Baseball Primed for Weekend Series Against No. 6 Louisville

Baseball at Louisville (7-0, 0-0 ACC)
Date	Friday-Sunday, March 3-5
Venue	Louisville, Ky. \| Jim Patterson Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	gocards.com
Audio	1450WXVW (Fri) \| 93.9 TheVille (Sat/Sun)
Stream	WatchESPN (Fri) \| (Sat) \| (Sun)
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team gets back into action this weekend for a three game set against No. 6 University of Louisville, Friday-Sunday, March 3-5. Action from Jim Patterson Stadium begins at 3 p.m. Friday, followed by a noon contest on Saturday, and wrapping up with a Sunday afternoon game at 1 p.m.
The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Live stats will be available through gocards.com. There will also be audio and a live stream provided through local Louisville radio stations and WatchESPN.

ALL-TIME VS THE CARDINALS: EMU has squared off against Louisville nine times in its history, with the Cardinals owning a slim one-game advantage in the series, 5-4. The two teams first faced off back in 1999, and was the Eagles' season opener. Most recently, EMU and UL played in 2011 when the Eagles swept a two-game set, 4-3 and 6-2, May 3-4.

CLASHING WITH THE CARDINALS: The Louisville Cardinals enter the weekend as one of the best teams in the country, ranked as high as No. 6 in the national polls. UL is 7-0, including a solo win over No. 22 Maryland, as well as a weekend series sweep of Nebraska-Omaha. Louisville also knocked off the Cardinals of Ball State in a single game.
Overall, UL is hitting at a .356 clip as a team, led by preseason All-American Brendan McKay who is hitting an astounding .619 in 21 at-bats. The Cardinals are outscoring opponents 69-16, as well as outhitting them 88-40. The pitching staff is equally as impressive with a staff ERA of 2.14, while holding opponents to a slim .183 batting average. McKay is also a stud on the bump, holding a 0.82 ERA in two starts totaling 11 innings.

ALL-TIME VS THE ACC: The Eagles have played against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference 47 times in program history. EMU owns a 20-27 record all-time against the institutions in the Greensboro, N.C. based conference, including winning records over Florida State (2-0), Boston College (2-0), and Pittsburgh (2-1).

MONTGOMERY'S MONSTER START: Senior John Montgomery has his final season in the Green and White off to a great start in the first 10 games of the year. The Anaheim Hills, Calif. native leads the team in almost all offensive categories, including batting average (.389), hits (14), runs (8), RBIs (7), slugging (.556), and total bases (20). His big start also has him at the top of some categories in the Mid-American Conference, including second in hits and third in runs and total bases. His 14 hits also rank 47th in the nation.

IMPACT FRESHMEN: So far this season, EMU has relied early and often on 'true' freshmen in starting roles. In the first 10 games, freshmen have combined to make 26 starts in the field. In addition, freshman James Harness has found a spot in the weekend rotation, pitching to a 3.86 ERA in two appearances, striking out six.

COME ON AND TAKE A FREE RIDE: Early on in his career, freshman Drake Peggs has shown an affinity for patience at the plate and taking what the pitcher gives him. The infielder leads the team and the MAC in walks with eight, which is good for 35th in the nation. In addition, his high walk total has him with a team-best .455 on-base percentage.

SPEED KILLS: After finishing the season ranked third in the county in stolen bases last year, the Eagles will once again look to rank near the top of that category in 2017. After the first 10 games of the year, EMU has stolen 10 bases, which is good for a tie for first in the MAC and 48th in the country.

WEEKEND ROTATION: One of the goals of the early season spring break trip games has been working on solidifying the 2017 weekend rotation. The Friday slot firmly belongs to Brent Mattson, who is the winning pitcher of EMU's first two wins, pitching to a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings. The Saturday spot currently belongs to JUCO transfer Brad Allen, who has impressed in his first two starts, as he leads the team with a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings with 13 strikeouts. Sunday's starting role is in the hands of a 'true' freshman, as James Harness and his 3.86 ERA will handle the series finales.

BULLDOGS ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will have the midweek off once again before heading west for a three-game weekend series against the Fresno State Bulldogs. The series from Pete Beiden Field will begin with a 9 p.m. first pitch, Friday, March 10.

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Players Mentioned

Brad Allen

James Harness

Brent Mattson

John Montgomery

Drake Peggs

Eastern Michigan Athletics