Baseball Hosts Two in Search of 500th Victory at Oestrike Stadium

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com ) -- Coming off a victory in the series finale against Ohio, April 27, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team returns home for a pair of mid-week non-conference contests before continuing down the MAC road. EMU will host in-state foe Madonna, April 29, in search of the program's 500th win at Oestrike Stadium. The next day, April 30, the Eagles will welcome fellow MAC member Bowling Green for a rare non-conference matchup between two MAC institutions. Eastern will wrap up the week with a three-game set at Western Michigan, May 2-4, in a MAC West showdown.

EMU BASEBALL NEARS MILESTONE AT HOME: The Eagles will have an opportunity to record a milestone victory at home against Madonna, April 29. The program is just one victory away 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 499-344-2 (.592) in their home stadium since its construction.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: The hot EMU bats that were seen at the start of the season re-emerged last week as the Eagles went 2-2. Eastern collected a 14-6 victory over Hillsdale, April 22, while also taking the series finale, 10-5, at Ohio, April 27. Despite the .500 mark in the win-loss columns, the offense sparked to the tune of 38 runs on 48 hits in four games, calculating to 9.5 runs per game and 12 hits per game. The EMU sluggers hit at a .320 clip, up from their season average of .262 prior to the week. Not only were the Eagles successful at the plate, but they also showed their speed on the base path by going 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts throughout the four-game stretch.

LOOKING AT MADONNA: The Crusaders enter Tuesday's game with a 24-21 record after sweeping a doubleheader over Siena Heights University, April 23. Leading the Crusaders are sophomores John Lauro and Shane Dokey, who hold batting averages of .322 and .315, respectively. Lauro paces the team in hits (47), RBI (22), extra-base hits (12) and slugging percentage (.425). Meanwhile, Dokey has found ways to get on base and cross home plate all season long as he leads the team in stolen bases (26), walks (25) and on-base percentage (.410). Moreover, he has scored 45 times, 25 more than the next closest Crusaders. On the mound, Madonna is expected to start right-hander Evan Piechota who boasts the second-best ERA on the team (2.06) to go along with a 4-3 record in eight starts. Piechota also is the team leader in strikeouts with 40 in 56.2 innings.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE CRUSADERS: Eastern Michigan is a perfect 5-0 all time against Madonna, but the two in-state schools have not met on the baseball diamond in nine years. In the last meeting between the Eagles and Crusaders, March 29, 2005, EMU used 14 hits to soar to a 9-3 victory. Eastern third baseman Matt Moffett went 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs and one RBI. Four other Eagles collected two hits apiece as EMU starter Bob Lothian held the Madonna bats in check, going seven innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out five Crusaders.

SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN: The defending MAC Tournament Champions have been on a hot streak as of late, winning seven of their last eight games to improve to 19-20 on the season, including 10-8 in MAC play. BGSU took two-of-three at home against MAC East-leading Kent State over the weekend to win six-of-seven conference contests after starting the MAC season with a 4-7 mark. As a team, the Falcons are hitting at a .283 clip for the third-best batting average in the MAC; five Falcons hold a batting average of over .300, led by Brian Bien who is at .360 on the 2014 campaign. Jeremy Shay provides power at the plate with a team-best 15 extra-base hits, including 11 doubles to lead to team highs in RBI (28), walks (25), slugging percentage (.482) and on base percentage (.446). BGSU's probable starting pitcher for the matchup against the Eagles is Cody Apthorpe, who has started seven games and holds a 1-6 record to go along with an ERA of 8.79.

HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS: EMU leads the all-time series versus the Falcons, 93-69. Last season, the two competed in a Mid-American Conference series as the Eagles took two-of-three down in Bowling Green, Ohio, April 5-7, 2013. After losing the series opener 10-4, the Green and White bats came to life in the final two games of the set by totaling 24 runs on 32 hits. Eastern won the second game by a 11-6 tally before claiming the series with a 13-5 victory. In the second contest, John Rubino tallied a then-career-high four hits, while Lee Longo and Mitchell McGeein added three hits apiece. Longo and Adam Sonabend both knocked in three runs in the final game of the series, including a home run by Longo. Also, Sam Ott crossed the plate four times to go along with one triple and one double in the EMU slugfest.

LISTEN LIVE ON EAGLE ALL-ACCESS: The game between the Eagles and Falcons 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 Wednesday, April 30.

OTT IS HOT: Eastern Michigan senior Sam Ott led the Eagles at the plate throughout the past week, hitting .500 to record multiple hits in all four games. The Eagles' starting right fielder went 10-for-20 at the dish with a team-high seven runs to go along with four RBI. In Eastern's two victories, the Canton, Mich. native recorded three hits in both games as the leadoff hitter. He recorded a .565 on-base percentage and stole two bases throughout the week. Ott went 3-for-6 in a 10-5 victory over Ohio, tallying his 48th career double to move into fifth on the all-time EMU career doubles list.

RUBINO TAKES FIVE: EMU middle infielder John Rubino had a career day in the Eagles' 10-5 victory over Ohio, April 27. The junior recorded five of his team's 11 hits for a new personal best. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native went 5-for-6 with one double, two runs and a RBI. Rubino's five hits are the most recorded by an Eagle in one game since Brent Ohrman recorded six hits against the University at Buffalo, May 12, 2012. For the entire series against the Bobcats, Rubino hit at a .467 clip, tying teammate Sam Ott for the most hits in the series out of all EMU sluggers. He also stole two bases to go along with a .533 slugging percentage.

FINDING THE NATIONAL RANKS: The EMU sluggers have found the charts in the the latest national rankings (April 28, 2014). Eastern's highest rank is 18th with 72 steals, trailing nation-leading Wofford with 119. In terms of total doubles, EMU's 79 two-base hits are 45th in the country, while the Eagles' 1.93 doubles per game ranks 36th nationally. Tallying 6.0 runs per game, the Green and White is the 48th-best scoring team in the nation, moving up 35 spots since the latest rankings were released.

A CHANGE AT LEADOFF: Nine games ago, EMU Head Coach Jay Alexander decided to mix things up by inserting one of his best hitters, Sam Ott, into the leadoff position to try and spark the EMU offense. The starting right fielder, who usually bats in the three hole, has made a comfortable transition to the new spot in the order, doing his job by finding different ways to get on base. Since the switch, Ott has led the team with 14 hits, a .522 on-base percentage and nine walks. Ott's nine base on balls are five more than any other Eagle in the nine-game stretch since he has taken the leadoff spot in the order. As the first slugger at the dish for the Green and White, Ott is hitting at a .389 clip.

DOUBLING DOWN: Two current Eagles are climbing up the program's all-time doubles list. Seniors Lee Longo and Sam Ott have recorded 49 and 48 doubles, respectively throughout their careers at Eastern, ranking fourth and fifth in EMU laurels. Longo leads the team in doubles this season with 16 while Ott has smacked 10 two-baggers throughout the 2014 campaign. The duo is chasing Derrick Peterson, who sits in third with 54 career doubles, looking to reach his total before season's end. Eastern Michigan hit king Zack Leonard holds the all-time record with 63 doubles during his four-year career.

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 12-2 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 0-23 when they are behind through six innings of play. Moreover, Eastern is currently outscoring the opposition, 41-19, 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 .375 average at the plate, the Mayfield, Ohio native thrives in pressure situations. With runners in scoring position, Longo is batting an impressive .450 (27-for-60), including a .692 clip of knocking in the runner on third with less than two outs (9-for-13). Another impressive stat is Longo's clutch hitting; with two outs in the inning as he has hit at an incredible .519 rate (27-for-52) with 21 RBI.

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 41 games in right field to total 169 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 169 consecutive starts rank fifth in that category behind: Justin Glass, Cincinnati (210); Ethan Gross, Memphis (199); Ross Kivett, Kansas State (196); Nick Favatella, Rutgers (186).

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 .304 clip with Eagles on the base path, including a .340 average with the bases loaded. When the bases are empty, Eastern is hitting .230 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 (.375), hits (57), RBI (38), total bases (78), doubles (16), hit by pitch (12), slugging percentage (.513) and on-base percentage (.440). Moreover, Longo's stats have found the top of the Mid-American Conference rankings. The EMU slugger is the MAC's leading hitter with a .375 batting average. Meanwhile, his 16 doubles are third in the conference while he ranks fourth in the MAC in RBI. Longo is also fifth in hits and total bases.

A RIVAL AWAITS: Eastern will wrap up the week with a three-game set at Western Michigan, May 2-4, in a MAC West showdown. The series against the in-state rival is a big one for the Eagles if they want any chance at making the 2014 MAC Tournament. The first two games are slated to begin at 3 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Mich., while the Sunday contest has first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Baseball Hosts Two in Search of 500th Victory at Oestrike Stadium

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