Baseball Readies for Weekend Series Against Samford

Baseball at Samford (10-6, 0-0 SoCon)
Date	Friday-Sunday, March 17-19
Venue	Birmingham, Ala. \| Joe Lee Griffin Field
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	samfordsports.com
Audio	91.1 FM
Stream	Youtube.com (Fri) (Sat) (Sun)
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team has one final tune-up series before Mid-American Conference play begins when it travels south for a three-game set against Samford University, March 17-19. The opener against the Bulldogs is set for 5 p.m. on Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. and 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

   The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Live stats will be available through samfordsports.com. There will also be audio and video streaming options through 91.1 FM and YouTube.

ALL-TIME VS THE BULLDOGS: This series will mark the first all-time meetings between Eastern Michigan and Samford in their respective histories.

SAMFORD AND SONS: Samford enters the weekend with a 10-6 overall record in a tough non-conference slate. The Bulldogs are also a solid 7-2 at home at Joe Lee Griffin Field. SU owns wins over SEC foes Auburn and Alabama, as well as taking two of three from Indiana.
   The Bulldog offense is hitting a stout .291 as a team, including outhitting opponents, 155-133. They are, however, being outscored, 89-100. Six starters hit for an average of .297 or above, led by freshman shortstop Branden Fryman, who is batting .354.
   The pitching staff tosses to a 4.66 ERA, striking out 115 batters to 96 walks. The projeted starting rotation has ERA's of 4.37, 6.75, and 7.47, respectively. They also have six pitchers in the bullpen sporting sub-2.00 ERA's.

ALL-TIME VS THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE: EMU has a brief history against teams in the Southern Conference. The Eagles have faced just two of nine instututions in the Spartanburg, S.C. based conference all-time, and hold a 5-2 record against them. Eastern holds a 4-2 ledger against East Tennessee State University, as well as a 1-0 mark against Furman.

FURIOUS COMBACK AGAINST FRESNO: EMU broke a seven-game losing skid when it defeated Fresno State, 15-11, March 10. The Eagles scored 14 of their runs in the final four innings to complete a seven-run comeback. The 15 runs were the most scored by EMU since May 7 of last season when they hung 16 on Ball State.

DOUBLES MACHINE: In the 15-11 win over Fresno State, March 10, Jeremy Stidham notched a three-double day, the first of his EMU career. It was the first three-double output by an Eagle since Brennen Williams did so against Notre Dame last season, April 27. It was also just the sixth three two-bagger game for Eastern since 1999. EMU ranks third in the conference with 25 doubles this season.

EARLY INNING STRUGGLES: EMU has dug themselves in some early holes that they have not been able to get out of early in the 2017 season. EMU is currently being outscored in the first five innings by 50 runs, 91-41, while they are only being outscored by 13, 50-37, in the final four. The Eagles have only scored first five times so far, and are 2-3 in those contests, while putting up a 1-10 record when opponents score first.

IMPACT FRESHMEN: So far this season, EMU has relied early and often on 'true' freshmen in starting roles. In the first 16 games, freshmen have combined to make 47 starts in the field and seven appearances on the mound, including three starts in the weekend rotation for James Harness. Infielders Devin Hager and Drake Peggs have made the most of their starts, as Hager leads EMU with a .317 batting average, while Peggs leads EMU in walks (11) and OBP (.395), and is also second in RBI's (9).

BRAD ALLEN DEALING: In his first season in the Green and White, junior pitcher Brad Allen has found his way into the weekend rotation and he is making the most of it. The JUCO transfer leads all starters with a 3.74 ERA in a team-best 21.2 innings and 17 strikeouts. In his start against No. 6 Louisville, he held the Cardinals to just three hits and one unearned run in a career-best 7.0 innings.

CLUB 100: A trio of Eagles reached a career milestone in the first five games of the season. Redshirt senior Marquise Gill and junior Brennan Williams both reached the 100 career hit milestone against Missouri. Fellow senior John Montgomery joined them in that club, as he notched his 100th hit against FGCU, Feb. 22. They joined redshirt senior Mike Mioduszewski for active players in the 100 hit club. Mioduszewski is the active leader in hits with 157 career knocks.

FALCONS ON THE HORIZON: EMU begins the 2017 MAC slate next weekend when it opens the home schedule with a weekend series against Bowling Green State University. The three-game set on the new turf inside Oestrike Stadium will begin with a 6 p.m. first pitch, Friday, March 24.

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Players Mentioned

Brad Allen

Marquise Gill

Devin Hager

James Harness

Mike Mioduszewski

John Montgomery

Drake Peggs

Jeremy Stidham

Brennan Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics