forced Andrews to rush his throw to first, and the EMU pitcher missed his target wide right as the ball scampered down the right field line to allow a run to score. After a groundout that would have been the third out of the inning, Miklos scored on a double by Zalewski to give Kent State the two-run advantage.

EMU countered with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Mioduszewski singled before advancing to second via a sacrifice bunt by Dennison. The redshirt-freshman inched 90 feet closer on a wild pitch, and Rubino did his job of getting the runner across the plate by putting the ball in play.

Kent State notched a five-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth, using six hits off three EMU pitchers to take a 7-1 lead. The Golden Flashes added insurance runs with a pair in the seventh as well as one in the eight to grow the margin to nine.

In the bottom of the ninth, EMU Head Baseball Coach Jay Alexander used four pinch-hitters in an attempt to spark the offense. The Eagles put the bat on the ball throughout the inning as the ball found green grass twice for hits. Entering the game, Bowden struck the first pitch he saw opposite field for a double. Montgomery followed with a double to left that plated Bowden. However, it was the only run the Eagles could muster in the final inning, leaving the deficit at eight runs, 10-2.

The Eagles will look to even the series between the Golden Flashes, while also attempting to pick up their first MAC win of the 2014 campaign. Game two from Oestrike Stadium is set to begin with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, March 29. Junior Ryan Lavoie will take the ball for EMU, while Kent State will counter with right-hander Nick Jensen-Clagg.

Next Event

Team Stats

Dae Bowden

John Montgomery

Mike Mioduszewski

Adam Dennison

Eastern Michigan Athletics