Eagles and RedHawks Set for Weekend Showdown

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) --Following the mid-week victory against the University of Michigan, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team (13-21, 2-10 MAC) will host Miami University (15-20, 5-7 MAC) in a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional series, April 18-20. The opening game at Oestrike Stadium will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, April 18. The middle contest will follow on Saturday, April 19, with a 3 p.m. first pitch before the two MAC squads take the field on Easter Sunday, April 20, at 1 p.m.

EMU BASEBALL NEARS MILESTONE AT HOME: The Eagles will have an opportunity to record a milestone victory at home this weekend, April 18-20, when Miami comes to town. The program is just two victories from winning its 500th game in the friendly confines of Oestrike Stadium, its home diamond for the past 44 seasons. The home of EMU Baseball, Oestrike Stadium, named after EMU Hall of Fame Coach Ron Oestrike, was built in 1971, the year following Eastern Michigan's NAIA Collegiate National Championship and four years before its back-to-back NCAA World Series appearances. The Eagles boast a record of 498-341-2 (.593) in their home stadium since its construction.

LISTEN LIVE ON EAGLE ALL-ACCESS: The first game of the series between the Eagles and RedHawks can be heard live on the airwaves of Eagle All-Access free of charge at EMUEagles.com/showcase. Veteran play-by-play voice of the Eagles Chad Bush and Greg Steiner will have the call beginning at 5:50 p.m. on Friday, April 18.

READING INTO THE REDHAWKS: Miami invades Ypsilanti with a 15-20 record, including a 5-7 mark in Mid-American Conference play. The RedHawks defeated Eastern Kentucky by a 6-3 tally in the team's only mid-week game, April 16. Miami pulled off 12 hits in the victory as Chad Sedio increased his hitting streak to eight games. MU senior Dan Walsh leads the team at the plate with a .360 average, 28 runs scored and 49 hits. The most powerful bat in the lineup comes from sophomore Gary Russo, who leads the team in doubles (13) home runs (5), RBI (27) and slugging percentage (.570). On the mound, Seth Varner is the ace of the Miami pitching staff, holding an ERA of 3.22 along with a conference-best 65 strikeouts. Varner and right-hander Nathan Williams (2-5, 6.53 ERA) are expected to start the first two games of the series for the RedHawks.

SERIES HISTORY: Miami leads the series in the battle of the birds 57-47, including wins in the past four games over the Eagles. Eastern will look to reverse the results from last year's series as the RedHawks swept the Green and White in Oxford, Ohio, March 22-23, 2013. EMU's last victory over the MAC East foe came on March 25, 2012, in a 4-2 decision at Oestrike Stadium. That contest was the finale of the 2012 regular season series between the two programs as EMU took 2-of-3 games. MU has been a thorn in the side of the Eagles since Head Coach Jay Alexander took over the reigns in 2009, defeating Eastern in 8-of-10 matchups.

BIG MIKE'S BIG DAY: Dexter, Mich. native Michael Mioduszewski had a career day on the diamond as he led the Eagles to a 4-3 extra-innings wins over the University of Michigan Wednesday evening, April 16. The redshirt-freshman posted career highs with three hits and two RBI, while making the game-winning grab in left field, to lead the Eagles to victory over their Washtenaw County neighbor for the seventh consecutive occasion. After Adam Sonabend took a pitch to the helmet that loaded the bases in the top of the fifth, Miodsuzewski came through in the clutch with a single to right field, scoring Sam Ott. In the extra frame, the EMU left fielder smacked another opposite field base hit to plate John Rubino and give EMU the one-run advantage before making a diving catch for the final out of the game to secure the win for the Green and White.

LOVE SCHAAK'S STRIKEOUTS: Head Coach Jay Alexander and pitching coach Eric Peterson have to be pleased with the strikeout rate of senior southpaw Paul Schaak. In four of his six appearances this season, the Winkler, Manitoba native has struck out six-or-more opposing hitters, including a season-high seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings against Austin Peay, Feb. 25. In the Eagles' latest victory over Michigan, April 16, Schaak lasted a season-long six innings and set down six Wolverines on strikes. The lefty has 28 strikeouts on the season, including an EMU-high 14 looking, and is just one behind Jake Andrews for a team best in total strikeouts. However, Andrews has pitched in 45.2 innings compared to only 20 by Schaak. In his 20 innings throughout 2014, the senior holds a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 28 punchouts and eight base on balls.

DOUBLING DOWN: Two current Eagles are climbing up the program's all-time doubles list. Seniors Sam Ott and Lee Longo have recorded 47 doubles apiece throughout their careers at Eastern, ranking fourth in EMU laurels. Longo leads the team in doubles this season with 14 while Ott has smacked nine two-baggers throughout the 2014 campaign. The duo is tied for fourth with Scott Barrett and are chasing Derrick Peterson, who sits in third with 54 career doubles. Eastern Michigan hit king Zack Leonard holds the all-time record with 63 doubles during his four-year career.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Eagles had to rally back twice to earn both of their victories last week. Against Siena Heights, April 10, EMU scored the first three runs of the ballgame before the Saints countered with eight straight to take a five-run lead. However, the Green and White battled back to knot the contest at eight after six innings. In their next at-bat, the Eagles chalked up seven runs to put the game out of reach for Siena Heights, winning by a final 15-9 count. Eastern found itself trailing 3-0 after the top of the first, April 13, versus Northern Illinois. After cutting the margin to two at the end of the first, EMU scored three in the fourth and four in the sixth to hold a five-run cushion. The Eagles surrendered just one run in the final three innings to take an 8-4 victory.

WILSON'S WEEK: EMU sophomore Austin Wilson led the Eagles offensively and defensively in the Eastern's two victories last week. In the EMU win over Siena Heights, April 10, the Valrico, Fla. native went 1-for-2 with three runs and two RBI, reaching base four times throughout the night. He continued to produce throughout the weekend, primarily in the 8-4 victory over Northern Illinois, April 13. Wilson did it all for EMU going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run, while also using his speed to steal one base and track down two balls in the outfield. The sophomore went up against the wall to make a catch, and he also snagged a sinking ball in shallow center field. Moreover, his RBI double in the bottom of the fourth put the Eagles ahead for good. In EMU's two victories, Wilson knocked in five runs to record over twice as many RBI as he had through the other 31 games this season; aside from those contests, the center fielder tallied just four RBI in the other 31 contests in 2014.

THE MOST IMPORTANT INNING: A good indicator of the outcomes of EMU baseball games this season is to see how the Eagles fare after the sixth inning. The Green and White is 10-1 when leading after the sixth as well as 3-1 when tied with its opponent through the first two-thirds of the game. In contrast, the Eagles are 0-19 when they are behind through six innings of play. Moreover, Eastern is currently outscoring the opposition, 31-12, in the sixth inning.

LEE'S CLUTCH HITTING: When the Eagles need a hit with runners on base, there is not anyone that Head Coach Jay Alexander would rather have at the plate than senior first baseman Lee Longo. While he leads the team with a .376 average at the plate, the Mayfield, Ohio native thrives in pressure situations. With runners in scoring position, Longo is batting an impressive .469 (23-for-49), including a .636 clip of knocking in the runner on third with less than two outs (7-for-11). Another impressive stat is Longo's clutch hitting; with two outs in the inning as he has hit at an incredible .571 rate (24-for-42) with 19 RBI.

FINDING THE NATIONAL RANKS: The EMU sluggers have found the charts in the the latest national rankings (April 14, 2014). Eastern's highest rank is 23rd with 2.03 doubles per game, trailing nation-leading William & Mary which averages 3.00 per contest. In terms of total doubles, EMU's 67 two-base hits are 39th in the country, 38 behind the top mark. Tallying 5.9 runs per game, the Green and White is the 67th-best scoring team in the nation. The Eagles also have been effective on the base path, stealing 1.58 bases per game, which stands at No. 36 in all of NCAA Division I baseball.

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 33 games in right field to total 162 straight starts and counting for the EMU redshirt-senior.

Ott is one-of-27 NCAA Division I baseball players that boasts an active streak of over 100 starts. His 162 consecutive starts rank sixth in that category behind: Ryan Lindemuth, William & Mary (206); Justin Glass, Cincinnati (203); Ethan Gross, Memphis (189); Ross Kivett, Kansas State (188); Nick Favatella, Rutgers (179).

BETTER WITH DUCKS ON THE POND: With runners on the base, the pressure may seem to rise for hitters as they try to find a way to get their teammates around to score. However, the Eagles welcome the pressure by hitting at a better average with runners on than with the bases empty. EMU sluggers are hitting at a .303 clip with Eagles on the base path, including a .324 average with the bases loaded. When the bases are empty, Eastern is hitting .227 as a team.

LONGO LEADS THE WAY: First baseman Lee Longo has had an incredible start to his final season as an Eagle. He is the team leader in multiple hitting categories, pacing the Green and White in batting average (.376), hits (47), RBI (33), total bases (66), hit by pitch (9), slugging percentage (.528) and on base percentage (.430). Moreover, Longo's stats have found the top of the Mid-American Conference rankings. His 14 doubles are tied for second in the conference while he ranks fourth in the MAC in RBI. Longo is also tied for sixth in MAC laurels in hits, total bases and slugging percentage.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will wrap up another homestand with a matchup against in-state foe Hillsdale College, April 22. First pitch from Oestrike Stadium is set for 5 p.m. Following the mid-week home contest, the Eagles will flock south to Athens, Ohio, to battle the Bobcats of Ohio University, April 25-27. The series opener begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 25, and the cross-divisional affair continues, April 26, with a 3 p.m first pitch. The finale at Bob Wren Stadium is scheduled to take place Sunday, April 27, at 1 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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