Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, March 28
Kent, Ohio
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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Kent State
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Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Eagles Hang On for 4-3 Victory Over Kent State
3/28/2015 5:12:00 PM | Baseball
The victory marks the first regular season win at Kent State since 1999
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Behind another strong start from senior Charlie Land (Wheat Ridge, Colo.-Wheat Ridge (Mesa C.C.)), the Eastern Michigan University baseball team recorded its first regular season win at Kent State University since the 1999 season. The Eagles (9-14, 2-2 MAC) took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Golden Flashes (10-11, 1-3 MAC) Saturday afternoon, March 28, at Schoonover Stadium.
Eastern Michigan scored four runs on seven hits, led by a 2-for-4 performance from John Montgomery (Anaheim Hills, Calif.-JSerra). Montgomery also drove in three runs, including his two-run shot in the second inning. Tony DiLeo (Rockford, Mich.-Rockford) drove in the other run for the Green and White, while Mitchell McGeein (Calgary, Alberta-Vauxhall) reached base three times and scored a pair of runs. McGeein has now reached base in 21 consecutive games.
Land (2-3) was solid once again for the Eagles, tossing 8.1 innings while allowing three runs on eight hits and striking out a season-high six batters. Land is now 2-0 with an ERA of 2.30 while pitching 15.2 innings in his two conference starts during his final campaign. Sam Delaplane (San Jose, Calif.-Lehigh) picked up his fourth save of the season, getting the final two outs via the strikeout. Nick Jensen-Clagg was saddled with the loss for Kent State. Jensen Clagg (4-3) gave up three runs on five hits in 6.2 innings but did strikeout a season-best 11 in the game.
The Green and White jumped on the board in the top of the second behind the strength off Montgomery's fourth home run of the season. Following a leadoff single off the bat of McGeein, Montgomery belted a 2-1 pitch over the right field wall to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
EMU tacked on another run in the fourth inning to grab a 3-0 advantage over the Golden Flashes. A pair of walks to McGeein and Michael Mioduszewski (Dexter, Mich.-Dexter) put runners on first and second with two outs. DiLeo delivered a two-strike single into left field to score McGeein.
The Golden Flashes cut into the Eagles' lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, using a pair of two-out singles. Burch singled through the left side to get things going and moved up to second on a stolen base. In the ensuing at-bat, Polen singled between third and shortstop once again to bring in Burch and make it a two-run contest, 3-1.
EMU got the run back, however, in the top of the eighth to push its lead back out to three runs, 4-1. A Jackson Martin (Listowel, Ontario-Listowel) single and McGeein base on balls put runners on first and second with one out for Montgomery. The sophomore continued his solid day at the dish, driving one through the right side to score Martin.
The bottom of the ninth proved to be no easy task for the Green and White. Land returned to the mound in search of a complete game but a pair of singles forced Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde to go to the pen for the first time in the game. Van Ameyde brought in Delaplane to try to close out the game. Curtis Olvey greeted the sophomore with a two-run double to make it a one-run contest, 4-3. The next batter struck out, but two walks loaded the bases with two down. Delaplane did not falter, and got Zarley Zalewski looking to end the contest and preserve the one-run victory for EMU.
The Eagles and Golden Flashes conclude the three-game Mid-American Conference series tomorrow, March 29, at Schoonover Stadium with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan scored four runs on seven hits, led by a 2-for-4 performance from John Montgomery (Anaheim Hills, Calif.-JSerra). Montgomery also drove in three runs, including his two-run shot in the second inning. Tony DiLeo (Rockford, Mich.-Rockford) drove in the other run for the Green and White, while Mitchell McGeein (Calgary, Alberta-Vauxhall) reached base three times and scored a pair of runs. McGeein has now reached base in 21 consecutive games.
Land (2-3) was solid once again for the Eagles, tossing 8.1 innings while allowing three runs on eight hits and striking out a season-high six batters. Land is now 2-0 with an ERA of 2.30 while pitching 15.2 innings in his two conference starts during his final campaign. Sam Delaplane (San Jose, Calif.-Lehigh) picked up his fourth save of the season, getting the final two outs via the strikeout. Nick Jensen-Clagg was saddled with the loss for Kent State. Jensen Clagg (4-3) gave up three runs on five hits in 6.2 innings but did strikeout a season-best 11 in the game.
The Green and White jumped on the board in the top of the second behind the strength off Montgomery's fourth home run of the season. Following a leadoff single off the bat of McGeein, Montgomery belted a 2-1 pitch over the right field wall to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
EMU tacked on another run in the fourth inning to grab a 3-0 advantage over the Golden Flashes. A pair of walks to McGeein and Michael Mioduszewski (Dexter, Mich.-Dexter) put runners on first and second with two outs. DiLeo delivered a two-strike single into left field to score McGeein.
The Golden Flashes cut into the Eagles' lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, using a pair of two-out singles. Burch singled through the left side to get things going and moved up to second on a stolen base. In the ensuing at-bat, Polen singled between third and shortstop once again to bring in Burch and make it a two-run contest, 3-1.
EMU got the run back, however, in the top of the eighth to push its lead back out to three runs, 4-1. A Jackson Martin (Listowel, Ontario-Listowel) single and McGeein base on balls put runners on first and second with one out for Montgomery. The sophomore continued his solid day at the dish, driving one through the right side to score Martin.
The bottom of the ninth proved to be no easy task for the Green and White. Land returned to the mound in search of a complete game but a pair of singles forced Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde to go to the pen for the first time in the game. Van Ameyde brought in Delaplane to try to close out the game. Curtis Olvey greeted the sophomore with a two-run double to make it a one-run contest, 4-3. The next batter struck out, but two walks loaded the bases with two down. Delaplane did not falter, and got Zarley Zalewski looking to end the contest and preserve the one-run victory for EMU.
The Eagles and Golden Flashes conclude the three-game Mid-American Conference series tomorrow, March 29, at Schoonover Stadium with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Land, Charlie (2-3)
L: JENSEN-CLAGG, Nick (4-3)
S: Delaplane, Sam (4)
Batting:
HR: Montgomery, John 1
RBI: Montgomery, John 3 ; DiLeo, Tony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Jackson 1 ; McGeein, Mitchell 2 ; Montgomery, John 1
SB: McGeein, Mitchell 1
CS: Mioduszewski, Mike 1
PO: Williams, Brennan 1
Batting:
2B: OLVEY, Curtis 1
RBI: POLEN, Sawyer 1 ; OLVEY, Curtis 2
Base Running:
RUNS: BURCH, Luke 1 ; MONNOT, Tommy 1 ; BECKNER, Zach 1
SB: BURCH, Luke 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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