Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, May 6
Muncie, Ind.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
17-26, 8-8
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Ball State
28-18, 13-6
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Ball State
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Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Offensive Explosion Not Enough in Road Loss to Ball State
5/6/2016 7:05:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles tallied 11 hits in the game
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team had an offensive explosion in the series opener against Ball State University, but it was not enough in a 10-7 defeat Friday, May 6 at Ball Diamond. The Eagles finished with 11 hits on the afternoon, marking the fifth double digit hit game for EMU in the last eight games.
The 11 hits were spread out among seven EMU starters. Junior John Montgomery (Anaheim Hills, Calif.-JSerra) had the biggest game, going 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, and two RBI's. Sophomore Brennan Williams (Commerce Township, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) collected his team-best 15th multi-hit game with two hits, including a double.
Freshman John Rensel Jr. (Tallmadge, Ohio-Tallmadge) also had two hits with a double, as well as two RBI's. Finally, senior Austin Wilson (Valrico, Fla.-Bloomingdale Sr.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single.
Despite the final tally, freshman Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice) pitched 3.1 solid innings in relief, only allowing one run on one hit and striking out one.
The Cardinals were the first on the board in the first, knocking in a pair on a two-out single after runners reached on a walk and hit by pitch, giving BSU the early 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless second, EMU exploded for five runs in the third on some clutch hitting and a couple BSU miscues. A one-out redshirt junior Marquise Gill (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw) single started things off. The speedster stole his 32nd bag to set himself up in scoring position. An infield single from Williams put runners on the corners, but a foul out gave the Eagles one more out to work with.
The squad made the most of the opportunity, knocking in three runs on two hits. Montgomery started it off with an RBI single to right, putting EMU on the board. After a walk, Eastern took the lead on an opposite field double from Rensel Jr., making it 3-2. The next two runs came in to score on Cardinal miscues, one on a wild pitch, the other on a passed ball, putting EMU up 5-2 in the third.
Another single chased the Ball State starter from the game after just 2.2 innings, but no further damage was done in the inning. EMU starter senior Michael Marsinek (Streetsboro, Ohio-Walsh Jesuit) went one-two-three in the bottom of the third for his second consecutive scoreless inning.
Eastern got one more run in the fourth with another big two-out hit. With Wilson on second after his streak-extending hit, McGeein popped up a high fly ball that the Ball State player lost in the sun, allowing it to drop, scoring Wilson from second.
Ball State battled back in the bottom of the fourth getting, things started with back-to-back hits, a single and double, tightening the score back to 6-3. Back-to-back walks loaded the bags and a single plated two more, making it a one run game.
It did not stay a one run game for long, as the lead-off hitter in the fifth, Montgomery, parked his third home run of the season on the first pitch, a shot to right field.
The Cardinals completed the comeback in the fifth with a four-run inning on four hits, giving BSU a 9-7 lead after just five innings. The offenses cooled significantly in the final four innings, with only Ball State getting another run in the eighth. Despite EMU getting some opportunities to plate runs, they still fell by the 10-7 margin.
The weekend series continues tomorrow with game two against the Cardinals. First pitch against Ball State is set for 1 p.m.
The 11 hits were spread out among seven EMU starters. Junior John Montgomery (Anaheim Hills, Calif.-JSerra) had the biggest game, going 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, and two RBI's. Sophomore Brennan Williams (Commerce Township, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) collected his team-best 15th multi-hit game with two hits, including a double.
Freshman John Rensel Jr. (Tallmadge, Ohio-Tallmadge) also had two hits with a double, as well as two RBI's. Finally, senior Austin Wilson (Valrico, Fla.-Bloomingdale Sr.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single.
Despite the final tally, freshman Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice) pitched 3.1 solid innings in relief, only allowing one run on one hit and striking out one.
The Cardinals were the first on the board in the first, knocking in a pair on a two-out single after runners reached on a walk and hit by pitch, giving BSU the early 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless second, EMU exploded for five runs in the third on some clutch hitting and a couple BSU miscues. A one-out redshirt junior Marquise Gill (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw) single started things off. The speedster stole his 32nd bag to set himself up in scoring position. An infield single from Williams put runners on the corners, but a foul out gave the Eagles one more out to work with.
The squad made the most of the opportunity, knocking in three runs on two hits. Montgomery started it off with an RBI single to right, putting EMU on the board. After a walk, Eastern took the lead on an opposite field double from Rensel Jr., making it 3-2. The next two runs came in to score on Cardinal miscues, one on a wild pitch, the other on a passed ball, putting EMU up 5-2 in the third.
Another single chased the Ball State starter from the game after just 2.2 innings, but no further damage was done in the inning. EMU starter senior Michael Marsinek (Streetsboro, Ohio-Walsh Jesuit) went one-two-three in the bottom of the third for his second consecutive scoreless inning.
Eastern got one more run in the fourth with another big two-out hit. With Wilson on second after his streak-extending hit, McGeein popped up a high fly ball that the Ball State player lost in the sun, allowing it to drop, scoring Wilson from second.
Ball State battled back in the bottom of the fourth getting, things started with back-to-back hits, a single and double, tightening the score back to 6-3. Back-to-back walks loaded the bags and a single plated two more, making it a one run game.
It did not stay a one run game for long, as the lead-off hitter in the fifth, Montgomery, parked his third home run of the season on the first pitch, a shot to right field.
The Cardinals completed the comeback in the fifth with a four-run inning on four hits, giving BSU a 9-7 lead after just five innings. The offenses cooled significantly in the final four innings, with only Ball State getting another run in the eighth. Despite EMU getting some opportunities to plate runs, they still fell by the 10-7 margin.
The weekend series continues tomorrow with game two against the Cardinals. First pitch against Ball State is set for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: HARO, Matt (5-1)
L: Marsinek, Michael (2-3)
S: BUTLER, BJ (9)
Batting:
2B: Williams, Brennan 1 ; McGeein, Mitchell 1 ; Rensel Jr., John 1
HR: Montgomery, John 1
RBI: McGeein, Mitchell 1 ; Montgomery, John 2 ; Rensel Jr., John 2
SH: Lett, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Austin 1 ; Gill, Marquise 1 ; Williams, Brennan 1 ; Montgomery, John 2 ; Mioduszewski, Mike 1 ; Rensel Jr., John 1
SB: Gill, Marquise 1 ; Montgomery, John 1
HBP: Stidham, Jeremy 1
Batting:
2B: SPAULDING, Ryan 2
RBI: SPAULDING, Ryan 4 ; BACON, Maverick 4 ; EPPERS, Matt 1
SH: EPPERS, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CALL, Alex 1 ; STAYTON, Caleb 1 ; RINDFLEISCH, Jarett 3 ; SPAULDING, Ryan 1 ; BAISA, Roman 2 ; KENNEDY, Sean 1 ; BACON, Maverick 1
SB: CALL, Alex 2 ; EPPERS, Matt 2
CS: SPAULDING, Ryan 1
HBP: RINDFLEISCH, Jarett 1 ; BAISA, Roman 1 ; KENNEDY, Sean 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
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2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
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2
RBI
1
AB
4
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2
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2
RBI
2
AB
3
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1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
RHP/IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballIF/OF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballIF/OF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
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