Baseball Opens Home and Conference Schedule Against Bowling Green

Baseball vs Bowling Green (8-13)
Date	Friday, March 25- Sunday, March 27
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich.\| Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Audio	N/A
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team opens its 44th Mid-American Conference season and 46th season at Oestrike Stadium this weekend when it plays host to Bowling Green State University for a three-game set Friday-Sunday, March 25-27. The series begins with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday, which was moved up from its original 6 p.m. start time. Saturday sees another 3 p.m. first pitch, followed by the finale Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time.

    The action can be followed via live stats or by following our Twitter account, @EMU_Baseball. Links can be found on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Eagles and Falcons have met a total of 165 times on the diamond in their respective histories. That marks the most times EMU has played an opponent outside of the state of Michigan. EMU leads the all-time series by a 94-71 margin. Last year, EMU and BGSU split the season series 1-1, with the Green and White taking the first game 4-1 at home, while BGSU returned the favor 4-2 in Bowling Green.

FEELING OUT THE FALCONS: Bowling Green enters the weekend just two games ahead of EMU in the win column at 8-13. They started 1-5 before sweeping a trio of games at the Elon Tournament. BGSU split a tournament 3-3 at the same Emerson, Ga. complex EMU played in to begin the season. The Falcons have also played six mid-week non-conference games versus conference opponents, splitting two games against Central Michigan and losing four against Western Michigan.

    BGSU hits .236 as a team, with its top starting position player, Cody Callaway, hitting .283. They are being outscored 76-111, and out hit 158-191. Defensively, the staff holds the fourth-best MAC ERA with a 4.69 total. They allow opponents to hit for a .279 clip, while holding a 123-93 strikeout to walk ratio.

    The rotation is led by C.J. Schildt who posts the third best ERA in the MAC at 1.63 in five starts. The bullpen is bolstered by Devin Daugherty, who has the fourth-best conference ERA with a 2.21 mark in 20.1 innings, including two saves.

ALL-TIME AT OESTRIKE: Friday marks the opening of the 46th season at the friendly confines of Oestrike Stadium. In the long standing history of the field, EMU holds a 510-357-2 record at the stadium. Of the 45 previous seasons, 33 have resulted in winning home records for Eastern.

ALL-TIME IN THE MAC: Friday also sees the beginning of the 44th season EMU has participated in the Mid-American Conference as a program. Eastern holds a 555-509-3 all-time record in conference play. The program holds five regular season championships, as well as four tournament championships, most recently in 2008.

EAGLES AND FALCONS CONNECTIONS: The Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green coaching staffs have a few connections that link both programs. The Falcons are coached by former EMU baseball student-athlete Danny Schmitz ('79). Danny is the father of second-year Eastern Michigan assistant coach, Spencer Schmitz. Spencer played for his father at BGSU before beginning his coaching career. He was an assistant coach under his father for six years (2008-2013) at BGSU. In addition, first-year volunteer assistant coach Mike Frank is a former student-athlete for BGSU, playing there from 2010-2014.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION IN NASHVILLE: The Eagles put up some impressive offensive numbers in the 17-4 win over Lipscomb, March 18. The 17 runs were a season high and the most EMU has scored since 18 against Tennessee Martin in 2014. The Eagles went for 12 runs on eight hits in one inning. A trio of Eagles had three-hit games while both Jackson Martin and Michael Mioduszewski hit home runs for the second straight game.

RUN EAGLES RUN: EMU has been alert and impactful on the basepaths early in the season., as the team currently ranks eighth in the country in steals (44). In addition, redshirt junior Marquise Gill is eighth in the nation in steals with 14 on the season, while three Eagles are in the top-five of the conference.

TRACKING THE TATERS: Senior Mitchell McGeein entered his final season with 19 career homers, good for 20th on the all-time EMU list. He currently has two homeruns this season, putting him in 18th-place all-time.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN: A trio of freshmen have proven they will make significant contributions for the Eagles in 2016. Pitchers Davis Feldman and Tyler Butzin have already locked in spots in the weekend rotation. They are one-two in team ERA, while Feldman's 2.53 mark is sixth in the MAC. Butzin also leads EMU in strikeouts with 23. Meanwhile in the field, Max Schuemann has seen his name in the starting lineup 13 times this season, splitting time between second and third base.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Senior Jackson Martin is making the most of his final season in the Green and White. The Ontario native is hitting .284 on the year with 19 hits and team-highs in RBI's (19) and home runs (4). The 18 games started matches the amount he had all of last season, while his 19 hits, four home runs, four doubles, four steals and 19 RBI's are more than he had in his first three seasons combined.

DESIGNATED MASHER: Sophomore designated hitter Brennan Williams has done it all with the stick this season for EMU. He leads the team and is sixth in the MAC with a .351 batting average, including a team-high 27 hits. He is one of two players for Eastern Michigan to start every game this season, the other being shortstop Marquise Gill.

TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM: Eastern has been able to get on base any way possible this season, especially through hit-by-pitch. EMU is 65th in the nation and second in the MAC, being plunked 25 times. The Eagles were nailed a program record seven times against Arizona State, March 6. In addition, Jackson Martin got beamed three times in that game, tying the most in a single game since 1999. Martin is 40th in the nation, being hit six times this season.

WORKHORSE OUT OF THE PEN: Senior lefty Michael Marsinek has been the go-to guy in relief so far this season for the Eagles. The veteran leads EMU in appearances (8), and has the second most innings pitched of any pitcher without a start this season (11.0). Against Dayton, March 16, Marsinek struck out a career-high five batters in three innings without allowing an earned run.

PUTTING ON THE HITS: Despite the team being out-scored this season 127-105, the Eagles are out-hitting oppnents by 10, 174-164. They have also hit more doubles than opponents, going for 35 compared to 34 for the opposition and are only one percentage point behind in team batting average, .261 to .262.

NEW LOOK ROTATION: The biggest question mark for EMU headed into the season is who will lock down the weekend starting rotation slots. After graduating all three members of that rotation last season, EMU will use a mix of veterans and rookies to fill the void. After the first 19 games, the spots look to be locked down, with freshman righty Davis Feldman, senior righty Augie Gallardo, and freshman lefty Tyler Butzin occupying three slots. They have combined to make 12 starts for the Eagles this season.

PITCHING IN A PINCH: Senior Austin Wilson, the usual starting centerfielder, has undertaken a new role for the Eagles in 2016. After pitching some in relief in 2015, Wilson has made two starts and four relief appearances for EMU this season. In 14 innings pitched, the righty has struck out 12 while putting up an ERA of 4.50.

RUBY ANNIVERSARY: The 2016 season sees a milestone anniversary for Eagle baseball, as it has been 40 years since the 1976 EMU squad finished the season as College World Series runners-up. The 2016 team will honor that team throughout the season by periodically wearing replica jerseys inspired by the ones the team wore in '76. This includes the return of the "Scrpit E" to the uniform and official team gear throughout the season.

GOLDEN GRIZZLIES ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles continue the season at home with a mid-week contest versus in-state foe Oakland University. The second meeting this season between the two schools will take place Tuesday, March 29, with a 6 p.m. first pitch from Oestrike Stadium.

Baseball Opens Home and Conference Schedule Against Bowling Green

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Butzin

Davis Feldman

Augie Gallardo

Marquise Gill

Michael Marsinek

Jackson Martin

Mitchell McGeein

Mike Mioduszewski

Max Schuemann

Brennan Williams

Austin Wilson

Eastern Michigan Athletics