Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, April 12
Oestrike Stadium
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
11-21, 1-10
3
vs
5
Northern Illinois
9-21-1, 5-6
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9
10
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E
Northern Illinois
0
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1
1
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5
12
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Eastern Michigan
2
0
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3
10
1
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Huskies Sneak Past EMU Baseball in Extra Innings
4/12/2014 6:17:00 PM | Baseball
Eagles surrender two runs in the 10th as NIU walked away with a 5-3 decision
Re-Listen to the Game.
Photo Gallery
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team tied the game up in the eighth, but a bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch led to two runs in the 10th for Northern Illinois University as the Huskies escaped with a 5-3 decision over the Eagles Saturday afternoon, April 12, at Oestrike Stadium.
The Eagles (11-21, 1-10 MAC) took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning due to three seniors that led the Green and White at the plate all afternoon. Sam Ott went 3-for-5 with two runs scored while Adam Sonabend chipped in with two RBI singles. Lee Longo doubled in one run while scoring one on his own. Longo's double was the 47th of his career, tying Ott and Scott Barrett for fourth on the EMU all-time list. As a team, the Eagles tallied 10 hits throughout the 10-inning contest.
Eastern got effective pitching out of starter Jake Andrews as the junior lasted 6.1 innings, tying for the second-longest outing of his EMU career. Andrews gave up two runs on seven hits while striking out four. After 1.2 innings of relief from senior Paul Schaak, Charlie Land (0-6) finished the game, allowing two runs on three walks and a pair of hits.
Tommy Hook led the Huskies (9-21-1, 5-6 MAC) at the dish for the second straight game in the series, hitting 3-for-5 with one run scored. Justin Fletcher and Alex Klonowski also added two hits apiece for NIU. Eli Anderson threw 8.1 innings for the Huskies, striking out 10 while allowing three runs on nine hits. Ben Neumann (3-0) relieved his teammate in the ninth, getting out of a jam and pitching the 10th to earn his third victory of the season.
Andrews got the Eagles off to a good start by retiring three-of-four NIU batters in the first inning to give the EMU bats a chance to get on the scoreboard first. His teammates did just that as a two-out rally led to a pair of runs for the Green and White. Ott started things off with a blooper to right field before Longo stepped to the dish. With the senior behind the 0-2, Head Coach Jay Alexander decided to roll the dice by sending Ott on the third pitch of the at bat. The decision paid off as Longo blasted a double to the gap in right center field, bringing Ott home all the way from first base. Adam Sonabend kept the trend going with a base knock to right as Longo slid just ahead of the throw home, giving Eastern the 2-0 lead after one inning of play.
Eastern threatened again in the second, placing runners on second and third. However, a sharply hit ball by John Rubino took an unfortunate bounce off of the mound right to the NIU second baseman who quickly threw over to first to get the big out.
Northern Illinois tied the game with runs in back-to-back innings. Two singles led to a run in the fourth, while a leadoff triple by Jason Gasser put the tying run 90 feet away in the fifth. Gasser scored on a groundout on the next at bat to know the contest at two.
After both teams failed to score in the sixth, NIU took its first lead of the game with a run in the top of the seventh. Three singles allowed one run to cross the plate, and the Eagles found themselves trailing with just three innings remaining in regulation.
The Eagles made the comeback with one run in the eighth. Ott began the inning with a single to right before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Longo. The decision by Coach Alexander to play small ball paid off as Sonabend ripped a single up the middle to plate his fellow Eagle, tying the game once again. The senior advanced to second on the throw home, but was picked off during the next plate appearance that ended the EMU threat.
Neither team scored in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. In the top half of the 10th, two singles and a walk loaded the bases full of Huskies. With one out, Land set down the NIU catcher on strikes, but was not out of the inning yet. In the next at bat, the junior walked in the go ahead run, and a wild pitch followed to allow another NIU baserunner to cross home in the following at bat. That was all the Huskies needed as Ott was the only Eagle to reach base in the final inning.
EMU and NIU will wrap up the three-game Mid-American Conference series with a Sunday showdown, April 13. First pitch from Oestrike Stadium is set for 1 p.m. and can be heard on the airwaves on Eagle All-Access.
Photo Gallery
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team tied the game up in the eighth, but a bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch led to two runs in the 10th for Northern Illinois University as the Huskies escaped with a 5-3 decision over the Eagles Saturday afternoon, April 12, at Oestrike Stadium.
The Eagles (11-21, 1-10 MAC) took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning due to three seniors that led the Green and White at the plate all afternoon. Sam Ott went 3-for-5 with two runs scored while Adam Sonabend chipped in with two RBI singles. Lee Longo doubled in one run while scoring one on his own. Longo's double was the 47th of his career, tying Ott and Scott Barrett for fourth on the EMU all-time list. As a team, the Eagles tallied 10 hits throughout the 10-inning contest.
Eastern got effective pitching out of starter Jake Andrews as the junior lasted 6.1 innings, tying for the second-longest outing of his EMU career. Andrews gave up two runs on seven hits while striking out four. After 1.2 innings of relief from senior Paul Schaak, Charlie Land (0-6) finished the game, allowing two runs on three walks and a pair of hits.
Tommy Hook led the Huskies (9-21-1, 5-6 MAC) at the dish for the second straight game in the series, hitting 3-for-5 with one run scored. Justin Fletcher and Alex Klonowski also added two hits apiece for NIU. Eli Anderson threw 8.1 innings for the Huskies, striking out 10 while allowing three runs on nine hits. Ben Neumann (3-0) relieved his teammate in the ninth, getting out of a jam and pitching the 10th to earn his third victory of the season.
Andrews got the Eagles off to a good start by retiring three-of-four NIU batters in the first inning to give the EMU bats a chance to get on the scoreboard first. His teammates did just that as a two-out rally led to a pair of runs for the Green and White. Ott started things off with a blooper to right field before Longo stepped to the dish. With the senior behind the 0-2, Head Coach Jay Alexander decided to roll the dice by sending Ott on the third pitch of the at bat. The decision paid off as Longo blasted a double to the gap in right center field, bringing Ott home all the way from first base. Adam Sonabend kept the trend going with a base knock to right as Longo slid just ahead of the throw home, giving Eastern the 2-0 lead after one inning of play.
Eastern threatened again in the second, placing runners on second and third. However, a sharply hit ball by John Rubino took an unfortunate bounce off of the mound right to the NIU second baseman who quickly threw over to first to get the big out.
Northern Illinois tied the game with runs in back-to-back innings. Two singles led to a run in the fourth, while a leadoff triple by Jason Gasser put the tying run 90 feet away in the fifth. Gasser scored on a groundout on the next at bat to know the contest at two.
After both teams failed to score in the sixth, NIU took its first lead of the game with a run in the top of the seventh. Three singles allowed one run to cross the plate, and the Eagles found themselves trailing with just three innings remaining in regulation.
The Eagles made the comeback with one run in the eighth. Ott began the inning with a single to right before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Longo. The decision by Coach Alexander to play small ball paid off as Sonabend ripped a single up the middle to plate his fellow Eagle, tying the game once again. The senior advanced to second on the throw home, but was picked off during the next plate appearance that ended the EMU threat.
Neither team scored in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. In the top half of the 10th, two singles and a walk loaded the bases full of Huskies. With one out, Land set down the NIU catcher on strikes, but was not out of the inning yet. In the next at bat, the junior walked in the go ahead run, and a wild pitch followed to allow another NIU baserunner to cross home in the following at bat. That was all the Huskies needed as Ott was the only Eagle to reach base in the final inning.
EMU and NIU will wrap up the three-game Mid-American Conference series with a Sunday showdown, April 13. First pitch from Oestrike Stadium is set for 1 p.m. and can be heard on the airwaves on Eagle All-Access.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: NEUMANN, Ben (3-0)
L: Land, Charlie (0-6)
Batting:
2B: MALLDER, Brandon 1
3B: GASSER, Jason 1
RBI: RUSSELL, Carl 1 ; FLETCHER, Justin 1 ; SISLER, Brian 1 ; GASSER, Jason 1
SH: MALLDER, Brandon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HOOK, Tommy 1 ; KLONOWSKI, Alex 2 ; SISLER, Brian 1 ; GASSER, Jason 1
CS: RUSSELL, Carl 1
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Austin 1 ; Longo, Lee 1
RBI: Longo, Lee 1 ; Sonabend, Adam 2
SH: Longo, Lee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ott, Sam 2 ; Longo, Lee 1
PO: Sonabend, Adam 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
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