Eagles Soar Into Windy City for Busy Weekend

Baseball at Chicago State (6-16) & vs Butler (17-7)
Date	Friday-Sunday, March 31-April 2
Venue	Chicago, Ill. \| Cougar Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	gocsucougars.com / emueagles.com
Audio	N/A
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team gets back on the road this weekend, March 31-April 2, for four games in three days in the Windy City of Chicago against host Chicago State University, and Butler University. The weekend begins Friday with a solo game against the Cougars at 4 p.m. Action resumes Saturday with a contest against Butler at noon. The weekend concludes Sunday with a doubleheader, starting with an 11 a.m. game against BU, followed by the finale against CSU 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
   The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Live stats will be available through gocsucougars.com for the CSU games, and emueagles.com for the BU games.

ALL-TIME VS THE CSU/BU: This weekend will mark the first meeting between EMU and CSU in program history, while the Eagles and Bulldogs have met twice previously. The lone meeting in the series with Butler came in 2013 when they split two games at a neutral site series at Northen Kentucky. Butler won game one, 9-2, with EMU taking game two, 10-9.

CAGING THE COUGARS: Chicago State enters the weekend much like Eagles, sporting a 6-15 overall record, and 2-1 mark in WAC play. CSU has played a common opponent in Northern Illinois, splitting a two-game set. The Cougars are also 0-3 so far this season at Cougar Stadium.
   The CSU offense currently hits .255 as a squad, while being out-hit 233-196, and outscored 152-104. Three hitters currently sit above .300, led by Matt Paciello who bats .344 with 31 hits and 20 RBIs.
   Defensively, CSU's pitching staff holds a 6.25 ERA. The hurlers have a little problem with control, striking out 124 to 121 walks. Despite the high team ERA, the Cougars do have four of their pitchers below the 4.00 ERA mark.

BATTLING THE BULLDOGS: Butler, on the other hand, enters the weekend winners of its last six, and has an overall record of 17-7. The Bulldogs have played MAC foe Ohio five times, taking four. They are also 4-2 at neutral sites.
   The offense hits at a .265 clip, out-hitting opponents, 213-171, and out-scoring, 131-94. Leading the way for BU is Michael Hartnagel, who boasts a .407 batting average, the 36th best in the country.
   The Bulldogs' biggest strength is their pitching staff, as the team holds a 3.15 team ERA, the 26th best in the nation. This stems from their excellent control, tossing 214 strikeouts to 101 walks. Leading the staff will be Saturday's starter, lefty Jeff Schank, who has a 0.88 ERA in 41.0 innings, the 12th best ERA in the nation

ALLEN TOSSES A GEM: Junior Brad Allen tossed an absolute gem in the 3-0 victory in game one of a doubleheader against Bowling Green State University, Saturday, March 25. The righty threw a complete game shutout, only allowing five total baserunners, including just two hits, while striking out six. It was the first complete game of the season for the Eagles, and earned Allen the first win of his EMU career. The win also locked up the series win over the Falcons in the MAC opening weekend.
   In addition, it was the first complete game shutout for EMU since Charlie Land threw one in an 8-0 win over Northern Illinois, April 24, 2015. The two hits allowed were also the fewest by an EMU pitcher in a complete game since Brian Hill tossed a two-hitter against Western Michigan, April 19, 2013.

ALLEN NAMED MAC WEST PITCHER OF THE WEEK: For his efforts in the BGSU game, Brad Allen was named the Mid-American Conference's West Division Pitcher of the Week. It was the first weekly award for EMU this season and the first of Allen's EMU career.

JONES WALKS IT OFF: In game one of the series versus Bowling Green, March 24, freshman Nick Jones was the hero, notching a bases loaded single to give the Eagles the 7-6 walk-off victory. It completed a four-run comeback for the Eagles, and also completed a two-hit and three-RBI contest for Jones. The walk-off was also the second straight at Oestrike Stadium, as EMU completed the 2016 home slate with a walk-off home run on Senior Day from Mike Mioduszewski.

RACKING UP THE K's: Now in his fourth season in the EMU pitching staff, senior Sam Delaplane's high strikeout numbers have now placed him among EMU's elite in the category. His 139 career strikeouts rank 22nd in Eastern Michigan laurels. Delaplane is also ranked tied for fourth in all-time saves with 10.

ALL-TIME AT OESTRIKE: 2017 marks the 47th season at the friendly confines of Oestrike Stadium. In the long standing history of the field, EMU holds a 518-367-2 record at the stadium. Of the 46 previous seasons, 33 have resulted in winning home records for Eastern.

IMPACT FRESHMEN: So far this season, EMU has relied early and often on 'true' freshmen in starting roles. In the first 23 games, freshmen have combined to make 69 starts in the field and 10 appearances on the mound. Infielder Devin Hager leads EMU with a .315 batting average. Drake Peggs leads EMU in walks (12) and OBP (.385) and is also second in RBI's (11). Meanwhile, pitcher James Harness has made three starts in seven appearances, and picked up his first collegiate win against Samford, March 19.

EARLY INNING STRUGGLES: EMU has dug itself some early holes that it has not been able to get out of early in the 2017 season. EMU is currently being outscored in the first four innings by 43 runs, 84-41, while they are only being outscored by 21, 86-65, in the final five. The Eagles have only scored first nine times so far, and are 4-5 in those contests, while putting up a 2-12 record when opponents score first.

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 161 career knocks.

WALK-OFF HEARTBREAK: With the first 19 games of the season away from Oestrike, EMU was the road team more often than not. This resulted in some heartbreaking finishes in close games, including being the victim of a walk-off loss on three occasions, including versus Missouri, Feb. 19, Louisville, March 4, and Samford, March 17.

SPARTANS ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles return home next week, Tuesday, April 4, for a single game against in-state foe Michigan State. First pitch from Oestrike is set for 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Brad Allen

Sam Delaplane

Marquise Gill

Devin Hager

James Harness

Nick Jones

Mike Mioduszewski

John Montgomery

Drake Peggs

Brennan Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics