Baseball Readies for Weekend Series with the Sun Devils

Baseball vs Arizona State (5-3)
Date	Friday, March 4- Sunday, March 6
Location	Tempe, Ariz. \| Phoenix Municipal Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	thesundevils.com
Live Stream	Pac-12 Network
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team now heads west to play a weekend series with Arizona State University, March 4-6. Games one and two are set for a 6:30 MT first pitch from Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The series will conclude Sunday with a 12:30 MT start time.

    The game can be followed by live stats at thesundevils.com, or by watching a live stream on the Pac-12 Network.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Eagles and Sun Devils have met eight times in their histories. ASU leads the all-time series by a 6-2 margin. The two teams first met in 1976 when EMU took both games that season, which was a regular season contest, March 27, by a score of 7-6. Eastern then defeated them again in the College World Series, 2-1. The teams last met in 1997 when ASU swept a double header, March 2.

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: ASU enters the weekend with a 5-3 overall record, and a 4-1 record at their home ballpark. They opened the season with a four-game sweep of Xavier, but have now dropped three of their last four. The Sun Devils are coming off of their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

    As a team ASU is hitting at a .278 clip in the young season. They have also out scored opponents 37-27. Individually, they have four batters with an over .300 batting average, and two batting over .400. Sophomore infielder Andrew Snow leads the team with a .414 average.

    Defensively, ASU has a staff ERA of 2.44, while holding opponents to a .226 batting average. Their top starter, junior Seth Martinez, has yet to allow an earned run in 13 innings pitched this season.

HIT AND RUN: EMU has been alert and impactful on the base paths early in the season. They currently rank first in the country in steals (32) and 39th in hits (81). In addition, redshirt junior Marquise Gill is second in the nation in steals with nine on the season.

RAKING IT IN: Senior outfielder Jackson Martin has had a good start to the year, leading the team with 11 RBI's, which is good for 41st in the nation. As a team, EMU is outscoring opponents 55-44. The 55 runs is 50th in the nation.

CAN'T KEEP 'EM OFF: Through the first nine games of the season, Michael Mioduszewski and Marquise Gill have both reached base safely in each of the nine games. Mioduszewski leads the team with five walks, while Gill is tied for the team lead with 12 hits.

SHUTDOWN RELIEF: Junior reliever Matthew Beaton has been unhittable in relief early in the season. In six innings he has not allowed a hit, while yielding one earned run from a walk. Against South Florida, Feb. 28, he pitched two scoreless innings for his first save of the 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 one start and one relief appearance for EMU this season. In 8.1 innings pitched, the righty has struck out eight and allowed only two earned runs, putting his ERA at 2.16.

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 they wore in '76. This includes the return of the "Scrpit E" to the uniform and official team gear throughout the season.

RETURN TO THE GRAND CANYON STATE: A pair of Eagles on the 2016 roster call Arizona their home when they are not in Ypsilanti. Senior outfielder Jordan Peterson is a native of Gilbert, Ariz. while sophomore left-handed pitcher Kyle Huckaby is from Chandler, Ariz. Peterson attended Highland High School and spent two years at Chandler-Gilbert C.C., while Huckaby went to Perry High School.

FLYER CLASSIC ON THE HORIZON: After the weekend in Arizona, EMU has the mid-week off before making the trip down to the Gem City for the Flyer Classic. EMU will play four games against three teams over the weekend. Things get started Friday, March. 11 with a single game versus Oakland University. That is followed up with a double-header against Wright State University, Saturday, March. 12. The weekend concludes with a single game against the host University of Dayton Flyers, Sunday March. 13.

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Beaton

Marquise Gill

Kyle Huckaby

Jackson Martin

Mike Mioduszewski

Jordan Peterson

Austin Wilson

Eastern Michigan Athletics