Eagles Host Akron to Begin Conference Play

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team welcomes the University of Akron to Oestrike Stadium for a three-game set, March 20-22. The series will be the first Mid-American Conference contests for both teams, and the first home games of the 2015 campaign for the Eagles. EMU played its first 18 games of the season on the road.
    The home-opener and first game of the series gets underway Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will begin at 3 p.m. as well, before the series concludes Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

THE SERIES: Eastern Michigan and Akron will be meeting for the 49th time Friday, with the Eagles holding a 29-19 series advantage.
    The Zips swept the three-game series over the Eagles last season in Akron. The sweep marked the first time Akron has swept a series against the Green and White since the Zips won a pair of games in 2000.
    The last time Akron traveled to Ypsilanti was in 2011, when the Zips claimed two of the three games in the weekend series.

FRIDAY'S START TIME BUMPED UP: The series opener and 2015 home opener has been bumped up to a 3 p.m. start time at Oestrike Stadium instead of the originally scheduled first pitch time of 6 p.m. The Eagles begin a stretch of four straight at home with a three-game series against Akron, followed by a non-conference battle against Wayne State University Wednesday, March 25.

ON THE MOUND: Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde and the Eagles will go with the same starting rotation once again this weekend. The trio of seniors will get the ball in the Green and White's first Mid-American Conference series against the Zips. Ryan Lavoie (1-2, 5.48 ERA) will get the nod in the series opener Friday against left-hander John Valek (2-1, 5.27 ERA). On Saturday, Charlie Land (0-3, 4.84 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season, squaring off against righty JT Brubaker (1-2, 3.21 ERA). The series finale on Sunday will see Jake Andrews (2-1, 1.24) battle Jon Pusateri (1-2, 3.38 ERA) on the mound.

SCOUTING AKRON: Akron enters the weekend series with an overall record of 8-9, having dropped its last four games including a pair to West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh this week. The Zips have knocked off two Big Ten schools already this season, defeating Michigan State 3-1 and Michigan 2-0.
    The Zips have recorded a .259 team batting average in their first 17 games. Junior infielder Kris Simonton leads the team in batting, compiling 23 hits and hitting at a .348 clip while starting in 16 games. Joey Havrilak has been solid at the plate as well for his final season, hitting .333 with two doubles, two triples, three home runs, and 12 RBI. The only other starter to have a batting average over .300 is junior Daulton Mosbarger, who has also appeared in six games on the mound as well for the Zips. Mosbarger is hitting .308 with a team-best four doubles, and has recorded a pair of saves while not allowing a hit in 4.1 innings.
    On the mound, the Zips have compiled a team ERA of 5.26. Zach Beaver leads the team in appearances with eight but opponents are hitting .378 against the right-hander. Redshirt-senior Matt LaRocca has recorded a team-high three saves for the Zips, striking out seven in just 4.1 innings pitched. The staff has collected 87 strikeouts in 143.2 innings, allowing opponents to hit at a .271 clip.

FRIENDLY CONFINES OF OESTRIKE STADIUM: Since the opening of Oestrike Stadium in 1971, the Eastern Michigan baseball team has posted an all-time record of 500-348-2 (.589) at its home stadium. The home of EMU baseball was built the year following Eastern Michigan's NAIA Collegiate National Championship and four years before its back-to-back NCAA World Series appearances. The stadium is named after EMU Hall of Fame Coach Ron Oestrike, who coached Eastern Michigan from 1965-1987 and collected 657 wins, which is the most by any EMU head coach.

HOME OPENERS: EMU has won its previous four home openers at Oestrike Stadium. The Eagles defeated Northwestern University last season by a final score of 9-8. In 2013, the Green and White beat Concordia University 4-3 while EMU took down Niagara University, 19-10, in 2012. The four-game winning streak began in 2011, with a 4-3 victory over Oakland University. The last time Eastern had its home opener against a Mid-American Conference opponent, the Eagles swept a doubleheader from the University of Miami, March 29, 2008.

WEATHER FORCES CANCELLATIONS: The Green and White was unable to play any games last weekend due to the threat of bad weather and unplayable field conditions. The original schedule had the Eagles traveling to Highland Heights, Ky. for a three-game series against Northern Kentucky University, but that was washed out at the beginning of the week. EMU found a pair of replacement games for Saturday, March 14, against Ohio State University and the University of Evansville in Columbus, Ohio but that doubleheader was also cancelled.

READY FOR #MACtion: This weekend's series against the University of Akron marks the opening weekend of the Mid-American Conference season. EMU was predicted to finish fifth in the MAC West Division, the conference announced Feb. 11, after releasing its preseason coaches' poll. Ball State was picked to sit atop the West while the coaches around the conference felt Kent State would claim the East Division as well as the 2015 MAC Tournament.
    The 2015 MAC Tournament will be played at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio once again this season. The tournament will be comprised of the top-eight teams based on the final conference standings. The first round games will begin May 20 and the championship will be played May 24.

LEADING THE CONFERENCE: Junior Mitchell McGeein has blasted six home runs in the Eagles' first 18 contests. McGeein leads the MAC in that category and is tied for ninth among all NCAA Division I hitters entering this weekend's play. There are five players in the conference tied for second with three home runs apiece. As a team, Ball State leads the conference with 11 homers while the Green and White are right behind with 10 round trippers this season.

MCGEEIN CONTINUES TO RAKE: Mitchell McGeein leads the team in batting after the Eagles' first 18 games. McGeein enters the weekend having reached base in his last 16 games. The Calgary, Alberta native is batting .338 and leads the team in runs scored (13), doubles (5), home runs (6), RBI (12), total bases (46), and slugging percentage (.676). Last week, McGeein was 3-for-7 with a run scored and a double in the two-game set at Indiana.

IMPRESSIVE START: Junior Jordan Peterson is in his first season for the Green and White, and the junior college transfer has not disappointed. Peterson is batting .297 while starting in all 18 contests for EMU. He is second in the team in hits (19), doubles (4), and total bases (23), trailing only Mitchell McGeein in those categories. The Gilbert, Ariz. native has been stout in the outfield as well, recording a pair of assists and carrying a perfect fielding percentage into the weekend.

LEARNING TO FLY: Between Feb. 13 and March 11, the Eagles played 18 games in 27 days and logged about 9,000 miles of travel. After an opening weekend series in Tucson, Ariz. against the Arizona Wildcats, the Eagles made their first trip to the Golden State since 2001 for a trio of series against Saint Mary's, UC Davis, and Santa Clara. EMU then traveled south to battle Georgia State University, March 6-8, before squaring off against Indiana University, March 10-11.

MOVING UP THE ALL-TIME RANKS: Senior John Rubino has been a staple in the Eagles lineup since he stepped foot on campus for his freshman season in 2012. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native has played in 165 career games, starting in 153 of them for the Green and White. Rubino currently ranks 14th in the EMU record book in steals (36) and 20th in career at bats (605). The infielder needs just six hits to crack into the top-25 in the career hits category and 16 runs to rank in the top-20 for career runs scored.

BATTING IN WINS AND LOSSES: In the Eagles' six victories this season, the Green and White has a team batting average of .318 and has scored 30 runs which is good for five runs per contest. EMU is batting nearly 100 points lower in the 12 losses, however, batting at a .206 clip while only scoring 2.67 runs per game.

ON DECK FOR THE EAGLES: Following the weekend series against Akron, the Green and White hosts Wayne State University for a midweek non-conference contest, March 25, at Oestrike Stadium. The Eagles will then travel to Kent, Ohio for a three-game conference series against Kent State University, March 27-29.

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Players Mentioned

Jake Andrews

Charlie Land

Ryan Lavoie

Mitchell McGeein

Jordan Peterson

John Rubino

Eastern Michigan Athletics