EMU Travels to Indiana for a Pair of Midweek Contests

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team plays its first games of the season in the Midwest this week, March 10-11, when the Eagles travel to Bloomington, Ind. for a pair of mid-week contests. The Green and White are coming off a 3-1 victory over Georgia State, March 8, in the series finale.
    Eastern will take on the Hoosiers Tuesday, March 10, at 4 p.m. before concluding the brief two-game set on Wednesday, March 4, at 4 p.m. as well at Bart Kaufman Field.

THE SERIES: Eastern Michigan and Indiana will meet for the sixth time Tuesday, with the Hoosiers holding a 3-2 all-time series advantage. EMU and the Hoosiers first met during the Eagles' 1970 NAIA National Championship season, with IU sweeping a doubleheader.
    EMU and IU met once again five years later during the Green and White's 1975 College World Series season, as the teams split a pair of early season games including a 10-1 Eastern victory, March 28. The teams last met in 2009, with the Eagles posting a 10-6 victory over the Hoosiers in Bloomington, March 4.

ON THE MOUND: Eastern Michigan freshman Brent Mattson (0-0, 12.00 ERA) will get the ball Tuesday, March 10, against Indiana's Brian Hobbie (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Mattson will be making his second start of the season, after making his first collegiate start against UC Davis, Feb. 24. On Wednesday, Kyle Huckaby (0-0, 2.25 ERA) makes his second start for the Green and White, while Indiana Head Coach Chris Lemonis has yet to announce a starter for game two.

TAKING A LOOK AT INDIANA: Indiana enters the midweek series with an overall record of 8-4, having won five-straight contests. The Hoosiers went 4-0 at the Snowbird Baseball Classic last weekend, outscoring opponents 31-12. The five-game win streak is the ninth time since 2013 that the Hoosiers have had five or more consecutive wins.
    The Hoosiers have a team batting average of .289, led by outfielders Craig Dedelow (.356) and Logan Sowers (.354). Two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, Scott Donley is putting together another solid year as the senior is batting .298 while starting in all 12 games. Senior Casey Rodriguez is tied for the team-lead in home runs with 2 and has recorded a team-best 12 RBI in the first 12 contests.
    On the mound, the Hoosiers have compiled a team ERA of 2.57. A trio of pitchers has made five appearances on the hill, including Luke Harrison (0-0, 1.17 ERA) and Ryan Halstead (0-1, 4.05 ERA) who each have a pair of saves. The staff has collected 92 strikeouts in 108.2 innings, while holding opponents to just a .228 batting average.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Eastern Michigan Assistant Coach Eric Roof might be looking forward to this series against Indiana a little more than any other one. Roof's older brother, Shawn, is an assistant coach at the University of Indiana. Shawn, who played baseball for four years at the University of Illinois (2004-07), has spent the last two years as an assistant coach in the Baltimore Orioles organization before coming to the collegiate level. Eric and Shawn are not the only two members of the family to have success in baseball, as their father, Gene, played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos in the 1980s and is currently a coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. The Roof's younger brother, Jonathan, is currently a member of the Boston Red Sox's AA farm club, the Portland Sea Dogs.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BIG TEN: In the 66-year history of the Eastern Michigan baseball program, the Eagles have faced off against members of the Big Ten Conference 371 times, compiling a record of 141-225-5. Throughout the 2015 campaign, Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde and his team are scheduled to face three different opponents from the Big Ten: Indiana, Michigan, and Michigan State. Washtenaw County neighbor Michigan has been the Eagles' most common Big Ten opponent as the two have met on the diamond 177 times. EMU and Michigan State have clashed on 131 different occasions, while the Eagles and Indiana have squared off in five meetings.

FIRST YEAR COACHES: The series between the Eagles and Hoosiers will feature two first-year head coaches in the dugouts. EMU Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde is in his first year with the Green and White after coming over from Michigan State University where he was an assistant coach for the past six seasons. IU's skipper, Chris Lemonis takes the reins of the Hoosiers after spending the last eight seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. Lemonis helped the Cardinals reach the NCAA Tournament in seven of those seasons, including three appearances in the College World Series.

TRYING TO SPOIL THE PARTY ONCE AGAIN: Tuesday's matchup is the 2015 home-opener for the Hoosiers at Bart Kaufman Field. EMU will look to spoil the Hoosiers home-opener for the second time in seven years. The last trip to Bloomington, Ind. for the Green and White was also the season's first home game for IU at Sembower Field. The Eagles' defense recorded five double plays in the contest en route to a 10-6 victory over the home squad, March 4, 2009.

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON: After playing the first 21 games of the season on the road, EMU's first home game is right around the corner. On Tuesday, March 10, there will be only 10 days until the Eastern Michigan baseball team returns to Oestrike Stadium for the 2015 home-opener against Akron. The Eagles will jump right into MAC play, March 20-22, against the Zips before hosting Wayne State University, March 25. In the event of any time or site changes, stay tuned to EMUEagles.com for all schedule updates.

LEADING THE NATION: Junior Mitchell McGeein is tied for first among all NCAA Division I hitters with six home runs entering this week's action. McGeein blasted his sixth long ball in the 3-1 series finale victory over Georgia State Sunday, March 8. The Green and White have hit nine homers on the season, with John Montgomery recording the other three round trippers. Last season, the Eagles only collected 11 home runs as a team.

MCGEEIN CONTINUES TO RAKE: Mitchell McGeein is off to a solid start in his junior campaign, having recorded a base hit in 13 of the first 16 games. The Calgary, Alberta native enters the two-game set against the Hoosiers with a team-high batting average of .328. He also leads the team in hits (20), runs (12), home runs (6), RBI (12), total bases (42), and slugging percentage (.689). Last weekend, McGeein was 6-for-11 against the Panthers while recording a pair of three-hit performances including his sixth homer in the 3-1 series finale win.

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 163 career games, starting in 151 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 (596). 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 have a team batting average of .318 and have scored 30 runs which is good for five runs per contest. EMU is batting nearly 100 points lower in the 10 losses, however, batting at a .204 clip while only scoring 2.8 runs per game.

ON DECK FOR THE EAGLES: Following the midweek series against Indiana, the Green and White remains on the road for a three-game set against Northern Kentucky University, March 13-15. The series marks the third-straight season the Eagles and Norse have squared off in the Bluegrass State.

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Huckaby

Brent Mattson

Mitchell McGeein

John Montgomery

John Rubino

Eastern Michigan Athletics