Eagles Head to Notre Dame for Midweek Clash

Softball at Notre Dame
Date	Wednesday, March 29 \| 5 p.m.
Venue	Melissa Cook Stadium \| Notre Dame, Ind.
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stream	Watch
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Twitter	@EMUSoftball \| @EMUAthletics

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - Looking to get back on track, the Eastern Michigan University softball team travels to Melissa Cook Stadium, Wednesday, March 29, for a midweek game against the University of Notre Dame. First pitch between the Eagles and the Fighting Irish is set for 5 p.m.
   Live stats will be available for EMU's game against Notre Dame, and can be found on EMUEagles.com, while the midweek clash will also air on the ACC Network Extra and be available through ESPN3. Links to the live stream can be found on the schedule page on EMUEagles.com. Additionally, fans can follow the action through Twitter by following @EMUSoftball.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Wednesday's meeting between the Eagles and Fighting Irish pits the two programs against each other for the 21st in program history. The series record stands at 18-2 in favor of Notre Dame after ND topped the Eagles, 10-2, in last season's lone meeting. Eastern's last win over Notre Dame came back in 2007, when the Eagles escaped with a 2-1 win at Melissa Cook Stadium, April 10.

AKLES BREAKS OUT: After struggling to find consistency at the plate in the early part of the season, sophomore Amanda Akles may have found her stride in the Eagles' Mid-American Conference-opening series. Akles finished the weekend 3-for-9 with six RBI's, a double, and a home run. The La Habra, Calif. native doubled her previous season RBI total, and has now driven in runs in three consecutive games.

SQUEEZE ALL DAY: Walk-off hits are one thing, but using back-to-back bunts to seal a walk-off come-from-behind win is not something you see everyday. Despite the rarity, the Eagles executed a pair of squeezes to claim their Mid-American Conference opener, 6-5, over Kent State, March 24.
   After a one-out double by Taylor Wagner put runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh with the Eagles trailing Kent State, 5-4, Head Coach Melissa Gentile dialed up back-to-back suicide squeezes. Brandice Olmos laid down a winding bunt single to bring home the tying run, before Olivia Logan put down the game-winning bunt to score Wagner and give the Green and White a conference win.

RISING IN RELIEF: Sophomore Nicolle Miranda has entered the circle in relief in three of EMU's past four games and has done an outstanding job in her appearances when entering mid-game. The Wilmington, Calif. native has allowed just three hits over 10.0 innings, while compiling a 1.40 earned run average. The streak began against No. 19 Michigan, March 22, when Miranda allowed just two runs over 3.1 innings. Since then, she has been tagged for just two hits and has not yielded a run in two relief appearances.

FINDING THE LONG BALL: Sophomore Amanda Akles belted her third home run of the season, and 10th of her career, in EMU's weekend finale against Kent State, March 25, moving her into a tie for 14th all-time in career homers. Currently, Akles 10 round-trippers has her even with Kristie Berry and Christine Koester.

SHARING THE SPOTLIGHT: Olivia Logan's walk-off suicide squeeze in EMU's series opener against Kent State, March 24, is Eastern's fourth game-ending at bat of the season. The previous three walk-off knocks came off the bat of Michelle Kriegshauser. EMU's four walk-off wins are the most in the nation, tying with South Carolina and North Carolina.

COMEBACK KIDS: Not only did Eastern use a walk-off suicide squeeze to top Kent State in the series opener, March 24, but the Eagles also overcame a five-run deficit. The Eagles trailed 5-0 through five and a half innings before the offense got things going, marking EMU's largest comeback of the season.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: Eastern Michigan has seen more than its fair share of one-run games this season. In fact, roughly half of EMU's games this season have been decided by one run. The Green and White are 9-3 in one-run games this season, a vast improvement over last year's mark of 3-9 in games decided by one run.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS: Eastern Michigan is the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have three players ranked inside the league's top-15 in batting average as of the latest run of MAC stats. Taylor Wagner paces the Eagles, ranking second in the conference. Michelle Kriegshauser comes in 14th, while Brandice Olmos is slotted 15th.

GETTING BETTER WITH AGE: After injury kept her sidelined for a majority of 2016, senior Taylor Wagner is taking full advantage of her senior go-around and is amid one of the best seasons of her career. Currently, Wagner boasts a team-best batting average of .439, the second-best in the conference and 60th-ranked in the country. She's also slotted inside the top-100 in on-base percentage as her mark of .507 ranks 85th overall, as well as second in the MAC. In addition to cranking out hits, Wagner is also one of the best sacrifice hitters in the country. In fact, she is second in the league and second in the country with .41 sacrifices per game.

DEPENDS ON THE DAY: Through its first 26 games, Eastern Michigan has pieced together an 12-14 overall record.
   In wins, the Green and White are outscoring opponents 70-38, and own a .338 team batting average. EMU has cranked out 111 hits in wins, while holding opponents to 86. Additionally, the Eagles' hurlers hold a 2.51 ERA in wins.
   On the flip side, EMU has seen its struggles at the plate in losses. The Eagles are hitting just .219 as a team in their 14 setbacks this season, and have been outscored 87-26. In the circle, Eastern's pitching has seen its ERA jump to 5.67 in losses, while opposing pitchers are credited with a 1.51 ERA.

BASED ON THE BATS: Eastern Michigan's success this season has relied heavily on the Eagles bats and EMU's ability to manufacture hits. The Eagles are 9-2 this season when they outhit opponents, compared to 2-9 when the opposition leads in the hit column. Additionally, scoring three-or-more runs has become a true tale sign of EMU's success. In 10 of the Eagles' 14 losses, the Green and White have not plated more than two runs. Conversely, when the Eagles score at least three runs, they boast an 11-4 record.

ON DECK: The Eagles return to Varsity Field this weekend, March 31-April 1, as they continue Mid-American Conference play against the University of Akron. The three-game series begins with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday, March 31, before a twin bill on Saturday, April 1, wraps up the MAC crossover clash.

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Akles

Michelle Kriegshauser

Olivia Logan

Nicolle Miranda

Brandice Olmos

Taylor Wagner

Eastern Michigan Athletics