Eagles Set to End Eight-Game Road Stretch at Oakland

ROCHESTER, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team travels to Rochester, Mich. for the first time since the 2010 season as the Eagles and Oakland University will battle in a mid-week non-conference match up Tuesday afternoon, May 5. The game was a late addition to the schedule as both the Eagles and Golden Grizzlies had several games cancelled during the early portion of the season due to bad weather.
    First pitch between the Eagles and Golden Grizzlies is set for 3 p.m. at the Oakland Baseball Field. Live statistics will be available on GoldenGrizzlies.com as the game will also be broadcasted live on ESPN3.

THE SERIES: Eastern Michigan and Oakland will be meeting on the diamond for the 55th time on Wednesday afternoon, with the Eagles holding a commanding 43-11 all-time series advantage.
    The Eagles defeated the Golden Grizzlies by a final score of 4-3 in the teams' last meeting, which was during the Oestrike Classic, March 18, 2011. EMU's last trip to Rochester was during the 2010 season, which resulted in an 11-1 victory for the Green and White, April 14.

SCOUTING OAKLAND: Oakland enters the mid-week contest with an overall record of 10-31 and a 5-18 mark in Horizon League play. The Golden Grizzlies dropped two-of-three conference games last weekend at Youngstown State.
    At the plate, OU is hitting .270 as a team with four players batting over the .300 mark. Senior outfielder Robby Enslen leads the way with a team-best 56 hits and a .337 average. Tyler Pagano (.326), Ian Yetsko (.308), and Mike Brosseau (.301) are also hitting above .300 on the season. Brosseau has provided the power with a team-best four home runs while Yetsko has recorded 17 doubles and 23 RBI, which are both team highs.
    On the mound, the pitching staff has compiled a team ERA of 6.69 and is allowing opponents to hit at a .325 clip. Both of those marks are the worst in the Horizon League this season.

LAST TIME WE MET: The last time the Eagles and Golden Grizzlies met on the diamond was during the 2011 season in the Oestrike Classic, March 18. The Green and White walked-off with a 4-3 victory as Wally Gerbus scampered home from third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth. EMU led 3-0 heading into the top of the eighth inning, but the Golden Grizzlies added a solo run in the eighth and two in the ninth to knot the score at 3-3. Lee Longo led the Eagles' offense with two hits and a pair of RBI. Joe Battistelli was credited with the victory in relief after recording the final out in the top of the ninth.

STEALING HISTORY: Senior John Rubino is just one stolen base away from tying the all-time single season stolen base record at Eastern Michigan. Rubino enters this week with 31 stolen bases, which puts him in a tie for second in EMU laurels with Greg Howe and Brian Bixler. The next stolen base will match the all-time single season record of 32 that was set by Kyle Rhoad during the 2009 season. Rubino is currently fourth in EMU laurels with 67 career stolen bags.

NOTABLE STREAKS: Although John Rubino's career-best 13 game hitting streak came to an end on Saturday, May 3, at Miami, the senior is still riding a 22-game reached base streak. The 22-game reached base streak marks a new career high for the senior. Junior Mitchell McGeein saw his 19-game reached base streak end in the series opener at Miami on Friday night, May 1.

FREE BASEBALL: The Eagles and RedHawks played an 11 inning contest in the series opener Friday night, May 1. EMU got on the board with a first inning run as John Montgomery delivered an RBI single to score John Rubino. The teams would be held scoreless over the next five innings, however, as senior Charlie Land was solid on the mound once again. The RedHawks finally cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh to knot the score at one apiece. After another scoreless three innings, the Green and White took advantage of two errors to plate a pair of runs in the top of the 11th to grab a 3-1 advantage. Sophomore Sam Delaplane closed out the two-run victory, as he tossed a career-high five innings allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five.

PETERSON'S POWER: First-year junior college transfer Jordan Peterson had a solid week at the dish for the Green and White, April 29-May 3. Peterson recorded at least two hits in three out of the four games last week against Michigan State and Miami. The Gilbert, Ariz. native also hit his first career home run in a Green and White uniform in the series finale at Miami on Sunday, May 3. On the week, Peterson hit .368 while scoring three runs and driving in five. He recorded his fourth three-hit performance of the season against Michigan State and now has 15 multiple games this season.

RAISING THE AVERAGE: Over the last 15 games, senior John Rubino has raised his average 48 points. Rubino is hitting .304 in his final campaign with a team-best 59 hits. He is hitting an even .400 over the last 15, which includes his second career five-hit performance and seven multiple hit games. During that stretch he has scored 12 runs and also stolen 19-of-21 bases to raise his season total to 31.

THE DIFFERENCE AT THE PLATE: In the Eagles' 18 victories this season, the Green and White has a team batting average of .315 and has scored 111 runs which is good for about 6.2 runs per contest. Eastern Michigan is hitting nearly 100 points lower in the 29 losses, however, batting at a .226 clip while only scoring 2.9 runs per game.

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 194 games, starting in 182 of them for the Green and White. Rubino currently ranks fourth in the EMU record book in steals (67) and is fifth in career at-bats (729). The infielder's four-hit performance against Kent State cracked him into the top-25 in the career hits category as he now sits 12th in that category with 214. He is also tied for 16th in the career runs category with 127.

ON DECK FOR THE EAGLES: Following the mid-week contest against in-state foe Oakland University, the Eagles return home for the first time in eight games to square off against Ohio University in a three-game Mid-American Conference series this weekend, May 8-10. The series begins Friday, May 8, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at Oestrike Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Delaplane

Charlie Land

Lee Longo

Mitchell McGeein

John Montgomery

Jordan Peterson

John Rubino

Eastern Michigan Athletics